This  Valentine’s Day have some family fun and save money while you’re at it! The cost of all the fancy sprinkles at the grocery store these days can really add up, so take 10 minutes and make your own custom homemade sprinkles. While this recipe is quick and easy, be sure to let them harden completely before chopping up the next day. In this recipe, the powdered sugar is used to bind the ingredients and create the classic sprinkle texture we know and love: hard enough to decorate other baked goods with and they keep their shape, but still soft enough to melt in your mouth and not ruin the texture of their complementing dish. Your homemade sprinkles should last about 1 month in an airtight container. You can thank sugar for that as well! Beyond texture and flavor, sugar also helps remove moisture and keep food from spoiling, therefore increasing the shelf-life of the dish.

Ingredients

• 1 large egg white
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Gel food dye*

*Liquid food coloring can be used as well, but you will likely have to add a little extra powdered sugar

Directions

1. Mix the egg white, vanilla and salt in a medium sized bowl.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until it becomes a thick paste-like consistency. It should be thick enough that it will not drip out of a piping bag, but thin enough that it can be piped out without ripping the bag.
3. Separate white paste into smaller bowls based on how many colors you are making.
4. Add food coloring until desired color is achieved. If the paste has become too thin, add additional powered sugar 1 tbsp at a time.
5. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
6. Transfer colored paste into piping bags with a small writing tip. If using a ziplock sandwich bag, then put scotch tape over the corner where you will cut the opening to make the bag stronger (the thick paste will likely rip a normal bag) and cut a small circle approximately the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen.
7. Pipe long straight lines into the cookie sheet and dot or other shapes as desired.
8. Leave to dry at room temperature overnight or about 8 hours.
9. Once dry, cut the long lines into smaller pieces about ¼ inch long.
10. Decorate home baked creations and have fun!