Spring Bunny Scribble Cookies

I was not even planning on doing a project yesterday, but this just came about. Logan was grumpy about something and he dumped out the entire crayon bin. While it was his responsibility to pick these up, I did end up helping him in a way. I noticed there were tons of broken bits of crayons again plus many, many cheap-o crayons, the kind from from restaurants, birthday party goody bags, and the like.

These crayons have a huge redeeming value, in my opinion. While being pretty awful for regular coloring, they make excellent scribble cookies. The cheap crayons tend to be smaller and easier to break into bits (one of the reasons they do not work the best for coloring), which is great for scribble cookie prep work. Also, their wrappers tend to come off easier than the good crayon wrappers (Crayola, for example, which does a double layer of wrapper), again, making them ideal for scribble cookies. I'm not suggesting that you buy cheap crayons, but if you happen to be given them, hang on to them and give them a new life as scribble cookies.

Anyway, I scooped up all of these crayons, took all the wrappers off, sorted them into bowls by colors, and then decided to try out my new bunny-shaped Wilton silicone mold that I found on clearance at Target after Easter for just $3. The silicone mold worked very well, and once they were cool, I was able to pull the scribble cookies out easily, with no wasted muffin cups like when I make them in muffin tins (which is still a great method, I am just happy to have had success using a mold!). The end result made me quite happy, lots of colorful bunny crayons, which I think will make good gifts. Also, I think black, white, gray, and brown bunnies are cute, whereas these colors of regular scribble cookies seem a bit on the blah side. I may keep these fun bunny cookies on hand since I am still hoping to do a busy bag swap, and I know they could be perfect for that.

{In the process of filling the mold...}

Materials:

• broken crayon bits
  
• sharp knife (optional)
• silicone bunny mold (or other shape)
• cookie sheet (optional)
• oven set to 275 degrees Fahrenheit
• bowls for sorting crayons (optional)

Directions:

1. Gather up all your broken crayon bits or cheap-o crayons if it's time to get rid of those. (Tip: I usually save these in a bowl as they accumulate and then use them when we have enough for a project.) 
2. Make sure all papers are removed. I usually just do this while I am saving them, but since this was a spur-of-the-moment decision to use up the cheap-o crayons, I had a bit of paper peeling to do. Kids can also help with this step.
3. If the pieces are too big, break them into smaller pieces. Kids can help with this. Adults can also use a sharp knife for this. (Tip: As I am breaking them, I like to sort them into bowls by similar colors: blues together, greens together, reds together, etc. You do not need to do this, but I don't see the purpose of making a couple dozen or so of mixed-up crayons. Even if they are all a bit different, they're still essentially the same. This way, we end up with crayons with blends of assorted hues of the same color, which the OCD side of me appreciates.)
4. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. (ADULT USE ONLY)
5. Fill the silicone bunny mold with broken bits of crayons. Kids can definitely help with this step. You can fill them almost all the way to the top. (Tip: Before baking, I like to the mold onto a cookie sheet. This makes it much easier to take them in and out of the oven without spilling crayons or melted wax.)
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 275 degrees. Scribble cookies do not have to be completely liquefied, just melted enough so that there are no big chunks remaining. Set aside to cool completely. This took about an hour for this batch.
7. Once scribble cookies are cool, you can peel them out of the molds, by inverting them, pushing them inside out if needed. These recycled crayons are fun to color with, and they also make nice homemade gifts. (Tip: Just make sure to supervise young children. Scribble Cookies do look like treats, and I still catch Logan, at 3 1/2 eating them at times.)