Edible pine cones

Edible pine cones are an ideal New Year’s Eve dessert and a treasure for chocoholics. Chocolate pine cones will decorate any festive table

Once upon a time …

… in a small mountainous German town there lived a poor family. Winter in Germany, you know, is not particularly warm, especially high in the mountains. And that year the weather was colder than ever … The family had neither food nor wood to keep the house warm. Therefore, Bertha (the mother of that family) went into the forest to collect pine cones (she wanted to use some of them to light the fire and warm the house, and she would sell the rest of them to buy some food).

While the woman was putting the collected pine cones in the basket, she heard someone’s voice: “Why are you stealing my pine cones?” The woman turned around and saw… an elf! A real little elf in a green hat with typical ears for those creatures and a smile all over his face. Bertha was not frightened or surprised (you know, wood elves are often mentioned in German legends, so the inhabitants of German forests, apparently, have long been accustomed to these fabulous creatures …).

No, the elf was not angry with the woman for taking his pine cones, he was just very curious, so he started asking why she needed so many pine cones. Bertha told him her sad story. Elves are very kind-hearted and generous creatures (it’s not surprising that they are the ones who help Santa Claus at the North Pole). Therefore, the elf decided to help the woman: “In this forest, you’ll find only ordinary, not quite beautiful in shape pine cones… in a word, there is nothing special about them… it’s better to go straight over there, when you see a tall Christmas tree leaning to the right, turn left and follow the well-trodden path to the holly bushes. Then turn to the right and you will see a big forest – the most beautiful pine cones in the world grow there!

Bertha listened to the elf and went to look for another forest. The road was long and difficult (the snow was knee-deep), so the woman put her basket under a tree and sat down on it to rest a little. And then suddenly pine cones started falling down from the tree on her, like an apple on Newton! And there were so many of these pine cones that Bertha filled the whole basket, and also put a few in her pocket.

The elf told the truth, the pine cones were of amazing beauty. Bertha went home full of joy. Already on the doorstep of her house, the woman noticed that ordinary pine cones had turned into real silver ones! Since then, her family no longer knew hunger or cold.

Edible pine cones are a perfect New Year’s Eve dessert

Nowadays pine cones are a symbol of good luck and abundance. Therefore, if you have a Christmas tree decoration in the form of a pine cone, hang it on your Christmas tree. If you don’t have such a decoration, it’s not a problem! You can hang an ordinary real pine cone on the tree … no, I have a better idea – take some shortbread cookies (vanilla or chocolate), cocoa, butter and chocolate cornflakes – I’ll tell you how to make one of the most beautiful edible decorations –  chocolate edible pine cones. It’s not just a chocolate no bake dessert, it’s the perfect New Year’s Eve dessert! Just a little time and you will have an incredible yummy!

I have long understood one rule – you need to cook quick meals (with effect, of course) for the New Year’s table. There is nothing worse than spending two days in the kitchen preparing elaborate salads, roasting ten types of meat or fish, preparing a ton of appetizers and desserts before the New Year celebration. A tired person is not a happy person. And the New year should be celebrated in a good mood!

Therefore, plan the New Year’s menu in advance and choose simple dishes.

I already have the idea for New Year’s Eve dessert for you – chocolate edible pine cones. You will definitely like this chocolate miracle, and your guests will be delighted. This recipe requires a minimum of effort and ingredients, you can even entrust its preparation to children.

This no bake dessert is prepared according to the method of chocolate salami, and any additives to your taste can be added to it: chopped nuts, chocolate drops (for even more chocolate taste), pistachios (their salty taste will be very appropriate here), dehydrated coconut, dried cranberries or candied orange zest.

And may these edible pine cones bring you good luck and abundance for the whole new year and a hundred more years to come.

Ingredients:

• Shortbread cookies (white or with cocoa powder)
• Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• Butter (you’ll have to melt it)
• Milk (if you wish, remove 1 tablespoon from the total amount of milk and replace it with 1 tablespoon of rum or cognac)
• Icing sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Vanilla
• Chocolate cornflakes

How to make chocolate pine cones

Grind the cookies with a blender to get crumbs.

Add cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, powdered sugar to the crushed cookies and mix. Add melted butter, milk and knead the “dough”. If it turns out to be too sticky, leave it in the fridge for one hour.

Divide the mass into 8 equal parts and form 8 pyramids or cones. Take chocolate cornflakes

Form pine cones starting from the bottom of the cone (inserting cornflakes into the base in a circle in different “levels” up to the top)

Leave the finished pine cones in the fridge overnight. Then sprinkle them with powdered sugar and enjoy. Happy New Year!

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