Winter Wonderland Castle

 

16

pretzel rods, about 9 inches long

1

package (20 ounces) vanilla-flavored candy coating (almond bark)

9

sugar-style ice-cream cones with pointed ends

Betty Crocker® red colored sugar, red and green candy decors

Foamcore board or heavy cardboard, 16x14 inches

Aluminum foil

7

graham cracker squares, 2 1/2 inches

About 9 small gumdrops, if desired

Red string licorice, cut into 5-inch strips

1

Betty Crocker® chewy fruit snack roll (from 4.5-ounce package)

6

candy canes, 3 inches long

1

roll (0.9 ounce) ring-shaped hard candy

1

bag (10 ounces) large marshmallows

1

bag (10 1/2 ounces) miniature marshmallows

• 1 Make corner posts of castle by securing 4 pretzel rods with twist tie or rubber band at the middle. Make sure that one end of group of pretzel rods is even so they stand upright easily. Repeat 3 times to make 4 corner posts; set aside.
• 2 Place 6 squares of candy coating in 4-cup microwavable measuring cup. Microwave uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave 1 to 2 minutes longer, stirring well every 30 seconds, until smooth. Candy coating will be used to attach pieces of castle. Add squares coating as needed, and microwave 10 to 15 seconds at a time, stirring until smooth.
• 3 Dip 2 inches of bottoms (level end) of 1 corner post of pretzels into coating. Place upright on waxed paper, letting coating pool slightly to form a base. Let stand about 30 minutes or until coating is completely set. Repeat with remaining corner posts.
• 4 Meanwhile, spread melted coating over ice-cream cones. Roll 4 cones in red sugar for castle towers; roll remaining cones in candy decorations for trees. Place upright on waxed paper. Let stand about 20 minutes or until coating is completely set.
• 5 Cover foamcore board with aluminum foil. Dip tops of each corner post into coating; top with red cones. Let stand about 30 minutes or until coating is completely set; remove twist ties or rubber band from pretzels.
• 6 Attach 1 graham cracker square between each set of corner posts, using coating, to form square castle. Attach half of a graham cracker square above 3 of the whole cracker squares, leaving 1/2 inch space between crackers. Attach gumdrops along top of cracker halves, using coating. Attach licorice along sides of corner posts.
• 7 Attach 1 graham cracker square at right angle to cracker square at fourth side, using coating, to form drawbridge. Cut strip from fruit roll; attach to drawbridge for walkway. Attach candy canes for braces for drawbridge. Attach ring-shaped candies at top of each cone tower; attach candy cane to ring-shaped candy at each tower. Cut pennant-style flags from fruit roll, about 2x1/2 inch; attach to candy canes. Spread melted coating randomly over foil surrounding castle. Sprinkle with large and miniature marshmallows to create snow. Sprinkle sugar crystals around castle to create moat. Arrange green tree cones to create winter scene. Create a sign for the castle with 6x1-inch strip of fruit roll; add letters to sign with decorating icing.