These sweet Christmas trees would be such a cute addition to a dessert buffet! You could make a whole forest of them.
I made an Cocktail Appetizer tree with cream cheese grapes but then I started thinking of all the things you could use the cone forms for. I put this in the Tips 'N Tricks because it is basically DIY rather than cooking!
You can use whatever candies appeal to you. I visited the bulk store and looked for anything I thought would make an eye-catching treat tree.
I got several different sizes of styrofoam cones from the craft store. Wrap them in green cellophane and use scotch tape to secure them.
You will need a package of strong bamboo toothpicks, a roll of scotch tape and a strong sharp needle to start the holes.
I chose gumdrops for the largest tree because you need a lot. I needed about 120 medium size gum drops to cover the 12" cone. Update: For the gum drop tree assemble it only a day or two before it will be consumed. The longer it sits the gum drops close in around the toothpicks and it becomes difficult to get the gum drop off the pick. It is not impossible but definitely would not be suitable for a child.
Start at the top and prick a hole through the cellophane into the styrofoam. Stab a gum drop with a toothpick and press into the cone. At the top where the cone is very narrow you may need to snap the toothpick in two. I also used the flat side of a wide knife to push the gumdrop/toothpick into the styrofoam. Continue down the column starting the hole with the needle and pressing the gumdrop on the toothpick into the cone. I alternated colors in columns but you could also mix them up. Continue until you have covered the cone. As the cone gets wider at the bottom you will need to fill the cone in with some half columns of gumdrops.
I also found some shiny blue wrapped candies that I though would look cute at the skirt of the tree. I used Hershey's Cookies 'n Cream drops for the smaller candies toward the top of the tree. I put these on 3" cones. These would be cute to create a candy forest or even as place setting decorations. (The picture sort of flattened them out...they look better in real life!)
For the wrapped candies I used a round of tape to attached them to the cellophane.
I was also working on a medium 6" size tree of Ferrero Roche. I had only bought a container of 16 candies and I ran out. I will have to complete after my next trip to the store! Just use your imagination!
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