Hopefully Punxsutawney Phil will tell us that Spring is on the way! How about a little Groundhog Cocoa to celebrate?
For those non-US residents, Groundhog Day is February 2nd. It's a strange little holiday where we all watch a groundhog in Pennsylvania come out of his hole early in the morning. If he sees his shadow and runs back inside, it means 6 more weeks of Winter. If he doesn't see his shadow and comes out, it means Spring is on the way. Strange, I know. Those crazy Americans. On that note, let's eat some rodents!Groundhog Day Hot Cocoa
Ingredients:
--Hot Cocoa (any kind)
--Chocolate covered cookies (grasshopper cookies or Lisa said try Girl Scout Thin Mints)
--Edible Eyeballs
--Chocolate Chips (for ears)
--Large heart sprinkle (or mini M&M or any other candy, for nose)
--Whipped Cream
--Green sugar
--Candy Melts or coating compound (such as Candi-Quik, found in the baking aisle)
--Wax Paper
Directions:
Melt about 4 oz. candi-quik in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval. DO NOT USE chocolate chips, they will not set up hard enough to hold your groundhog to the cup. You can buy candy melts at Wal-Mart in the craft section or Candi-Quik at your local grocery store in the baking aisle.
Lay out your cookies on wax paper. Dip a toothpick or pointed knife into the melted chocolate and make three dots on your cookie--two for the eyes and one for the nose. Attach eyes and nose. I made the eyes looking downward so they could be watching his "shadow". Dip two chocolate chips into melted chocolate and attach to sides of cookie for ears (see below).
Let your rodents dry until set, about 15 minutes. I made these the night before and just left them out so they'd be ready for morning!
Using a spoon, smear some melted chocolate on the side of a mug.
Press groundhog into chocolate and let set until dry, about 15 minutes. If you want to speed things up, make these on a cookie sheet and pop them in the fridge for a few minutes.
While your groundhog is drying, smear a shadow shape of melted chocolate onto a saucer with a spoon. 
Your groundhog is ready! Does he look worried to you?
Actually, they all look worried....look the other way, groundhogs! We want Spring to come!
Fill with cocoa...
And add whipped cream and green sprinkles....Enjoy!
