chocolate mice with licorice tails

chocolate mice with licorice tails
adapted from rock recipes

breeds 16 – 20 mice

1/2 c. smooth peanut butter

1 c. icing or powdered sugar

2 tbsp. + 2 tsp. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. crispy rice cereal (optional), crushed a bit*

about 40 sunflower seeds or sliced almond pieces for the ears

heaping 1 c. milk chocolate pieces

1 – 2 tbsp. white chocolate pieces

licorice, cut into tails**

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 

Mix the peanut butter, icing sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter and vanilla extract together. If it feels too dry and crumbly, add the other 2 tsp. of melted butter. However, you do want a somewhat crumbly "dough" to shape – but you need to be able to work with it. Stir in the crispy rice cereal. Shape the mice so that they have a somewhat pointy nose and rounded bum. Set them on the prepared pan. Poke "ears" in with sunflower seeds or sliced almonds. Chill in the fridge for about 2 hours. 

In the top of a double-boiler or a bowl suspended over boiling water, melt the milk chocolate. Scrape it into a small deep bowl that's just big enough to roll a mouse around. (If your bowl is too wide and shallow, it will be tough to coat the mice and you'll need more chocolate.) Place the licorice tails on the prepared pan where each mouse will go. Using two small spoons as tongs, dip each mouse in the chocolate and place each on a tail.

Chill for 1 hour until the chocolate has set. Melt the white chocolate and use a toothpick to dab on the eyes. Let set in the fridge. Eat!

*To crush, you can put them in a plastic bag and scrunch them 

**Licorice has wheat flour, so these are not gluten free if they have tails. But you can always genetically alter them to be tail-less and gluten-free.