Its summer time – Vacation time…and kids bubbling with energies no longer have to attend school – fun for them....but you are driven to your nerves' end trying to keep them engaged!  Why not engage them in a fun summer project – try teaching them how to make a Popsicle wheelbarrow. Kids like pops and they will love to eat the outcomes of their edible art projects even better. There are 2 ways to make an edible Popsicle wheelbarrow-one very easy and the other a little complex. I am going to share both the methods here.

Easy one first: You need juice for the Popsicle (use the flavor that you like), unflavored gelatin, popsicle stick, and a wheelbarrow shaped popsicle mold. You can use any type of plastic mold, toy mold, candy mold or a plastic cookie cutter placed over a plate.  Dissolve gelatin in warm water. Mix the dissolved gelatin with the juice (1 gallon of juice would require 6oz of gelatin). Grease the wheelbarrow shaped mold (it is a good idea to use a cooking spray instead since it is neutral in flavor and will not make the Popsicle oily either). With a very hot skewer poke a hole on the rear end side of the wheelbarrow mold. Insert the Popsicle stick into the hole and tape it on the outside to ensure that it stays straight. Fill the mold with the gelatinized juice all the way up to the rim, cover and freeze till solid. Remove from the mold by inverting it over a clean cookie sheet. Lick it off right away or wrap it in gelatin paper and save it for later. 

Now the slightly complex method: You will need 2 twin popsicles, one pretzel rod, 2 coin sized cookies, and some vanilla frosting. First cut out the sticks of the twin Popsicles. Cover half the length of the pretzel rod with vanilla frosting and stick the twin Popsicles on the either sides of the pretzel rod. Leave 2” of the pretzel rod to stick out from between the twin pops and break the rest. For the wheels cover the cookies with vanilla frosting on one side and stick it on to either of the twin pops. Place the Popsicle wheel barrow on the serving plate. If the wheel barrow does not stand upright, you can try the wheels up position too. Before serving you can fill the gap between the twin pops with gummy bears, candies, suckers or some Jell-O. This has to be finished off immediately…not that anybody would complain!

Photo credits: google.com