Make an Edible Love Tree for Valentine's Day

This fun treat can be a gift for someone special, a centerpiece for a party, or just a neat pick me up for the office break room. It will take a little time to make, perhaps an hour, but it requires almost no skill and is therefore a really simple project that kids can make as well, if they are in need of Valentine related activities. If you can't find waffle cones with flat openings, don't worry, as a generous amount of icing should hold the cone to the board nicely and a flimsy piece of cardboard can be used to cover the
gap in the cone.

Materials
Waffle cones - the largest you can find
Royal icing*
Valentine candies in red, white and pink, in a variety of sizes and flavors
Cookie sheet or a sheet of clean, sturdy cardboard

You will start by mounting the waffle cone onto the board or baking sheet. To do this, first generously pipe royal icing around the mouth of the cone. If the cone is not flat at the top, cut some thin cardboard and glue it across the opening with royal icing before piping icing around the cone mouth. Once the top has a thick ring of icing, press it onto the board and hold in place until it stands on its own.

Open your candies and separate them into bowls. You will create rings of candies around and around the cone until you reach the top. Each ring should have candies that are all the same size, for best coverage. Alternate between large and small sizes for a nice design. Each piece of candy needs to be affixed to the cone with royal icing. This can be done in several ways, depending on your personal preference. You may pipe a ball of icing onto the back of each piece of candy, pipe dots onto the cone itself, or pipe a line around the cone for each line. It is not recommended that you pipe all the icing at once. Rather, go no more than one row at a time, so that the icing will not dry before you can add the candies.

*If you cannot locate royal icing in the baking section of your local grocery, you can make a simple icing with one tablespoon vegetable shortening and one cup of confectioner's sugar. Add more sugar if the mixture is too thin, add a few drops of warm water if it is too thick.