Chocolate pine cones recipe | how to make Chocolate pine cones (2024)

FAQs

Do you need to bake pine cones for crafting? ›

If you bring pinecones into your home, It is important to clean and bake them first. (In my opinion, cleaning the pine cones is not enough without baking them) The heat is what kills the critters inside. Now, it's time to address the pesky bugs within them.

This is going to remove the bugs (EWWW) and extra dirt you can't see. Step 4: After the pine cones soak for a few hours, remove them from the vinegar mix and put them on a baking sheet. I lined my baking sheets with parchment just incase there were any more hidden creepy critters.

Place a single layer of pinecones on the lined pan. Bake the pinecones for 30-60 minutes, depending on their size and moisture content. Larger pinecones may require longer baking times. Check the pinecones every 15-20 minutes to make sure they're not getting too brown or burning.

Simply line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil and add you pine cones in a single layer. Set your oven to 200 degrees F and bake them for about 25-30 minutes. Make sure to monitor them closely!

Baking Pinecones to Clean them for Crafting and Decor

With a brush, clean pinecones of dust, debris and needles. 3. Place pinecones on a parchment lined baking tray, make sure to space them out so that the air can circulate around them. The parchment will help keep the sap off your tray and your oven.

Bleaching pinecones won't turn them truly white, but they get a beautiful light, weathered look. They look great grouped together, or create great visual interest mixed in with the darker natural ones. It gives a fresh new look when decorating, and goes perfect with the ever so popular farmhouse decor look.

Borax is a household cleaner that can generate orange and sometimes light green flames. Tums and Rolaids contain an abundance of calcium which can create a vibrant purple flame. Table salt turns flames a vibrant yellow.

Scrub-a-dub-bug

A quick dunk in some warm water mixed with vinegar should also do the trick to keep pesky bugs out of your pine cone projects this season. Mix two parts warm water with one part regular white vinegar and place pine cones in the solution for about 20-30 minutes.

If you want an even stronger scent, once the pine cones are dry you can infuse them with more essential oils. Put the pine cones in a paper or gallon ziplock bag, drop 10-20 or more drops of oil on them, shake gently to disperse the oils. Seal them up and let them soak in the oils for several days.

Place your pine cones flat on an old baking sheet. You don't want to layer your pine cones but keep them flat and bake at 200 degrees for 2-3 hours. You want to kill all the moths, bugs, mildew and any other creatures living in your pine cones.

Do pine cones need heat? ›

Place the cones on a dry surface in the sun until they open. The exception to this is jack pine. While some jack pine cones open each year, especially those in full sun, most of the cones require additional heat to open. Jack pine cones will need 2-4 hours in a 150° Fahrenheit oven.

If you're cleaning them for display or crafting purposes, household laundry bleach would work in place of vinegar. They also can be cleaned with warm water and dish washing liquid. When you put them in water, they may begin closing a little bit. After cleaning, set them out in the sunshine to dry, they will reopen.

Add pinecones to a bookcase

This is such an easy way to decorate for winter. Here, I just took pinecones and tucked them into the bookcase in the family room. They add a layer of winter texture in minutes.