Dragon Eggs

You heard me correctly. I said Dragon Eggs.  Allow me to elaborate.  When E was 3, he decided dyeing Easter eggs wasn't very interesting.  He wasn't an arts and crafts kid.  He liked mud and dinosaurs and trucks.  So after some googling I saw a picture of crackled Easter eggs.  In that post, you hardboiled the eggs, cracked them, dunked them in dyed water for a few hours and peeled them.  Do you know how long an active 3 year old boy's attention span is? It's approximately 4.35 seconds. (I'm just guessing but those who hang out with little kids will relate.)  There was absolutely no chance he was going to wait for hours for the eggs to dye.  Instant gratification was my best chance to keep his attention.  So I adapted the process. 

You'll need:

*hardboiled eggs

*food coloring (the little liquid vials work better than gel dyes

*white vinegar 

*sandwich sized plastic storage bags

*something to protect your work surface

1) Hardboil some eggs. Use your preferred recipe.  I always add 2 tsps baking soda to the water before boiling as it helps the shells peel off cleanly later.  Also, if you have farm fresh eggs, put them in the fridge for at least a week before dyeing them.  Fresh eggs don't peel well. 

Please cover your work surface before proceeding.  A flat garbage bag works perfectly. I don't want to be responsible for your countertop looking like a tie dyed t-shirt. 

2) Take each egg and crack the shell gently.  Tap it on the counter, rotating the egg as you go, until the whole shell is cracked.  If you find a big spot on the egg that won't crack, gently press on it with your thumb to crack it. The dye follows the cracks. Big uncracked area= big white patch on egg. 

3) Put your cracked eggs into zip top sandwich bags- 2 per bag is ideal.  Even when they're dyed together, they won't be identical.

4) Drop a couple drops of food coloring directly on the eggs. (This stuff stains. You've been warned.)  Add several different colors.  Have fun with it. If you have it, add a couple drops of vinegar to the bag.  It helps to set the colors and makes them more vivid.  If you don't have it, don't sweat it.  They'll still work.

5) Seal up the bag.

6) Gently rub the eggs until the dye is spread all over the shell. 

7) Repeat with the rest of the eggs. Leaving the eggs sealed in the dye bags, set them all aside for 10 minutes. 

8) Grab a bowl (or the pot you boiled your eggs in to save washing an extra dish) and put some cold water in it.  Carefully peel the shell off.  I always peel my eggs in water.  They tend to peel more cleanly. 

Admire your awesome work. 

PS- These make extremely fun deviled eggs. Try it. 

Happy Easter!!! And in the next couple weeks I'll be posting details of an awesome chicken coop and run we're building.  We just added 14 chicks to our family!