Cascarones (Confetti Eggs) or Easter eggs

It is officially spring.  It may not feel like it depending on where you live but in Texas it is already warmer and wetter.  Here, the best part of spring is ushered in in pastels and sparkles in the form of brightly colored eggs full of glittery confetti.  It is supposed to be good luck to have a confetti filled egg cracked over your head but I think it’s a trick to keep any party poopers from complaining about all of the fun.  In all their messy, colorful madness, confetti eggs are such a merry way to celebrate.  The kids love being given the freedom to perform the the forbidden: cracking eggs on people (especially adults). In place of the yolk-surprise!-piles of fluttering, shiny confetti are loosed into the air instead.

Confetti Eggs are decorated in much the same way as Easter eggs.  Instead of hard boiling the eggs before dying, confetti eggs are hollowed out then dyed.  Use a sharp knife or skewer to break a smallish hole in the top of the egg, then poke one tiny hole in the opposite end.  Blow through the tiny hole, allowing the egg yolk and white to fall through the larger hole into a bowl.  Wash your empty egg shells in warm soapy water then decorate.

You know you don’t need to buy an Easter egg decorating kit to dye eggs, right?

Egg Dye (Easter Eggs or Confetti Eggs)

• coffee mugs or deep bowls for every color you want
• 2 tbsp white vinegar per mug
• hot water (any temp is fine)
• liquid food coloring

1. Cover your workspace with kitchen towels or newspaper.
2. Put 2 tbsp white vinegar in each mug.  We use white mugs so you can see what color you’re doing, but any deep bowl or glass that will hold your egg submerged will work.
3. Fill the mug with hot water to about 3/4 cup (hard boiled eggs will displace the water with their volume so you want enough water to cover but not spill everywhere).
4. Add food coloring as desired to make deep, bright colors.
5. Place hard boiled egg or egg shell into dye and allow to sit until brightly colored.
6. Use a spoon to lift egg out and allow to dry.

You can dye the eggs with different designs by only partially submerging them in each color, or by using masking tape or stickers or white wax crayons to make white letters, stripes, pictures, etc prior to dipping them in the dye. You can also paint the colored eggs with white glue and roll them in glitter.

To make cascarones, once your egg shells are colored and decorated fill each egg with as much confetti as you can (about 1/4 cup of confetti per egg). Your tiny hole should be small enough that the confetti won’t fall through and you want to gently enlarge your bigger hole just to the point that you can stuff it.  That hole is then plugged with tissue paper.  You can put a little glue around the edge before plugging it with a small piece of tissue paper but it isn’t necessary.  If your tiny blow hole is a little too large glue a small tissue paper square over that hole before filling the egg.  Inevitable some eggs will crack  and try to break during the decorating process-don’t worry! Just glue them back together or patch them up with tissue paper, they are supposed to look homemade and crafty and full of fun surprises.  My kids like to add a shot of glitter to each egg to really make them sparkly and messy.