Many years ago, while taking my nieces on a little nature walk, I remember watching as my youngest niece picked up a pinecone and tried to eat it. I can only imagine how prickly the scales were on her tiny tongue! Here’s an idea for a pinecone snack that’s sure to make curious tastebuds happy.

Made with dry cereal and a peanut butter mixture, it’s part-healthy, part-sweet, and 100% fun. It’s a great edible craft for the kids to make this winter when the snow arrives and cabin fever sets in. No baking required—just mix and assemble.

And while they’re a clever snack for kids, these chocolate pinecones also look very chic and elegant at a winter wedding reception or other snow-themed event. Mother Nature never tasted so sweet.

• 3 cups Chex Chocolate cereal or comparable (I used Chocolate Fiber One cereal)
• 6 pretzel sticks (I used the thicker dipping sticks)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Step 1
Mix the peanut butter, Nutella, butter, and powdered sugar in a bowl.

Step 2
Take a pretzel stick and mold some of the peanut butter mixture around it, forming a slight cone shape.

Step 3
Holding it steady by using the tip of the pretzel as a handle, start inserting pieces of cereal into the peanut butter mixture in a symmetrical pattern around the stick. Add more cereal pieces, staggering them as you move upward, until you get near the top.

Step 4
Cut several cereal pieces into triangles and add those to the top (most pinecone scales get smaller toward the end.)

Step 5
If your pinecone is getting too tall (like mine were), cut off the top of the pretzel and add a dollop of peanut butter mixture to cover it. Insert a few more triangle pieces of cereal into the top of the pinecone.

Step 6
For a “snowy” effect, dust the pinecone with powdered sugar.

So now for the big question…. How do you eat a pinecone? Simple! Pluck it apart, piece-by-delicious-piece.