I have always been a huge fan of Mexican folk art created for Dia de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead. This holiday is a celebration of the ancestors, a day for families to gather and clean the grave sites of the departed and to feast. Elaborate altars or ofrendas are built for the deceased, including food and drink, and toys for deceased children. Elaborately decorated sugar skulls are bought from artisans that represent the deceased and the activities they participated in while alive.

A few months ago I received a sugar skull mold and everything I needed to make them from Zulka Sugar. I decided to make sugar skulls to decorate with my daughter. (she bugged me every week to make them!) Although she is only 7, she knows first hand about the loss of a loved one. I used the sugar skulls as a life lesson in honoring and remembering those who have passed away. The sugar skull with the large pink lips was made in the image of my late mother Vera Mae Lee. She couldn’t leave the house without her lipstick on, so I thought that was a fitting tribute!

My daughter invited her friend Jerome over to help decorate. They had a great time learning how to pipe the icing onto the skulls, though they kept insisting they should be able to eat them!

If you are interested in making your own, visit Mexicansugarskulls.com, where you can purchase sugar skull kits, Mexican folk art, and learn all about Dia de los Muertos.

To get the recipe and read more about Dia de los Muertos please click here to read my article on Zester Daily.

Happy Halloween and Dia de los Muertos!