EDITED TO ADD: I know have these cute tags to go with these! Click HERE to grab ’em:
I kind of love these. They are so simple, but so sweet. I first saw them as a wedding favor idea. What a great idea, right?? I would love to get something like this at a wedding. (As a side note, a good friend of mine from college is getting married this summer, and I am now obsessing over wedding details.)
Anyway. Here’s the recipe:
- 3/4 a cup of flour
- 1/2 a cup of water
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2.5 teaspoons)*
- 3 tbsp corn syrup
- 4 cups birdseed
Spray a spoon with cooking spray and then mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, a la this
Yummy.
Next, spray the inside of your cookie cutter with cooking spray, and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Fill it with the birdseed mixture. Be sure to really pack it down. In retrospect, I wish I would have sprayed another spoon with cooking spray and used the back of it to help pack it down. It would have made for two smooth sides, instead of one.
Once you have your cookie cutter full, use something (we used a chop stick) to make a hole. Then, holding down the birdseed, pull off the cookie cutter. I had to respray the cookie cutter after every four and with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, I made 12 feeders. I thought this would be something really fun to do with Gavin, but . . . I was wrong. It was a messy activity, and they are really fragile when you take off the cookie cutter. But this would probably be perfect to do with an eight or ten year old. That being said, Gavin did the chop stick part and really enjoyed it.
Let them firm up over night, and then they are ready to hang or give away.
This was my favorite part. When I told Gavin I was going to hang one up outside, he told me that he wanted to come with and that we should hang it on Elliot’s tree.
“This is for Elliot, Mom.” Oh little moose, you melt my heart. We love you, E. And we never stop thinking about you.
* In my grocery store, I found this in with all the Jell-o mixes. Though I spent a good chunk of time looking for it with the canning stuff.
Angie says
Do you dissolve the gelatin first, or use it in its powdered form?
Use as a powder!
Lisa Mecham says
I’m totally planning on making these with my 3 year old today! This is such a cute idea! Do you have any suggestions for a replacement if I don’t have plain gelatin on hand?
I hope they work out great Lisa! I’m sorry, I don’t have an idea for a replacement.
Amy says
I tried this with my son and was afraid it would not stick so added coconut oil and put them in the freezer. They looked great until they were out for five minutes and fell apart. I wanted to do this for my son’s valentine exchange in his class but not sure how to get them to stay together.
Hmm, I’m not sure what happened here. It’s possible that the coconut oil is the culprit. They stayed together really well for me without that and without the freezer.
Randall Richards says
Thanks for this awesome idea. I am making them today. What temperature do you suggest?
Lisa says
Could you recommend a vegetarian alternative to the gelatin?
I’m sorry Lisa, I don’t have a good alternative.
Kathleen Erlich says
Just wanted you to know that I said a prayer for Elliot.
Thank you Kathleen ❤️
Sarah says
I love this idea! I am two hours away from my mom and grandparents and am always looking for something little and light that we can easily ship up to to them for Valentine’s day! Do they firm up enough that I might be able to mail them if I pack them in a box with tissue paper? Will they survive the post office? Thank you for the idea!
Hi Sarah! Unfortunately, these don’t ship well. I have another version of that I haven’t tried shipping but they are more dense – DIY Bird Feeders.
Therese Garling says
Im wondering if I can use flavored gelatin might add some sweetness?
I’m sure you could, but I’m not sure it’s necessary for the birds to enjoy this. The corn syrup is pretty sweet.
Josie Sturkey says
Hi! What would you sub in place of corn syrup here? Thanks!
I’m sorry, Josie, I don’t have a good substitute for the corn syrup. I would need to test different things to find the best idea.
Patsy says
These worked great! Thanks for sharing. I made them with my 2 year old for a valentines gift from him to my mom. We live in MA so it’s cold right now. I let them harden outside and they were done so quickly!