How to make a Mini Cornucopia

I used to love cornucopias when I was a kid.  I can’t really say why?  Maybe it’s that they were associated with a special holiday?  Or maybe it’s just that they were pretty and different?  But for some reason the idea of food overflowing from a basket was always really appealing.  So when I came across a photo on Facebook of someone who made their own mini cornucopias from ice cream cones I knew I wanted to try it!

Hmmmm… Mini cornucopias, Mini pumpkin pies, Mini bundt cake pumpkins… I definitely seem to be running with the “mini” theme this fall!  And what’s not to love? Everything looks better when it’s miniature.  It hides the flaws, it makes it more manageable, and it’s just plain cute.

I used waffle cones to make these, but I’ll be honest, that was a little bit of a mistake at the grocery store – I meant to buy sugar cones instead.  Apparently in November, ice cream cones are not a top priority for grocery stores, so my store only had one type.  I grabbed a box thinking they were sugar cones.  In all honesty, sugar cones would probably work better, but if you have patience, you can definitely make the waffle cones work too.  If nothing else, the waffle cones have a rustic handmade quality to them that I really like.

Here we go with the directions (for a three sentence recap, you can skip to the end of the post).  Fill a mug with water, and dip the tip of the waffle or sugar cone in the water.

Think about how much you plan to roll it up, and that is how much you need to get wet.  I dipped about 1.5″ of the tip of my cone in the water.  Keep it submersed in the water for 20 seconds.

Pull it out and immediately place it in the microwave for 20 seconds.  Yes, that is the microwave in the photo below.  And no, it isn’t normally that clean.

Pull it out of the microwave and immediately wrap the tip around a cylindrical object and hold it for 20 seconds.  The one I saw on Facebook used a pencil, but I used the end of a cooking spoon for mine.  Warning, it is hot.  My fingers were burning a bit when I took this photo:

This is why I think a sugar cone might be more appropriate.  With the waffle cone we had: Giant cone opening and itty bitty little curled up tail:

It looked slightly out of proportion to me, and my husband even laughed at it and told me I couldn’t post it.  Ha!  Thanks honey!  But after I filled it with candy I decided I liked it and that it was totally blog worthy.

How cute would these look on a Thanksgiving table?  My kids would go crazy for them!  Leah’s eyes got so wide when she saw one sitting on the kitchen table with candy pouring out.  “Hang on sweetie, you can’t eat my blog post just yet!” said the mommy blogger.

I can’t actually say that I own a cornucopia, or that I even know where to buy one?  (Ah, good old Amazon, you never let me down. Here’s a cornucopia you can buy.)  So for someone clueless like me, these mini cornucopias are a great alternative.  Not to mention that cornucopias are perhaps a little… well, out of style.  Not that I’d ever let that stop me in my table decorating!

Once you fill it with candy, if you don’t want candy sprawling all over the table, you can cut out a small circle of cellophane, and tie a pretty ribbon around it.  These make great treats, and also help keep little hands from scooping up all that loose candy.

So let’s recap.  Dip the tip of the cone in water for 20 seconds.  Microwave for 20 seconds.  Roll it around the end of a round cooking spoon or a pencil and hold it for at least 20 seconds.  Try not to burn yourself.

Yes, I know that Thanksgiving in Canada was over a month ago, but these mini cornucopias were too cute to wait until next year!  Besides, American Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so at least the idea can be used by our friendly neighbours.