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Enough Sugar for Eight Miraculous Nights

December is not the most fun time of the year if you’re Jewish. Sure, we’ve got Chanukah, with its fried foods and eight days of gifts. But there’s another holiday that gets all the fanfare. Chanukah just can’t compete.

It is in this spirit that we present the Candy Menorah, our answer to the gingerbread house. We think you’ll agree that it’s superior in every way. Instead of a boring, predictable house, we’ve created this colorful menorah flickering against a backdrop of winter snow. Best of all, we skipped the dry, musty-tasting gingerbread, which no one really likes anyway. Instead, we went right for the frosting and candy. There’s enough sugar here to last for eight miraculous nights.

Candy Menorah

You will need:

A foundation (use cardboard, or sheet cake if you want something edible)

2 tubs white frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

Licorice in assorted colors (we chose piña colada and blueberry, for classic blue and white)

Candy corn

Assorted colorful candies

Chocolate gelt

1. First prepare the sugar paste. Blend frosting and powdered sugar until you’ve got a nice stiff mixture. Spread a thick layer of the stuff over your cardboard or cake foundation, doing your best to make it look like snow.
2. Cut licorice sticks in half. Stick eight of the halves into the frosting snow, arranging them to resemble a menorah. Now add a longer piece of licorice for the shamash.
3. Top each licorice candle with a candy-corn flame, using sugar paste to stick it on.
4. Embellish with other colorful candies and chocolate gelt as you see fit.
5. Your candy menorah is ready to enjoy. Eat up, and for goodness’s sake, be sure to brush your teeth afterward.

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