Candy Cane Holiday Straw

Red and white stripes, peppermint flavor, Hot Cocoa: It's easy to love everything about these fun and easy straws. Make them ahead and have them displayed for your next cold weather get together or holiday party. Everyone will love them!

Follow these few simple steps for some holiday cheer. Enjoy!

• Iron
• Ironing Board
• Rolling Pin
• Pencil or Pen
• Parchment Paper
• Candy Canes

Hot Cocoa Supplies

• Marshmallows
• Whipped Cream
• Milk
• Chocolate or Hot Cocoa Mix

I had some leftover small candy canes that I used for this project. Use what you have and experi"mint" a little!

1. Have your iron plugged in, turned on and warming up. You will not be using steam for this project.
2. Break up the candy canes. I used approx. 3 of the small candy canes.
3. Align them inside a folded piece of parchment paper. They should be aligned so that they are about as long as you want the straw to be in the end. Fold over they edge of the parchment paper to cover they candy.

1. Place warmed iron atop the parchment paper, resting on top of the candy canes to melt them.
   • please note: do not have your iron too hot the candy will bubble and the straw will not form nor function properly in the end. I had my iron set on low. But all irons will vary. You may need to try a few times to get the right temperature.
2. Periodically check on the melting candy every few seconds, try 10-15 seconds to start with. You may need more time or less depending on your iron. Try flipping the parchment paper encased candy so that both sides of the candy is heated. If the candy is bubbling your iron is too hot. You don't want any holes in your straws!!

1. Once the candy canes starts to melt, roll out the candy. Leave everything inside the parchment paper. Don't try to open parchment until later. Candy should be rolled out to less than 1/8 inch.
   • Be careful. The candy is hot!
   • You may find that the candy did not melt completely. You can go back and forth between the previous step and this one until desired outcome.

1. Let the candy cool. Only for a few minutes. Candy needs to still be warm in order to shape it.
2. Open the parchment paper slowly to not damage your work so far.
3. Starting at the top, roll the warm candy around a pencil or pen or chop stick or what ever you have on hand.
4. Once wrapped around the pencil, use the palm of your hand to roll it back and forth a few times to seal it.

Yay! Now all you need to do is remove the pencil and let cool a little longer. See. Simple right?

1. Prepare your Hot Cocoa according to package instructions.
2. Add desired toppings. I used marshmallows and whipped cream topped with a little caramel drizzle. Yum!
3. Add your straw and enjoy!

Some extra tips

• If your iron is too hot you'll see that your candy bubbles. The candy will cool much more quickly and will be a little harder to work with. I have a picture of two straws: left, iron was to hot and candy bubbled. Right, I reduced temperature and let iron sit on top of the parchment longer to melt the candy, flipping a few times.
• Yes, the candy will melt in your cocoa! That's part of the point.
• Yes, once cooled the candy will become hard again. Be warned, if bitten or shattered you may have some sharp pieces. But shattered pieces make a beautiful decoration for all your holiday goodies.