Homemade suet feeders

Come on in. I just love this time of year...I baked several dozen cookies today and the house smells divine. I made some gingerbread coffee to go with the cookies and of course there is hot chocolate.

 

I have finished up the suet bird feeders and already given a few away. So let me show you.

 

Here is one ready to go.

 

Here are the minis, from the Bundt pan. These are the cutest and would make a great kid gift.

 So let me explain what I did. I bought the suet in the grocery store. and slowly rendered it down. I found about 1 lb. of suet made a cup and half of liquid. I put cheesecloth over the top of the measuring cup to strain out the bits of stuff.

 Then I used about four cups of bird seed mixed with one cup of un salted peanuts and one cup of dried cranberries. Then I poured in the cooled liquid suet.

 Then I firmly patted the mix into my Bundt pan. I did put some fresh cranberries in the mold first to make it look pretty. Then you put them in the refrigerator or freezer overnight to harden well. I used my porch because it was cold enough and had more space. Now these are great for the cold weather, You don't put them out on a warm day because they will melt. The fat is good for those New England winter birds.

 

I got one as a gift last year and it was so pretty and the birds just loved it. It did not last but a couple days.

 

So to sum it all up you will need.

 

Bundt pans

cheesecloth

measuring cup

stockpot

ribbon

4 C birdseed

1 C unsalted peanuts

1C dried cranberries

some fresh cranberries

1 lb. suet

 

Have a blast, but don't forget the fat can be messy, so have some paper towels handy.