stick in the mud

Two years ago our friend Kathy made some cream filled cupcakes for the annual parish bake sale. I desperately wanted to try one but it was too early in my weight loss program to risk it. I saw Kathy after Mass today and asked if she had baked them again this year, now that I can afford to have one and count it as my starch and fat for the day. Kathy said that instead she had made something I would really enjoy: marshmallow snowmen. As soon as I saw them, I thought Kathy might be pulling my leg. The "snowmen" were covered in chocolate and were wearing Santa hats. My son compared them to the muddy snowman in "To Kill A Mockingbird." I thought of a not so literary reference. To me they looked like a character from "South Park." Not just any "South Park" character, but the one that triggers my gag reflex and keeps me from ever watching that show. Kathy feigned ignorance but I think she's too smart to not see the resemblance.



The unusual treats were well received at today's bake sale. My wife bought one for me while I snapped a picture of the remaining marshmallow men. They were all sold in a matter of minutes. Kathy called them snowmen but I'll call them Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Santas on a Stick. To make them, she put three marshmallows on a lollipop stick and enrobed them in melted chocolate. She dipped the tips into white chocolate that had been dyed red and then piped white chocolate to make the whites of the eyes and the decorative squiggles. You can use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off instead of a pastry bag. The mouth is made with the same red chocolate as the hat. A couple of chocolate chips complete the eyes. You might want to skip the Santa hat, add antlers and try to make chocolate reindeer instead.