Edible Eagles

"E is for Eagles

Here where clear waters reflect the clean air, 

look to the deep sky,

up where big birds fly.

See! Against white clouds...a bald eagle pair!"

~ G is for Granite: A New Hampshire Alphabet

As an extra project to go along with our Geography Study of New Hampshire this past week, my boys made Edible Eagles!

Since the Eagle also symbolizes some of the saints, I thought this would be a fun addition to our collection of ideas and recipes here at Catholic Cuisine.  These Edible Eagles would be a great little treat to make for the feast of St. John in December, a fun snack for the first Blue Knights meeting for Year Two (featuring St. John), or even for the upcoming feast of All Saints!  

"The Eagle when accompanying St. John the Evangelist is an emblem of the spiritual character of his Gospel, but when the King of Birds accompanies St. Prisca it refers to the legend that an eagle held watch over her body until it was buried after her martyrdom.  When a figure bearing an eagle's head, or a four-winged eagle, or a male saint with an eagle is depicted, it always represents St. John, ot in the character of a simple Apostle, but as the Evangelist." ~   How to Distinguish the Saints in Art by Their Costumes, Symbols and Attributes

Acording to Saints.SQPN.com, the Eagle also symbolizes the following:

• Our Lord, who could gaze undazzled upon the glory of God, the Father, as an eagle at the sun
• Baptism by early Christians
• Saint Augustine of Hippo as a symbol of inspiration
• Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, who was fed by an eagle
• Saint Florian of Lorch, whose corpse was protected from abuse by an eagle
• Saint John of the Cross as a symbol of inspiration
• Saint John the Evangelist as a symbol of inspiration and the Holy Ghost
• Saint Juan Diego, whose birth name means “the eagle who speaks”
• Saint Medard of Noyon, who was sheltered from the weather by a hovering eagle
• Saint Ruggero of Canne, who was sheltered in his travels by an eagle
• Saint Servatus, who was sheltered from the sun by an eagle while he travelled as a pilgrim
• Saint Wenceslaus, due to his association with Bohemia

Edible Eagles

(from Family Fun Magazine)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips (we used candy melts)
• 6 large marshmallows
• Finely shredded coconut
• Chocolate sandwich cookie
• 6 Cashews (we used peanuts) 
• Black decorators' gel

Instructions:

Melt 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips (or candy melts) according to the package directions. 

For each bird, drop a large marshmallow into the melted chocolate, using a spatula to coat it well. 

Remove the marshmallow from the chocolate and roll it in finely shredded coconut, leaving one end uncovered. 

Immediately set the marshmallow, coconut free end down, atop a chocolate sandwich cookie. 

Let the chocolate set a bit, then use a toothpick to make a hole in the side of the marshmallow and insert a cashew for a beak. (We attached our peanuts with a bit more white chocolate.) 

Finally, add black decorators' gel eyes. 

You can find a few other great ideas in the archives including the Eagle Marshmallow Pops & Eagle Head Quesadillas and the Eagle Cake.