Help feathered friends throughout winter with bird suet and birdseed treats. Here's how to make suet and use it for both bread cutout cookies and cake cone ornaments that birds can eat.
Hanging edible ornaments outdoors is a win-win in the winter months. These ornaments are fast and fun to make, and will provide a nutritious snack to the birds.
Suet and nuts last longest in the cold outdoors.For homemade suet cake: in a microwave safe bowl combine 2 cups suet, 2 cups birdseed, 1 cup cornmeal, and ½ cup peanut butter. Heat in a microwave for about 30 seconds to soften the fats. Stir to blend. See the next slides for how to make suet cakes into "cookies" for birds.
You will need:
Bread slices
Cookie cutters
Twine
Scissors
Suet
Safflower seeds
Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from bread slices.
Poke a small hole near the center of each bread cutout and thread a length of twine through it. Knot the twine ends to make a hanging loop.
Dip one side of the bread into melted suet, then press it into safflower seeds. Set the bread cutout on a baking sheet until the fat hardens.
Coat the other side of the bread cutout with melted suet. Sprinkle seeds onto it and press them into place.
You will need:
Suet cake mix
Cake ice cream cones
Ice cream scoop
Cranberries
Twine
Scissors
Make suet cake in a mixing bowl. Combine 2 cups suet, 2 cups birdseed, 1 cup cornmeal, and ½ cup peanut butter. Heat in a microwave for about 30 seconds to soften the fats. Stir to blend.
Scoop suet cake mix into cake cones. Top each still-soft suet cake with a cranberry.
Using twine, make a hanging loop for each cone.