Happy Halloween! As much as I love Halloween, it is full of ridiculous over consumption, not just of sugary treats but of excessive, wasteful packaging and plastic decorations that never break down once their night of glory is over (hey! that sounds like every American holiday). Opt for edible and super biodegradable decorations that can double as offerings to loved ones that have died. Sugar skulls are traditionally used on altars in celebration and reverence of people who have passed on the Day of the Dead. These would also make really cool favors to take home from a spooky party or a party could be made just of decorating them! 
I just made my first attempt at sugar skulls. I thought it was a lot of fun (I like working with my hands) and this would be a super fun activity for kids or anyone, really. The skulls are traditionally made with egg white or meringue powder but I veganized them with EnerG egg replacer and organic vegan granulated sugar from Whole Foods (ie not processed with bone char like conventional white sugar) and added cheery essential oils for added joyful aromatherapy. I purchased my skull mold online, it is a medium size with two per mold.
scented sugar skulls
** makes 2 medium skulls
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp ener-g egg replacer powder
1 tsp water (use a spray bottle)
2-5 drops essential oil
Put the sugar and egg replacer powder in a bowl and sprinkle or spray water on and mix with hands until it will hold its shape. Put in a few drops of essential oils.
If you plan on eating your skulls be sure you use edible essential oils like citrus oils which are super cheery and great. I used sweet orange for one batch but lemon, lime, or any combination would have worked. I also used rose absolute for the skulls I don't plan to eat. Rose is used in aromatherapy to help with grief but so is neroli (orange blossom) and many spice oils are known to be comforting.
Pack your sugar skull mold with sugar mix and press it down as much as possible.
Place cardboard or any solid flat object against it and flip the mold over to release. I used wax paper and my hand but that made it difficult to slip off so some sort of board would be best.
Be careful when you release it not to smash it (or else! see the end of the post). If it does not hold its shape well enough you may need to put it back in the bowl and add a little more water.
Let the skulls dry for 12-24 hours then decorate them with colorful frosting. 
frosting
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup ener-g egg replacer
1 pound of powdered sugar
coloring of your choice
random sequins, glitter, do-dads
Note, this will be super sweet and is not meant to be a tasty frosting, though it is edible, it makes a better decoration and can be used to glue on other stuff. It will solidify and be extremely sturdy.
Mix up the frosting in a standing mixer (5-10 minutes) then separate into several different plastic baggies, adding coloring of your choice and kneading it in. There are a lot of really great natural food colorings out there made from juice concentrates and herbs/spices. Cut a tiny bit of plastic off one corner of the bag and squeeze the frosting out to decorate. Use the frosting to glue on other stuff like tissue paper, colorful candies, sequins, etc. Have fun!
this is a 3-D skull that has been decorated
this is what happens if you are not careful :c) Oopsy! It is so easy just to pick it back up and smoosh it back in the mold though, it is hard to mess up this project.
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8 comments:
i love your attitude and ideas on kids and the holidays. Thank you for being a doer!
people have become so passive, it's wonderful to see some activity around a holiday.
that's a seriously impressive first try! my first try projects are usually much more disastrous... but fun nonetheless.. Happy End of Vegan MoFo!
They are soooooo cool. You are so talented.
Happy Halloween!
((HUGS)
Thanks, Guava. In the interest of honesty I did photograph my major fumble and posted it at the end of the blog to show that it was not entirely perfect but seriously, it is so easy to redo there really isn't any way to permanently mess up. My kind of project!
Thanks, Jeni & Anon! :c)
What a neat project!!
How cute. I love the idea of edible and beautiful decorations and yours definitely fit the bill for both. That's so creative. I never would have thought to make something like that.
How cute. I love the idea of edible and beautiful decorations and yours definitely fit the bill for both. That's so creative. I never would have thought to make something like that.
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