FAMILY FEATURES

’T is the season to pop up some holiday fun by creating a scenic winter wonderland that tastes as great as it looks.

Gather the kids and make a handson family holiday tradition out of crafting festive, edible decorations. Popcorn is the perfect choice to pop up and eat while trimming your popcorn tree and decking out your creations. at 30 calories a cup, whole-grain, freshly popped popcorn offers a nutritious alternative to traditional holiday party nibbles. Popcorn is naturally low in fat and calories, non-GmO, glutenfree, has no artificial additives or preservatives and is sugar-free.

these clever recipes can help you make edible decor or gifts to give to friends, family and co-workers. Find more creative holiday recipes at popcorn.org.

Festive Popcorn Trees yield: 10 trees

10 cups air-popped popcorn 1 bag (10 ounces) miniature marshmallows 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract nonstick cooking spray green decorating sugar blue decorating sugar 1 tube white frosting with decorating tip small, colorful candies (such as sprinkles and miniature silver dragees) Place popcorn in large bowl.

Place marshmallows and butter in medium saucepan over mediumlow heat. stir until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth. remove from heat. stir in vanilla extract. Pour mixture over popcorn in bowl. toss well to coat popcorn evenly. line baking sheet with foil. spray hands with nonstick cooking spray then scoop up about 1 cup popcorn mixture.

shape mixture into cone, keeping base flat to form tree.

sprinkle tree with decorating sugars; place tree on baking sheet. make nine additional trees. Pipe frosting on trees to make garland then decorate with sprinkles and silver dragees, as desired.

serving suggestion: Place each tree on sugar cookie and decorate serving tray with shredded coconut to resemble snow.

Notes: For best flavor and color, start recipe with unflavored white popcorn. you can make your own colored sugar by adding food coloring to sugar then stirring in bowl or shaking vigorously in sealed container. add additional food coloring for more intense tones.