Putting a creative spin on Chanukah

As long as I can remember, I’ve always loved to be creative When I was younger and played with play dough, I didn’t just mold the dough into shapes of cakes and cookies; instead, I placed them on my kitchen window and my “bakery” was open for business.
When I grew older and book reports were required, it seemed as if I spent half an hour on the report and hours on the cover. For example, when a beach scene was needed, crayons just wouldn’t do. I painted blue edible gel as the ocean, and then glued brown sugar on as the sand. Big gumballs cut in half with striped drawn on them, became beach balls.
This year while contemplating what I would be serving at our Chanukah gathering, I decided to forgo the usual fried doughnuts, and create a treat that would be appreciated by both adults and children, and satisfy my love for creativity. What I came up with, is a decadent chocolate brownie, baked in a lollipop mold, double dipped in white chocolate , drizzled with dark chocolate and adorned with a chocolate dreidel. The recipe is a simple one, but with a few added steps, I can turn a regular brownie into a creative dessert.

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters
• 3 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Decoration ingredients:

• 20 ounces white chocolate (I prefer Wiltons brand, as it is already tempered and will retain it’s shine and texture after being melted and let to harden)
• 12 ounces tempered chocolate. I buy chocolate in bulk, but it can be purchased in supermarkets in the area. Shufra is a brand that is readily available.
• Silicone lollipop baking dish (I find these the easiest to unmold after brownies are baked
• Plastic mold with Chanukah shapes
• Silver dust
• Lollipop sticks