| PlateArt |

Going for a Spin

By Esther Ottensoser | November 29, 2022

Styling by Esther Ottensoser
Photography by Felicia Perretti

Dreidel Meringue Pops

Easy to bake and fun to eat, these pretty meringue pops are a light and airy treat. They whip up in no time at all — just use any classic meringue recipe, some piping bags, and a couple of star tips for decorating. Add food coloring to the batter to make beautiful colorful swirls and then top with your favorite sprinkles for a fun homemade treat.

You will need:

cardstock or paper
parchment paper
lollipop sticks
ribbon (optional)
sprinkles, if desired

Meringues

1/2 cup egg whites (approximately 3 extra-large whites), at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
gel food coloring (I used royal blue, teal, and light blue)

Preheat oven to 210°F (100°C).

Cut a dreidel shape out of cardstock or paper. (I started off with a 4x5-inch sheet of paper.) Trace dreidels onto parchment paper, leaving enough space for sticks. Repeat with a second sheet of parchment. Line two baking sheets with the parchment, pencil side down, and set aside.

In the bowl of a clean stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand mixer, begin whisking the egg whites with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Gradually start adding the sugar. Beat another 1–2 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Divide the mixture into as many colors as you want and add gel food coloring as desired.

Fit a piping bag with a plain or star tip. Use a rubber spatula to fill the bag with the meringue. Fill the bag about half to three-quarters of the way full.

To pipe the meringues, hold the bag perpendicular to the baking sheet. Hold the top slightly over the sheet to fill in the dreidels. Add a stick to the bottom part of each dreidel and pipe some more meringue on top to hold in place. Use various piping tips to create lollipops. Alternatively, pipe the dreidels in different colors and use a toothpick to swirl the colors together.

Bake for approximately 2 hours. The bake time will depend on the size of your meringues. Bake until the outside of the meringue is crisp and the inside is dry yet chewy. They should feel light and hollow and should peel off the parchment paper easily.

Turn the oven off, open the door a crack, and let the meringues cool completely in the oven for at least one hour. Remove from oven and add ribbons if desired. Store your baked meringues in a covered container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Tip: Before beating the egg whites, make sure that your mixing bowl and whisk are clean, and that the egg whites don’t have any bits of egg yolks in them. I recommend wiping both the mixing bowl and the whisk attachment with lemon juice or vinegar before you start.

Doughnut Seating Cards

With these doughnut seating cards, everyone will have the best seat at the party!

You will need:

doughnuts, any size
rolled fondant
alphabet cookie stamp
icing or cookie dip (I used white cookie dip with royal blue food coloring)
assorted sprinkles

Roll out the fondant using a rolling pin.

Arrange letters on the stamp and press it into the fondant.

Using a knife, cut around the name to form a rectangle shape with “ribbon” edges.

Dip doughnuts into icing. Add sprinkles and name.

Allow to dry.

Menorah in the Window

Photography by Sina Mizrahi

I always enjoy going out to a Chanukah party in a different neighborhood, town, or city. Growing up, my parents always pointed out to us how the number of menorahs diminished as we reached the outskirts of our area, and when we got closer to another Jewish community, we were always challenged with the question, “Who’s going to spot the first menorah?!” And then we would start counting until it became impossible to count so fast!

Today, with all the new neighborhoods that keep popping up in various cities to accommodate the growing Jewish population, baruch Hashem, it’s so much fun to see all the “menorah windows” that dot the map. That was the inspiration behind this menorah window craft.

You will need:

graham crackers (5½ crackers per project)
clear mint candies
licorice wheel candies (I used Schwartz’s Twister Wheels)
Baker’s Choice silver edible luster dust
Baker’s Choice white royal icing
melted chocolate

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Carefully break the graham crackers as follows:

2 crackers cut into 2 squares (for a total of 4 squares)
2 crackers cut into 2 long rectangles (for a total of 4 long rectangles)
1½ crackers, cut into 6 quarters

The window is made up of two layers. Divide the cut-up crackers in half so you have one set for each layer. Set aside one set of crackers.

For the menorah, cut a licorice wheel in half. Remove some of the rows so there are only four remaining. Use one of the pieces that you’ve removed for the bottom of the menorah and for the shamash.

Place the candy menorah on a covered area and spray with silver dust. Set aside.

Arrange one set of crackers on a parchment-lined metal cookie sheet with 4 mint candies in the center, as shown.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven for 6–7 minutes. The mint candy will look wet and bubbly. (If the cookies spread out during baking, very carefully push them back together. The candy is very hot, so please be careful.) Make sure the melted candy has spread to all the sides and corners.

While the melted candy is still liquid, carefully press the menorah in and allow it to set for a few minutes.

Spread melted chocolate on the graham cracker. Don’t spread it too close to the edges, so it doesn’t seep through the sides and into the window area. (Tip: You can place the chocolate in a ziplock bag with the corner cut off to make the spreading easier.)

Place the second layer of graham crackers over the first. (Note: In the first layer, the large rectangles were placed to one side and the small rectangles to the other side. Do the opposite for the second layer to make the frame stronger.)

Add rectangular “shutters,” attaching them with additional melted chocolate. (I recommend decorating the shutters first.) Allow them to set before handling.

Use the royal icing to decorate the rest of the frame.