Sugar Cone Trees

Greg and I have never made a gingerbread house in our eight years of being together. I don't think we would have enough patience to complete it.  While wandering around Kroger looking at all the holiday items on the end caps, I thought of an idea.  I could use sugar cones and make a tree village. This way, we could decorate until the cones ran out or until we got bored.

Here's what you need:

• Sugar cones
• Frosting
• Green food coloring
• Assortment of candy/sprinkles

I laid out the candy on the table and placed 6 drops of green food coloring into the frosting tub. You could alter the amount if you want your frosting lighter or darker.  I got out some shallow dishes to use as a work space for both Greg and I.  This prevented (most) sprinkles from bouncing around the floor.

You are now ready to frost and decorate. I preferred the up and down technique, while Greg liked using the swirl method. To each their own. Another tip is to get creative with your candy. Use a sharp knife to cut candy into smaller, workable pieces.

We had an audience the entire time, waiting for a sprinkle to hit the ground

It turned into a little competition on who could make the most creative tree. If this counts as a 'tree', I would say Greg wins :)

Other favorites and our completed forest:

My favorite of Greg's

My favorite I did. I stacked an extra cone under it to act as the stump

All in all, this fun activity took less than an hour. I think Greg spent more time getting frosting all over his fingers and licking them. He blames it on his big hands and small frosting jar. I blame it on getting distracted.

xo, Erin