When I traveled to Europe years ago one of my favorite things I saw was stacked cones in lovely pots in the many (and I mean many because we would hunt them down!) gelato shops we visited. This image has stuck in my mind and has made me want to have a pot just like that in my kitchen! Having a cone ready at all times to put a scoop of delicious ice-cream in sounds quite delightful to me! As spring begins and summer is on the verge, there is something extra special about a cold refreshing scoop of ice-cream. I am a big dessert fan and think every dinner should be finished with something sweet. And ice-cream is always my preferred choice. I invested in a cone maker years back so my next step in this cone stacking dream is to get the right pot to stack them in! Do you have a childhood memory or an experience, like my stacked cones, that makes food a dream and something special?

I have always wanted to explore the garden in Willie Wonka. Thinking about flower teacups (daffodils) that you can eat and chocolate rivers and edible dirt makes the childhood me come out. What would you say if I told you there is a flower pot, filled with worms and dirt that you CAN eat!!! Not just filling a cone with flowers, but "soil" in a real pot you can eat! One of my favorite spring time treats that my mom would make were edible ice-cream flower pots. She would even make the flower out of gumdrops and flower shaped fudge striped cookies so they could be eaten. I love the idea of using fresh flowers though to really make it look real!

These fresh flower ice-cream desserts are bound to be special and a great tradition to welcome spring and new garden's growing. They are easy to make and so versatile! With so many gluten free ingredient options (if you or a friend need that option), ice-cream flavor options and style options to make it fit any taste bud! I am a big fan of mint chocolate chip ice-cream with oreo cookies but any flavor or dark cookie could be used. I think adding a note or name tag to the flowers stem would add even more personality and individuality to this special treat. I really couldn't combine two things I love more: ice-cream and flowers. This treat can make special memories and will be a fun recipe to make with kiddos! Welcome spring with these delicious ice-cream pots and live a dream of eating the garden flowers!

Ice-Cream Flower Pots

Ingredients:

• 1 whole Pound Cake

• 1 gallon Ice Cream

• 1 package Oreo Cookies

• 1 package Gummy Worms

• Other Things You'll Need:

• Small Clay Flower Pots, Lead-free

• Straws

• Fresh Cut Flowers or you can make an edible one with gumdrops and a flower shaped cookie stuck on a skewer

Preparation Instructions:

1. Slice the pound cake (frozen is fine) into 1 to 1 ½ inch slices. Next, with a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter that fits the bottom of the flower pot cut the slices into rounds. (freeze the "scraps" and use them at a later date, yummy for a trifle!).

**If you desire, line the flower pots with aluminum foil, stopping about 1/2 inch from the rim.

2. Into each of your (washed and dried) flowerpots, drop a round of pound cake, lightly pressing to make sure they are all the way down. Hold a straw up against the side of a flowerpot and snip it so it's about ½ to 1 inch shorter than the top. Then, just use that as a guide to cut the rest of the straws. Stick each straw into the center of each pot, anchoring it into the cake.

3. Now, grab whatever flavor ice cream you'd like to use, and either set it out on the counter to soften it OR nuke it for 20 seconds or so. It needs to be somewhat soft for this step. Just spoon it into the pots, working it around the straw, until it almost reaches the very tip top of the straw. Clean up the top edges of the pot with a damp paper towel. (Note: If you are adding garden worms, just fill the pot half-way up, put in some gummy worms and put more ice cream on top). Now return the pots to the freezer until firm.

4. In a food processor pulse the Oreo cookies until they resemble nice, rich topsoil. (You can also crush them in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin). When they are nice and firm, take the pots out of the freezer and spoon the dirt (crushed Oreos) over the top. Be generous here! Place a fresh flower into the straw and then cover the straw with a bit more dirt.

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Note: If you want to EAT real flowers here is a chart of edible flowers. Most people will add sugar to them or coat them with something sweet, but you could just eat them to. Enjoy!