Popcorn Ice Cream Cones

Ava's recent birthday party at Fenton's Creamery was a first for me. It was the first time that we hosted a party at a fully catered venue. All of the food, entertainment and decorations came part and parcel with the booking. Apart from the invites, cake and party favors there was nothing else I needed to do. I kind of felt a little lost. Usually I'd spend hours scouring through Pinterest for ideas for party food, party games, party hats, photo booth backdrops... This time there was none of that.

There may not have been much for me to prepare for Ava's party but there certainly was for Lola's ice cream themed birthday back in October. In fact, I made so many ice cream themed goodies that I never got around to sharing them all with you! So before Ava's ice cream party becomes a distant memory like Lola's, let's have a look at some of the ice cream treats I made back in October. Same theme, different party.

First up I'm sharing this super easy recipe for Popcorn Ice Cream Cones. Think Rice Krispie Treats made with popcorn instead of Rice Krispies shoved into an ice cream cone and covered with sprinkles. Actually, that's pretty much it! So easy they almost don't need a recipe, but I'll give you one anyway.

What You'll Need
2 (2.75oz) bags microwave popcorn
1 (10oz) bag marshmallows
1/4 cup butter
12 ice cream cones
Sprinkles

Pop the popcorn in the microwave. Remove any unpopped kernels and set aside in a large bowl.

Place the sprinkles into a small bowl with an opening wide enough to dip the finished popcorn cones into. Have the sprinkles and cones ready on your work surface as you'll need to work fairly fast when you get to that step.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted.

Remove the marshmallow mix from the heat and pour over the popcorn.

Stir the marshmallow mix through the popcorn until combined.

Now for the fun part; AKA the messy part!

Spray your hands with a little cooking spray. This will prevent them from sticking to the popcorn mix. With your hands, form balls of popcorn big enough to fit on top of the ice cream cones. Shape the bottom of the ball into a cone shape and fit it on top of an ice cream cone. Push the ball down a little to secure it to the cone. You'll need to do this gently to avoid breaking the cone. You might need to play around with the shape a little to get it looking just right for your cones. You'll want to work fairly quickly to shape and assemble the popcorn balls and cones before the marshmallow cools and sets. I don't have any photos of this particular step because my hands were kind of oily and sticky!

Dip each popcorn cone into the sprinkles.

Set popcorn cones aside to cool and you're done.

These popcorn cones can be stored in an airtight container for two days - although if your kids are like mine they won't last that long!

I made these delicious popcorn ice cream cones for both Lola's birthday party and for her to share with her preschool class on her actual birthday. They were hugely popular both times. They really do look like ice cream and they're so simple to make. Plus the cone makes them really easy for kids to hold while eating.

Here are a few variations/additions that would work well with this recipe:

• Half fill the cones with candy before adding the popcorn ball on top for an extra surprise.
• Drizzle a little melted chocolate over the finished popcorn cone and top with a cherry instead of decorating with sprinkles. You'll want to place the finished popcorn cones in the fridge to set the chocolate.
• Mix sprinkles or chocolate chips through the popcorn and marshmallow mix.
• If you'd like to make your own marshmallows instead of store bought ones you can find my marshmallow recipe here.

Enjoy!