Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
Have you or your kids ever made your own food coloring? You'll get your chance with this recipe for a fun and tasty cake or cupcake topper. Using various fruits and vegetables, kids will color coconut shreds naturally to make their own rainbow-colored sprinkles!
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- blend :
to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.
- chop :
to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.
- drizzle :
to trickle a thin stream of a liquid ingredient, like icing or sauce, over food.
- knife skills :
Bear Claw (growl), Pinch, Plank, and Bridge (look out for trolls).
- reduce :
to boil or simmer a cooking liquid, like a sauce or juice, until it evaporates, thickens, and becomes concentrated, intensifying the flavors.
- sprinkle :
to scatter small drops or particles of an ingredient evenly or randomly over food.
- strain :
to separate liquids from solid foods or remove bigger food particles from smaller particles using a perforated or porous device like a strainer, sieve, colander, or cheesecloth.
Equipment Checklist
- Blender or food processor
- Cutting board
- Kid-safe knife
- Fine strainer or cheesecloth
- Medium saucepan
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Wooden spoon
- Small bowls
Ingredients
Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
- 1 to 3 T shredded coconut (1 T for each color used)
- 4 T powdered sugar
- 1/2 T milk **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free milk)**
- Food coloring:
- red or pink: use raspberries, pure pomegranate juice, or roasted beets
- orange: use pumpkin purée
- yellow: use raw carrot or mango
- green: use frozen spinach
- blue: use red cabbage and about 1/4 tsp baking soda to turn it blue—lightly sprinkle and stir until you get the desired shade
- indigo: use a mix of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries until the shade is perfect
- purple: use red cabbage
Food Allergen Substitutions
Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
- Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free milk.
Instructions
Rainbow Glazed Coconut Sprinkles
food coloring
Create your colored liquid for your sprinkles first using one of the three following methods.
fruit method
Using either berries (red or indigo) or mango (yellow), start with a cup of fresh or frozen fruit. Use a blender to liquify and then pour the thick liquid over a fine strainer to remove any seeds. You should have about 1/2 cup of juice.
root veggie method
Using either roasted beets (red), raw carrots (yellow), or spinach (green), add small amounts of water, bit by bit, until you have enough to totally blend and liquify the vegetables. Then use a fine metal strainer or cheesecloth to remove the pulp. You should have about 1/2 cup of juice.
cabbage method
Chop up a small head of red cabbage (purple or blue), add it to a medium-size saucepan on your stovetop, and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for up to 25 minutes, until the water turns deep purple. Remove the cabbage and set it aside. Strain the liquid and add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to it to turn it from purple to blue!
reduce
Once you have your colored liquids, you’ll need to reduce them to make a more powerful coloring agent. Pour each juice, one at a time, into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it reduces to a thick, very colorful paste.
add + mix
Add 1 tablespoon of dried shredded coconut to small bowls, one for each color, and add your homemade natural food coloring a few drops at a time. Mix thoroughly until the coconut is completely and evenly coated with the color.
spread + dry
Heat a skillet on your stovetop over very low heat and spread the colored coconut shreds on the skillet to dry the color onto the coconut. Try not to mix the colors when still wet. Cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, watching closely so the coconut doesn't burn! Remove from heat and if you like, mix colors together for a rainbow effect.
whisk + drizzle + sprinkle
Make a sugar glaze. Measure 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 tablespoon milk into a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Finally, drizzle or spread a small amount of glaze over cooled cupcakes, like Vanilla Yogurt Cupcakes, and then sprinkle the rainbow sprinkles on top of each. The sprinkles will stick to the glaze like glue!
Hi! I’m Coconut!
"Knock, Knock! Who's there? Coco. Coco Who? Coco Nut! You guessed it! I'm a Coconut! I'm kind of like the moon because you can sort of see a face on my outer shell. See those indentations? They could be my eyes and nose! (Or maybe you see a really small, hairy bowling ball!) I may be a hard case to crack, but I'm tasty inside! Try me flaked or shredded, sweetened or unsweetened, in cookies, pies, cakes, salads, and shakes! Yum!"
History
- Coconuts are native to tropical islands in the Pacific around Southeast Asia, but they were spread around the globe by explorers hundreds of years ago.
- In Thailand, for about 400 years, pigtailed macaque monkeys have been trained to pick coconuts.
- In the United States, you can write an address on the outside of a coconut, slap on the correct postage, and drop the whole thing in the mail. Amazing! Yes, coconuts are mailable as long as they are presented in a dry condition and not oozing fruit juice! Try it!
- A coconut can survive months of floating in the ocean, and when it washes up on a beach, it can germinate into a tree!
- Globally, coconut oil was the leading oil until the 1960s, when soybean oil overtook it.
- May 8 is "National Coconut Cream Pie Day" in the United States.
Anatomy & Etymology
- Coconuts are related to olives, peaches, and plums. Coconuts are NOT nuts; they are big seeds!
- The term "coconut" can refer to the whole coconut palm tree, the seed, or the fruit, which technically is a drupe, not a nut! A drupe refers to a fleshy fruit with a stony seed inside that's protected with thin skin or hard, stony covering. Examples are peaches, coconuts, and olives. The word "drupe" comes from "drupa," meaning overripe olive.
- An average coconut palm produces about 30 coconuts a year, although it's possible for a tree to yield 75 to 100 annually.
- A coconut will ripen in about a year; however, if you want to harvest it for the coconut water, it will be ready within six to seven months. If you shake a coconut and hear water sloshing around, it's not fully ripe, and there won't be as much meat.
- The outer skin of the coconut covers a thick, fibrous husk, which can be used for making ropes, mats, brushes, sacks, caulking for boats, and stuffing for mattresses.
- Coconut leaves have many uses, too, such as making brooms, weaving baskets or mats, or drying for thatch roofing.
- Traditionally, the trunk of the coconut palm tree was used for its wood to build boats, bridges, houses, and huts.
- The word "coconut" comes from the mid-16th-century Spanish and Portuguese word "coco," which can mean "bogeyman" or "grinning face" after the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features.
How to Pick, Buy, & Eat
- The coconut comes from the coconut palm tree. These trees prefer hot weather. Where in the world do you think they grow? Throughout the tropics and subtropical parts of Earth, in over 80 countries!
- The three highest coconut-producing countries are the Philippines, Indonesia, and India.
- The coconut palm tree can grow up to 98 feet tall!
- Coconut milk is sweet and water-like but eventually dries out as the coconut ripens.
- The coconut palm is sometimes referred to as the "Tree of Life" because it's useful from top to bottom. Except for the roots, every part of the coconut tree is harvested in the tropical areas where coconut palms are common.
- If buying a coconut whole, choose one that feels heavy for its size. Young coconuts will be full of coconut water and covered in a green, smooth shell with tender flesh. While older, mature coconuts have a more brown and fibrous outer shell with firmer and drier meat inside.
- Coconuts are not easy to open! You have to forcefully crack them open to get to the edible goodness inside.
- Coconut meat can be dried and shredded and used in salads, baked recipes, sprinkled over fruit, and enjoyed as a snack. It can also be eaten fresh and added to smoothies.
- Coconut water is hydrating and can be enjoyed straight or poured over ice with other juices for a refreshing treat.
Nutrition
- Electrolytes! Fresh coconut water is a source of electrolytes like potassium, sodium, and manganese. What do electrolytes do? They replenish the body by helping our muscles to move, our hearts to beat, and our brain cells to communicate with each other.
- Coconuts are rich in a type of fat called lauric acid, which is known for being antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal. These properties help prevent us from getting sick by protecting our immune system.
- Coconut is very nutritious and has lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a "highly functional food" because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content.
- Pacific Islanders especially value coconut oil for its health and cosmetic benefits.
THYME for a Laugh
What do you call a fruit that goes into space?
A coco-naut!
The Yolk's On You
What is hairy, brown and wears sunglasses?
A coconut on vacation!
THYME for a Laugh
How do you tie up a cloud?
With a rainbow!
THYME for a Laugh
A pilot-in-training passed through a rainbow on their flight test.
They passed with flying colors!
