Friday, October 26, 2012

The Runaway Mummy

 
      How many of you grew up with Margaret Wise Brown's classics, Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny? And  have read them over and over to your own children? And grandchildren maybe?  If you, like me, can recite them with your eyes closed while you're half asleep with a child snuggled on your lap begging you to "Read it again, pleeeeease?" then you might just appreciate these two "Petrifying Parodies," Goodnight Goon and The Runaway Mummy, from Michael Rex.

    
     We had fun in my class this week comparing these two books with the originals. It was obvious that Michael Rex, the author, had an appreciation of both Margaret Wise Brown's stories  and Clement Hurd's illustrations. My own kids grew up with these classics and have fond memories of them.

     These little mummy cookies are just cute spooky enough to go with either of these books. No special decorating skills are needed for these little guys. Just make up some gingerbread men, (or would you call them gingerdead men?) "glue" on candy eyes and pipe on the frosting. I used a small Wilton basketweave tip, but a ziploc baggie with the corner cut off would work just as well. These were made from my favorite Iced Spice Cookie recipe, but any gingerbread (or even chocolate) cut out cookie would work.



And if you find that your gingerbread mummies are too scared to be alone on Halloween, you could always make them some skeletons to keep them company. :)

 

Iced Spice Cookies (Printable recipe here.) 

Iced Spice Cookies
recipe adapted from Patti Paige, Creative Ideas for Living Jan/Feb '89
2/3 cup shortening (I use butter)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt (I only use 1)
1 large egg (from a happy hen if you can find one-mine aren't laying right now)
3/4 cup molasses
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Directions:
  • Cream together the first six ingredients. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Add the molasses and mix again. Set aside.
  • Sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add to molasses mixture and mix until dough forms.
  • Divide the dough into two balls (flattened), wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least three hours. (I chilled it overnight) This dough is hard to work with unless it's chilled.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • Roll out one ball of dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. The original recipe calls for rolling the dough out between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper or a floured pastry cloth. I didn't have those so I just checked my dough frequently to make sure it wasn't sticking to my surface. (Flour is your friend, here.)
  • Cut out desired shapes. Gather scraps into a ball and put in the freezer while you repeat with the rest of your dough.
  • Transfer cookies to parchment covered (or greased) baking sheet.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes, making sure edges don't burn. Cool completely on a rack before frosting. (recipe below) For me this recipe made about 4 dozen small cookies.
Royal Icing
In a large bowl, mix together 1 pound of confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder (I used Wilton) and a scant 1/2 cup water. (Reserve several spoonfuls of the water-wait and see if you need it. Royal frosting is kind of tricky in that it depends on the humidity as to exactly how much water you'll need.) Mix until soft peaks form. (I did mine about 8 minutes.) Put some frosting in a piping bag fitted with a small basketweave tip and pipe on the mummy wrappings. You could also use a ziploc baggie with the corner cut off!

20 comments:

  1. Very cute, no doubt the kids loved them (and the books:@)

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  2. I can still recite "Goodnight Moon"!! The books sound delightful and I'm going to look for them--what a treat they'd make.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  3. Those are funny! Goodnight Goon. Love it! Your mummy gingerbread men are pretty funny too! :)

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  4. Ooh, love the mummy cookies! So fun!

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  5. Your little mummies are so cute. My piping skills are pretty low but I think I could manage them. I always amaze myself by the mess I can make in the kitchen when I have icing in a bag. I know my grandkids would love those spooky books.

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  6. Your cookies are so cute and scary! haha! Love them! I bet these will be a big hit with both kids and adults! Love them!

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  7. The parady books are a hoot! Goodnight Moon is one of my favorites :)

    Darling mummy cookies too!

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  8. Love the cookies and I'm sure kids of all ages would. After many years, I'm reading Goodnight Moon again, almost remember every word! Now it's for my little grandson. The 2 books have to be pretty cool for kids.

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  9. Aww those books are such a cute idea! And the cookies look delicious. In a spooky but adorable kind of way.

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  10. Like you I read both books to my kids until the pages had to be taped. I will have to take a look at them when I go to the bookstore. The recipe sounds delicious. I hope you are weathering the storm ok. The wind is tremendous here in Massachusetts.

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  11. i am soooo glad you are back! I have missed your post and I didn't even know you were starting back until last week! Love these cookies- too cute. too delicious and perfect for my kids!

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  12. LOL...I never knew of these spoofs on those classic childrens' books! Your cookies are perfect for Halloween...and simple enough that a novice piper could make them :)

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  13. Amazing recipe!! what a fantastic looking

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  14. I'm not sure if the Runaway Mummy was before my time... :S But I love this idea - it definitely beats the old spiderweb cookies idea!

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  15. Those cookies are the most adorable things I've seen in a long time!

    Sues

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  16. Very funny! Love the books and your mummy cookies-they are perfect of the little ghouls and goblins in my family;-)

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  17. i like these even better than the gingerbread skeletons i make every year! the little eyeballs are a great touch. :)

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  18. We have Goodnight Goon, but I haven't seen Runaway Mummy until now. Love the cookies!

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  19. SO cute! and also, I can't wait to read these to my little ones one day =)

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  20. What an adorable idea. Perfect for Halloween.

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Thanks for stopping by scrambled hen fruit! I appreciate all of your comments and look forward to reading them.

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