Decorated Daisies Dazzle

For my two daughters, 11-year old McKenna and eight-year old Ella (8), making treats in the kitchen is a favorite activity. If the recipe is “crafty,” they are even more thrilled. When Grandma Dona joins in on the fun, it’s the ultimate experience.

My mom, Dona, was baking cakes and brownies with minimal supervision as soon as she turned 5 years old. Her love of cooking paved the way for a career in the Land O Lakes Test Kitchens as a home economist. She is retired now and has lots of time for baking projects with her grandchildren.

Grandma Dona is always on the search for hands on recipes to make with the kids. She saw Rachel’s Daisies and thought they would make a charming table centerpiece for our family gathering. “Rachel’s Daisies” consist of mini-candy bars wrapped in cookie dough and baked on a craft stick. Once baked, the cookie pops are decorated to look like daisies.

To make Rachel’s Daisies, check your craft supply stash. You will need wooden craft sticks and narrow green ribbon. The food ingredients are miniature 1-inch square (not fun-size) individually wrapped chocolate-covered caramel and nougat candy bars, margarine, brown sugar, flour, a can of vanilla frosting, food coloring and large marshmallows.

To start, heat the oven to 325°F. Poke a wooden craft stick into 1 side of each candy bar. We found that it worked best to stand the candy bar on one end and push the stick into the opposite end. This was one of Ella’s favorite tasks. Flatten the candy slightly and set it aside.

Combine the margarine and brown sugar in a bowl. Beat the mixture at medium speed until it is creamy. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour. Beat until the dough is well mixed.

Shape tablespoonfuls of dough around the candy bars. It worked well for the girls to use their hands. The cookie pops should be about 2 inches in diameter prior to baking.

Place the cookie pops 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. We placed 5 pops per sheet and turned the sticks in opposite directions. Flatten the cookie pops slightly with your hand.

Bake the cookie pops for 18 to 20 minutes. They are ready when the edges are lightly browned and the cookies are set. Many of our cookies opened up and the chocolate oozed out. This is not a problem because the cookies get covered with frosting and marshmallows.

Allow the cookie pops to cool. I questioned how sturdy the heavy cookies would be on the sticks. It was not a problem - they were very secure.

Now comes the creative part, decorating the cookie pops. You really only need two colors of frosting but my daughters are decorating over-achievers and wanted 4 colors. Yellow is great for the center. We used 2 tablespoons of frosting and 1 drop of yellow food coloring. We divided ½ cup frosting between 3 bowls and added 1 drop of either blue, green or red food coloring. Once mixed, they turned into pretty pastel shades.

Let the frosting begin! The girls were in their glory decorating.

Cousin Claire who is 6 years old joined in, too.

Cut the marshmallows into 4 slices with a kitchen shears. The cut slices become fabulous petals! This task was easier for Grandma.

Five marshmallow petals are needed for each cookie. Sprinkles are not listed as an ingredient, but we tried them anyway. They stuck very well to the marshmallow petals and added a colorful touch.

Next, place ¼ teaspoon of yellow frosting in the center of each cookie. A spoon will work, but we snipped a corner of a small plastic bag and filled it with frosting. This worked well for the girls.

Flowers would not be complete without leaves. Tie a green ribbon around each stick to form the leaves

The cookie pops can now be placed into a pot or sturdy cup filled with styrofoam or floral foam. We had no issues with any decorations falling off.

Grandma Dona posed with her granddaughters. Baby Annika can’t wait to join in on the cooking fun. The two grandsons had nothing to do with this project. They were busy watching monster truck videos with Grandpa!

Rachel’s Daisies make a beautiful centerpiece. They are perfect for any special summer occasion and are fun for girls of all ages, especially when Grandma is present!

Come back in a few days when Alex will share a delicious burger recipe.

Tami is paid to write for the Recipe Buzz® Blog.