Age group(s) for this recipe:
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Estimated time:
30-45 minutes, plus freezer time

Number of servings:
approx. 10-12 per half gallon ice cream

Ingredients: (Hit your return key to start a new line)
Ice cream
Chocolate sandwich cookies
Ziploc freezer bag
Rolling pin
Small flower pots (never used; clean) or plastic cups

"Bush" of artificial flowers; one will ordinarily yield 5-7 individual stems/blossom clusters; buy enough for one per cup
Needle nose pliers (to separate individual flower clusters/stems)

Directions:
Take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it soften while you prep your materials.

Adults/older kids can clip off individual stems/flower clusters from the stems. If the wire at the bottom seems sharp, use the pliers to "loop" it into a li'l "o" at the end, so it won't poke someone.

Most artificial flowers available today are "silk" type. Most can survive a brief swish in warm, sudsy water and a rinse; set them in a cup to dry.

Zip some cookies into a bag. 12-15 will fit nicely into a quart bag; to do more, use either 2 bags, or a larger bag. The freezer bag is suggested, vs. regular, because it's a little more durable for: Whack, Bop, and Roll with the rolling pin, until you have crumbs resembling potting soil. If some of the creamy middle sticks to the bag, scrape it off with a spoon, and stir it in to blend.

Scoop softened ice cream into clean, dry cups; do not overfill (allow for layer of "dirt" that follows). Pat the ice cream down a little in the pot.

Spoon the cookie crumb "dirt" into each pot/cup. Place these individual servings into a pan that can be covered with aluminum foil or placed inside a bag, and then freeze, unless you are eating them right away!

When it's time to serve, remove from the freezer, poke a flower securely into each pot, break out the spoons, call the Troops together, and enjoy!

Other suggestions and comments:
Collect the flowers soon after serving, for safety reasons; swish in sudsy water, rinse and dry. It would not be good for little ones to try to eat the flowers, or for older ones to be running amuck with a flower betwixt the teeth. Of course, a flower could be sent home with parent and child after a party...or maybe send home a real, live plant to put in their garden instead! Whatever fits the theme and makes people happy without compromising safety too much. One variation could be blue or red cups, with American flags instead of flowers. Hey, with a little green soldier on top, you'd almost have the Iwo Jima memorial on top there! ;-) Again, watch that kids don't hurt themselves on the flag pics/toys. I had an ice cream cup like this as a child in the 60's, at a birthday party. It was served in the flat-bottomed cones that were in rainbow colors, creating an edible pot. Those would have a very minimal make ahead/storage potential, but with helpers on party day, that might not be a problem. It must have impressed my little kid mind as Way Cool if I still remember it more than 35 years later. (We had plastic flowers then; can ya Dig it?) That was probably the summer I bought Beatles bubble gum cards...but I don't have a single one left! (sigh) People with food processors and blenders may choose to pulverize cookies accordingly. This is the summer treat that pre-dates instant pudding and gummy worm "dirt cups," which little kids are especially fond of...look for that and other goodies under Kids' Cooking Fun: http://kraftfoods.com/html/ features/jello.html I think the ice cream cups can be done nicely enough to impress an older age group, for an informal party setting.