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Dainty teacups that you can actually eat make a wonderful addition to children's birthday parties or afternoon teas. To use ice cream cones as the base for the teacups, cut them and attach the tops to shortbread cookies. Then use icing to fix pretzel handles in place. For teacups that mimic the actual shape of a teacup, roll gum paste to fit a real teacup and saucer. Then leave them to harden. You can even use melted chocolate to create perfectly rounded teacups that are great for your event.

[Edit]Ingredients

[Edit]Cone and Cookie Teacups

12 wafer ice cream cones
1 tube of ready-to-use icing
12 round shortbread cookies
6 round miniature chocolate-covered pretzels

Makes 12 teacups

[Edit]Gum Paste Teacup and Saucer

1 cup (226 g) of prepared gum paste
Powdered sugar for dusting
1 ounce (30 g) of white chocolate, melted, optional

Makes 1 teacup and saucer

[Edit]Chocolate Teacups

14 ounces (420 g) of white chocolate, tempered

Makes 4 teacups and saucers

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Making Teacups with Cones and Cookies

Cut the base from each wafer cone. Get out 12 wafer ice cream cones and use a serrated knife to carefully cut just below the line where the base of the cone meets the rounded cup part of the cone. Do this for each cone and discard the longer base pieces.^[1]
- You should be left with 12 rounded cups that have holes in the bottom.
- Use a gentle sawing motion as you cut so you don't break the cones.
Squeeze icing along the base of each cup and press it onto a cookie. Take a tube of ready-to-use icing in any color and squirt it along the base of the wafer cone cup that you just cut. Then push it onto 1 round shortbread cookie to form the base of the teacup. Repeat this for each of the wafer cone cups.^[2]
- If you don't want to work with ready-to-use icing in a tube, make your own and pipe it onto the cones.
- You can also dip the cones into chocolate, but be careful, as this method is imprecise.
Cut 6 chocolate-covered pretzels in half and attach them to the teacups. Use the serrated knife to cut each of the mini chocolate-covered pretzels in half. Squirt a dab of icing onto each end of a pretzel half and then push it onto the side of a teacup so it forms a handle. Hold it in place for a minute and then continue with the remaining pretzels and teacups.^[3]
- Use plain, round pretzels if you don't want the chocolate-covered kind.
Chill the teacups for 2 hours before using them. Put the assembled teacups into an airtight container and refrigerate them until the icing is completely hard. This will ensure that the teacups won't break apart if you choose to fill them.
- Once the icing has set, you can store the teacups at room temperature until you're ready to serve them.

[Edit]Crafting a Teacup and Saucer with Gum Paste

Roll the gum paste into an circle. Put 1 cup (226 g) of prepared gum paste onto a rolling mat and use a fondant rolling pin to roll it into a thin circle. The circle needs to be slightly larger than your saucer.^[4]
- If you don't have a fondant rolling pin, use a standard rolling pin and dust it with powdered sugar to prevent the gum paste from sticking to it.
Press the gum paste onto a saucer and cut around the edge. Dust a little powdered sugar onto the saucer and then tap it out. Gently lay the rolled gum paste onto the saucer and press down firmly so the paste molds to the saucer. Then use a knife or blade tool to cut the excess gum paste from around the edge of the saucer. Set the excess aside and smooth the edges of the gum paste saucer.^[5]
- If you want to include details on the edges of your saucer, press in the edges to create a slight scallop.
Roll gum paste to make a thin handle. Take some of the remaining gum paste and roll it into a log that's as thin as you like. Bend the log into a question mark shape that will form the handle for your teacup. Set the handle aside along with the saucer to set while you work on the teacup's base.^[6]
- Your handle can be as simplistic or intricate as you like.
Form a circular base for the teacup. Cut another small rope that you can wrap into a circle. Squirt a few drops of edible glue onto 1 end of the rope and attach the other end so you have a ring. Then roll out more gum paste as thinly as you made the saucer and cut it into a circle that's the same size as the base of the teacup. Squeeze edible glue onto it and stick it onto the ring you made.^[7]
- Set this circular base aside while you make the teacup.
- Purchase edible glue from craft supply stores or online.
Cut thinly rolled gum paste into a rainbow that fits inside the teacup. Use the fondant rolling pin to roll the leftover gum paste into an oval that's as thin as the saucer you made. Then cut a large rainbow out and place it inside the teacup so the wider side faces the lip of the cup.
- You may need to trim or make adjustments to the shape of the gum paste so it covers the inside of the teacup. Keep in mind that there will be a small hole at the bottom of the cup.^[8]
- To ensure the rainbow is the right size before cutting the gum paste, cut out a paper template and nestle it into the teacup first.
Press the gum paste in place and let it set. Use your fingers to push the gum paste evenly into the teacup so there aren't any gaps. Push the gum paste down to cover the hole at the bottom of the cup. Pay attention to joining the edges where the ends of the gum paste meet. Then set the teacup aside to set up overnight.^[9]
- If there's not enough gum paste to close the bottom of the teacup, cut a small circle of gum paste and push it into place.
Glue the pieces of the teacup together with edible glue and let them set. Once the teacup is hard, gently pull it out of the actual teacup. Then squirt a little edible glue onto the circular base you made and set the gum paste teacup on it. Take the handle and squeeze a little edible glue on it before you press it against the side of the teacup. Leave the teacup for a few hours so the glue hardens.^[10]
- Since you won't be gluing anything to the saucer, simply remove it from the actual saucer once the gum paste hardens.

[Edit]Creating Chocolate Teacups

Put of chocolate into each cavity of a dome mold. Set a silicone dome mold on your work surface and scoop of tempered chocolate into each cavity.^[11]
- For larger teacups, use a mold with 6 semi-sphere cavities. For standard-sized teacups, choose a mold with 12 to 15 dome cavities.
Spread the chocolate in the cavities and chill the mold for 15 minutes. Take a silicone brush or use the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate throughout the mold so each cavity is covered. Then put the mold in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardens.^[12]
- If you used a mold with smaller domes, the chocolate will harden faster.
Peel the chocolate cups out of the mold. Remove the mold from the refrigerator and turn it upside-down on your work surface. Gently hold the mold in place with 1 hand and use your other hand to slowly peel the mold away. The chocolate cups should separate from the mold.^[13]
- Set the cups aside while you make the chocolate saucers and handles.
Spoon 4 circles of chocolate onto parchment paper and pipe 4 handles. To make the saucers, lay a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and spread some of the remaining tempered chocolate into 4 even circles on the paper. Each circle should be about in diameter. Then pipe or spoon more chocolate onto the parchment paper to make 4 handle shapes.^[14]
- Each saucer should be about thick.
- If you don't have parchment paper, use waxed paper instead.
Chill the saucers and handles for 10 minutes. Put the baking sheet into the refrigerator and leave the saucers and handles to set. Remove the baking sheet once the chocolate is completely hard. Carefully peel the chocolates off of the sheet so you can assemble the teacups.^[15]
Attach the handles to the cups and set them on the saucers. To assemble the teacups, dip the ends of the handles into a little of the tempered chocolate. Hold the handles against the sides of the chocolate cups until they stay attached. Then set each teacup onto the chocolate saucers.^[16]
- Work quickly so your hands don't melt the chocolate. If the chocolate teacup pieces begin to soften, put them into the refrigerator for a few minutes.

[Edit]Tips

If any of the handles or cookies come a little loose, simply add more frosting to attach them again.
Fill your edible teacups with ice cream, frozen yogurt, candy, or fresh fruit just before serving.
To decorate the gum paste teacups, make edible food paint and paint floral designs on the cup.^[17]