DIY Kids Project: Sweet N' Sour Candy Tart Valentine Pixie Stick Treat

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I thought I would post a quick idea for a fun Valentines Treat. Last year we made homemade Pixie Sweet N' Sour Sticks with natural fruit. This was so much fun for the kiddos. It was a pretty healthy treat compared to alot of the valentines recipes out there too. Dried fruit from Trader Joe's add some sugar if you like and some citric acid and VOILA! Fun, easy and super tasty! Enjoy!

Ingredients for the yumminess:
1 C Sugar
1 t. citric acid (I used more as we liked our zippy - so taste test with the kids - this is a super fun photo op for funny face photos)
1/2 C. freeze-dried fruits of your choice (we used a mix of raspberry, strawberry and blueberry)

Tools you may want on hand:

• spice grinder, coffee grinder or small food processor
• straws
• sheet of paper
• needle nose pliers
• fun cut out printed paper designs, one per straw or have you kiddos design their own creations by hand ( I designed mine but purchased the digital owl on etsy - used a scallop paper punch to get the nifty shape) 
• hot glue gun

This was such an easy-peasy treat. Once we had everything all printed up and cut out it was time to make our sweet tart recipe. We ground the dried fruit in our burr coffee grinder. After all what does a little caffeine hurt, with all this sugar right? 

Then you simply mix up the sugar, citric acid and ground fruit in a bowl. We used a clean, blank sheet of paper to make homemade funnels. Then you simply double fold (two folds) tightly one end of your paper straws  - add a tiny dot of hot glue if you would like to hold it in place. Place funnel in end of straw (over bowl in case of spillage) and kiddos begin pouring. You may want to use a 1/4 Cup measuring cup as a vessel to transport from bowl to funnel for the wee little kiddos attempting this. Fill straw with about a 1" - 1.5" space left at top of straw. Fold top of straw 2 times. We pinched the ends of our straws with a flat needle nose pliers to make sure they were tight folds. 

Once you have all of your straws filled and folded it is time to hot glue on the Paper Decor you created. You can tie on ribbons, add glitter, rhinestones, raffia. The options are endless. Just let the kids have fun with this one. 

Hope you enjoy!

-Simply Sublime