Special to the American Press

Creating beautiful and colorful eggs is a rewarding and fun Easter activity for families to do together. With a box or two of McCormick food coloring and egg dye, now availble in neon colors, youngsters can be introduced to a timeless favorite holiday activity while creating their own lifetime memories.

Classic Dyed
Easter Eggs

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

1 dozen large eggs

Vinegar

McCormick Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye

McCormick Neon Food Colors & Egg Dye

Directions: Gently place eggs in single layer in large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Cover. Bring just to boil on high heat. Remove from heat. Let stand 12 minutes. (Adjust time up or down by 3 minutes for each size larger or smaller).

Pour off hot water and rapidly cool eggs by running them under cold water (or place in ice water) until completely cooled.

Mix 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar and 10 to 20 drops food color in a cup to achieve desired colors. Repeat for each color. Dip hard-cooked eggs in dye for about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon, wire egg holder or tongs to add and remove eggs from dye. Allow eggs to dry.

Two-toned Easter Eggs

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

1 dozen large eggs

Vinegar

McCormick Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye

McCormick Neon Food Colors & Egg Dye

Directions: Gently place eggs in single layer in large saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch. Cover. Bring just to boil on high heat. Remove from heat. Let stand 12 minutes. (Adjust time up or down by 3 minutes for each size larger or smaller)

Pour off hot water and rapidly cool eggs by running them under cold water (or place in ice water) until completely cooled.

Mix 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar and 10 to 20 drops food color in a shallow bowl to achieve desired colors. (Use shallow bowls so that the depth of the dye only reaches halfway on the egg.) Repeat for each color. Holding egg lengthwise, dip the egg into the dye for 5 minutes. You need to hold the egg up so that only the bottom half remains in the dye. Remove egg from dye and dry on paper towels. Dip undyed half of egg in second color, repeating the process so that only the undyed half is in the dye. As a variation, you can also leave a band of undyed white around the middle of the egg.

Tips and tricks

• Line work surface with layers of newspaper before dyeing eggs — this includes tabletops and counters where eggs and coloring may be used.

• Gather all equipment including small bowls or cups for each food color, spoons for each bowl and paper towels for spills. Bowls should be deep enough to completely submerge the egg.

• For easy clean-up, use soap and water to remove food color from hands and most kitchen countertops. Repeat if necessary until all color is removed. If needed, use all-purpose cleaner with bleach for countertops.

• Make an egg drying stand by cutting a paper towel tube into sections.

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Source:/www.mccormick.com

Glittery eggs

Want to add a little sparkle to your eggs? Try this variation from CraftaholicsAnonymous.net.

Directions: Dye your eggs as you would for Classic Dyed Easter Eggs.

Let them dry completely. Then, mix together Elmer’s glue and whatever color glitter you wish  to use, and paint the eggs with the mixture. Since the glue will dry clear, all that will show up is the glitter.