Monday, April 30, 2012

Carrots, candies & cookie construction

Well, my treats for the garden club meeting the other night turned out just as cute as I hoped they would, and it occurred to me this general idea might be of interest to anyone planning a garden tea in the future. I found the idea on the Family Fun website here.

After unwrapping the Nabisco Bisco sugar wafers, I easily assembled them into "raised beds" using Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting. Easy as pie. (Or, cookie, I guess.)

The carrots are made from the orange Mike and Ike candies. I personally do not much care for any candy that doesn't have the good sense to contain chocolate, but thanks to a young niece and nephew, I at least know what Mike and Ike's are.

The large size box, I found, gives you just enough carrot-colored candies to make 36 carrots, enough for 12 "carrot patches." With some "leaves" made from green gummy candy and the frosting and crushed chocolate wafer cookies serving as "dirt," these were very easy to assemble, if a little time-consuming.

Now here's where I confess to some challenges. Look closely at this photo, and you'll see that the layers of the Bisco sugar wafer have separated. Turns out, the addition of the frosting eventually makes them go soft. In fact, my cookies were a hit looks-wise, but I tasted one two hours later at the meeting and the sugar wafers had definitely lost their crunch. (And yes, the cookies were quite fresh to begin with, because I tasted one of the plain sugar wafers when I got home just to satisfy my curiosity on that point.)

Still, I think this is too cute an idea not to use again, but I would recommend a) have another pair of hands available so you can assemble these very quickly and b) eat them within 30 minutes of construction!

20 comments:

  1. How adorable- and a GREAT tutorial - thanks for the tips about crunch.

    You are so funny.

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  2. Those are really cute! What great cookies for a garden club meeting!

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  3. I did these for the Easter meal I had for my family. Instead of candy I put in tiny raw carrots forgetting they should have had some green on top. They too were soggy, cute though. Don't think I'll make them again.
    Nancy

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  4. Cute idea. At my baking classes I've learned how versatile gummy candies are. I rolled a green one out and cut to make the top of a palm tree - the trunk a thin breadstick.
    Judith

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  5. Clever! and perfect for a garden party!

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  6. They are adorable and I especially was glad to read your tips at the end.

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  7. as a member of the garden club i must say they were a HUGE hit and every one of them were gone by nights end.
    yummy!! charlotte

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  8. Since I was at the garden meeting and tasted this treat...I must admit it was great!

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  9. I made these recently and they are so fun and cute and not to mention TASTY! Great job!!!

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  10. We had these at an Easter/Peter Rabbit tea in 2011 and my son still remembers them fondly. We quite liked the taste as well as the look.

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  11. What a cute idea! You could assemble the boxes with melted chocolate, which should harden and not make them soggy. Maybe fill them with cookie, cake, or brownie pieces? Hmmm, I think I may have to try these!

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  12. Hello Angela, how adorable - I love carrots, even candy carrots! Thank you for including the great photos, very helpful. Thanks so much,
    Joanie

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  13. I think the carrot idea could be cute just on the top of a cupcake. Thanks for the idea. Nancy R. told me I should look at this idea for a party I am planning this summer.

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  14. I have been looking for these wafers for years! Are they still making those same size and please tell me where did you get them? They used to sell them at a local store but they no longer do..Please help me find these. :)

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  15. Hi there! Just ran across an unmoderated comment, and I wanted you to know I found these cookies at Kroger, and you can order them in packs of 6 from Amazon. Good luck!

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