How to Make Dreidel Marshmallow Pops

Marshmallow dreidel pops are colorful and festive treats perfect for a Chanukah party! Dreidel pops are made by sticking a Hershey’s kiss to the bottom of a marshmallow, then piercing the top of the marshmallow with a pretzel stick to give it the shape of a spinning top. After making the basic form of the dreidel pops, you can decorate them by coating them in blue candy melts, then adding on the Hebrew letters so that they look like real dreidels! Because marshmallow dreidel pops require minimal cooking and are easy to assemble, they are the perfect activity to do with a child to teach them more about Chanukah and the game of dreidel!

[Edit]Ingredients

• 12 large marshmallows
• 12 thin pretzel sticks
• 12 Hershey’s Kisses
• 1 package of blue candy melts
• 1 bar of white chocolate

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Making the Base of the Marshmallow Dreidels

1. Stick pretzels into the marshmallows. To begin making the marshmallow dreidels, take one of your thin pretzel sticks and stick it into the flat side of a marshmallow, pressing it into the marshmallow until it is about ¾ of the way through the marshmallow. Make sure that it is pressed far into marshmallow, but doesn’t fully pierce through it.^[1]
   
   • Use short, thin pretzel sticks as opposed to large, thick ones.
2. Melt a square of white chocolate. Break off one square of white chocolate from the bar, then place the square in a microwaveable bowl and microwave it for 20 seconds or until melted.^[2]
   
3. Dip a Hershey’s kiss in the white chocolate. Unwrap a Hershey’s kiss, then dip the bottom in the white chocolate. Only use enough chocolate to coat the bottom of the kiss.^[3]
   
   • The white chocolate will act as a kind of edible glue that will stick the Hershey’s kiss to the marshmallow.
4. Attach the Hershey’s kiss to the marshmallow. After you dip the bottom of the Hershey’s kiss in the chocolate, press the sticky side of the Hershey’s kiss into the bottom of a marshmallow, the flat side opposite from the side with the pretzel. Press the Hershey’s kiss against the marshmallow for around 15-20 seconds to help it stick in place.^[4]
   
   • Repeat the process of dipping the Hershey’s kisses in the chocolate, then sticking them to the bottom of the marshmallows.
5. Freeze the dreidels for 15 minutes. After you have finished sticking the kisses to the marshmallows, place the dreidels on a plate or a baking sheet and put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. Freezing the dreidel pops will help them set so that the Hershey’s kisses stay stuck to the bottom of the marshmallows.^[5]
   

[Edit]Making the Hebrew Letters

1. Melt the rest of the white chocolate. While the dreidels are in the freezer, you can make the Hebrew letters that adorn the outside of the dreidels. To start making the letters, break the remaining bar of chocolate into squares, then place the squares in a bowl.^[6]
   
   • Microwave the white chocolate in 20 second spurts, taking out the chocolate and stirring it in between each microwave session. Stop microwaving when the chocolate is melted, as over-microwaving can cause the chocolate to scald.
2. Pour the chocolate into a plastic bag. Wait until the chocolate is around room temperature, then pour it into a plastic sandwich bag. You may have to scrape the bowl to get out all the chocolate. After all the chocolate is in the bag, snip off one of the bottom corners, making a small cut.^[7]
   
   • Cut off only a tiny corner, so that the bag can function as a kind of frosting piper.
   • If you have a frosting piper, you can also simply pour the chocolate in the piper bag.
3. Pipe the Hebrew letters on wax paper. Spread a piece of wax paper on a counter or tabletop. Hold the bag of melted chocolate in both of your hands, then slowly squeeze the bag until the white chocolate starts to come out of the snipped corner in a thin line.
   
   • Pipe out each of the four Hebrew letters that are found on a dreidel: Nun, Gimel, Hey, and Shin. Refer to other dreidels you may have at home or pictures of dreidels online if you are unsure of what these letters look like.^[8]
   • Make 12 sets of the four Hebrew letters. You will eventually stick one set on each of the 12 marshmallow dreidel pops you are making.
   • Nun and Gimel are similar-looking letters, so make sure to add the heel of the Gimel, which differentiates it from the more rounded Nun.
4. Place the chocolate letters in the freezer. After you finish making all 12 sets of letters, put the wax sheet of letters in the freezer while you work on the dreidels. Freezing them will help the letters to harden.^[9]
   

[Edit]Decorating the Marshmallow Dreidels

1. Melt the candy melts. Open the package of candy melts and pour them into a microwaveable bowl. Then microwave them for 1 minute on 50% power. Take the candy melts out from the microwave and stir for about 10 seconds. Then microwave them for 30 seconds on 50% power and stir. Microwave them one more time for 30 seconds on 50% power. Stir the candy melts for 1-2 minutes until they are completely melted.^[10]
   
   • You can also melt candy melts in a double broiler. Place an inch (2.54 cm) of water in the bottom of a double broiler, then place the candy melts in the top of the broiler. Place the double broiler on medium heat. Stir the candy melts continuously until they have completely melted.
2. Add vegetable shortening if necessary. Candy melts often melt into an extremely thick mixture, so thick that if you dipped a spoon into it, the candy melt mixture would glob onto the spoon instead of drip off. If your mixture is extremely thick and hard to stir, add a tablespoon (14.7 ml) of vegetable shortening and stir until the shortening is integrated and the candy melt mixture is smooth.^[11]
   
   • Ideally, if you dip a spoon in the candy melt mixture, you want the mixture to stick to the spoon and slowly drip off.
   • If your candy melt mixture is already the right consistency, you don’t need to add the vegetable shortening.
3. Dip the marshmallow dreidels in the candy melt mixture. Lay down a piece of wax paper on the counter next to the bowl of candy melt mixture. Take the dreidels out of the freezer and one by one, then dip each dreidel into the blue candy melt.^[12]
   
   • Hold the dreidel by the pretzel handle and dunk it in so that the entire marshmallow and Hershey’s kiss base is submerged.
   • After you dunk the dreidel , take the dreidel out and hold it above the bowl, letting any excess candy melt drip off. Then lay the dreidel down on its side on the sheet of wax paper. Repeat until each dreidel is coated in the blue candy melt!
   • Reserve the excess candy melt.
4. Let the candy melt set on the dreidels. Set aside the dreidels for about 30 minutes to let the blue candy melt set on the outside of the dreidels. If you want to speed up the process, stick the dreidels in the freezer for about 15 minutes.^[13]
   
5. Scrape up the chocolate Hebrew letters. While the candy melt sets on the dreidels, take the sheet of chocolate Hebrew letters out of the freezer. Carefully peel the letters from the wax paper with your fingers, or use a knife like a spatula to unstick the letters from the wax paper.
   
   • Take your time unsticking the letters, as they are quite delicate and can easily break.
6. Attach the Hebrew letters to the dreidels. Once you have scraped up the Hebrew letters and the candy melt has set on the dreidels, use a toothpick to transfer some excess candy melt to the back of a Hebrew letter. Then stick the letter on one face of the marshmallow dreidel pop.^[14]
   
   • Stick the next three letters on the remaining three sides of the dreidel, then carefully set the dreidel on one side and let the letters set.
   • Repeat until all the dreidels have Hebrew letters on each side.
   • Let the dreidels sit for about half an hour so that the letters can set. Then the dreidel pops should be ready to eat!

[Edit]Tips

• You can leave off the step of creating and adding the Hebrew letters if you wish, the marshmallow pop will still look like a dreidel!
• Learn the game of dreidel and play with your dreidel marshmallow pops!

[Edit]Souces and Citations

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1. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
2. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
3. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
4. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
5. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
6. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
7. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
8. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
9. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
10. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
11. ↑ https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/04/how-to-melt-candy-melts/
12. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
13. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/
14. ↑ http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/marshmallow-dreidels/