Here’s a fun way to get your kids into the Hanukkah spirit! This idea was inspired by Jewish cooking legend Joan Nathan; the original version of these dreidels appeared in her book The Children’s Jewish Holiday Kitchen. I modified her idea slightly, using a pretzel for the dreidel’s handle and Nutella as a “glue” to hold the marshmallow and kiss together. I’ve also added my own variation on this concept, which includes candy coating and sprinkles.
Kosher Note: Most major marshmallow brands are not kosher because they contain gelatin, which is derived from pig. However, there are brands that make kosher marshmallows out there. Most kosher grocery stores carry them, and some regular markets have them in the kosher section. Paskesz brand is certified pareve by the OU (Orthodox Union):
This recipe is very kid-friendly, except for melting the candy coating which should be supervised by a grownup. It’s a yummy project that the whole family can enjoy together!
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Candy Dreidels
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Jumbo marshmallows
- Stick pretzels
- Nutella hazelnut spread or frosting
- Chocolate candy kisses
Optional Ingredients
- Cake decorating gel or icing
- Chocolate or vanilla candy coating
- Vegetable shortening
- Candy sprinkles
NOTES
Instructions
- First, push a pretzel into the flat side of the marshmallow, sticking it in as far as you can without puncturing the opposite side.
- Next, spread a small amount of Nutella or frosting onto the base of a chocolate kiss. Use the Nutella as “glue” to attach the kiss to the flat end of the marshmallow.
- At this point, you can use cake decorating gel to write one of the four Hebrew dreidel letters onto the surface of the marshmallow… Nun, Hey, Gimel, ShinHere are the Hebrew letters if you need a guide:
- These letters stand for the Hebrew phrase, Nes Gadol Haya Sham– which means “A great miracle happened there.”Cake decorating gel takes a long time to dry, so give your letters a few hours to set… if your kids can wait that long!
- If you want to add a candy coating to your dreidel instead of the letters, make sure your marshmallow dreidels are prepped and ready to go before you start working with the chocolate. You will need to work quickly while the chocolate is soft. Place the dreidels on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, with at least an inch or two in between each dreidel.
- Once it’s melted, transfer the melted candy coating to a cool bowl. Working quickly, dip your dreidels one-at-a-time into the coating and roll them until the surface is evenly covered.
- As you dip the dreidels, make sure you don’t leave them in the hot candy coating for longer than a few seconds at a time. If you leave it longer, the Hershey kiss will melt and you’ll have a flat-bottomed dreidel.
- Pull the dreidel out of the coating and hold it over the bowl, point side facing downward, for a few seconds to get rid of excess drips.
- Place it on the parchment-lined cookie sheet and coat immediately with sprinkles.
- Once all of your dreidels are coated, let them dry for 15-20 minutes until the candy coating has set. A slight “puddle” will form underneath each dreidel, so it won’t look perfect—but that’s not the point. It will still look dreidel-ish, and it will taste yummy! Have fun!
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Note: Nutrition facts will vary based on preparation. Nutrition facts above are for one single uncoated candy dreidel.
To learn more about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, click here.
Do you have an alternative suggestion to the Hershey Kiss? I am making them in my class this Sunday and I have a student with a nut allergy. thanks so much
Hi Shari, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Hershey Kisses do not contain nuts, so they should be safe to use. I did some further research and found an article that cited a letter from Hershey directly, claiming that kisses are not made in a facility that processes nuts.
https://snacksafely.com/2015/05/hersheys-about-kisses-and-chocolate-bars/
If you’re still concerned I would do a quick Google search and see if there’s any additional information out there, or try contacting Hershey.
I made them with my daughter this past weekend and they were delicious and a lot of fun to make (and easy!) I brought them to 3 different Hanukkah parties and they were a hit!
Soooooo cute!!!! Going to a gathering next week. Even though it is an adult party, I will be making these. I think everyone will get a kick out of them!!
I had to improvise a bit on these because I couldn’t find chocolate kisses in Jerusalem. Also no decorating gel! So I cut the marshmallow’s in half (with scissors), attached a gumdrop and then a candy flower. I poked a hole in the marshmallow with a heated aluminum nail first so the prezel went in without breaking. Then I wrote on them with melted chocolate. They were quite colorful and made a big hit!
For those who cannot have Nutella due to allergy, there are other options-chocolate frosting also works well, as does the kosher non-nut version of Nutella, Hashahar H’aole L’Mehadrin….no matter how you make them, kids love them!
Very cute! My son has a severe nut allergy … just wanted to mention that there is a nut-butter alternative called “SunButter” that would work well for this as well. And SunButter is kosher. 🙂 (I do not work for the company or make any profit for suggesting them… just for the record.) 😉
LOVE this idea! My daughter wants to make these for her pre-K class as well but they are a nut-free school. Any ideas on what we can use to replace the Nutella but still hold the marshmallow and kiss together?
Hi Shari– try a thick frosting in blue or white, that should do the trick. 🙂
Will be making these for my youngest daughters’ pre-k class!
I made a batch to share with my Torah class and they turned out so cute! I’ll have to upload pictures!
My Hebrew School class thanks you!! Can’t wait to serve these to the kids at our Hannukkah party!