Poinsettia Candy Ornaments

Heat oven to 325°F; place 1 square of foil on cookie sheet. Because of the variables in how different colors of candies melt and the need to work quickly to complete the ornament after removing it from the oven, baking more than one ornament at a time is not recommended.

See illustration a. Unwrap only the red candies. On foil, arrange 5 red candies in circle, leaving an opening about 1/2 inch in diameter in the center. With wrappers on, cut 6 green candies in half and 1 green candy into quarters with scissors or knife; remove wrappers.* For leaves, arrange 3 green halves, rounded side out, on 3 sides of the red candies, making sure cut sides touch red candies. Place 1 green quarter of candy in center of red candies. Very carefully transfer cookie sheet to oven, baking only one ornament at a time. (Candies must be fresh in order to melt properly; if they aren’t, they will not melt.)

Bake 3 to 6 minutes, watching closely for candy to melt (melting time will depend on the candy and how much you want the ornament to melt).** Remove from oven; immediately insert end of drinking straw 1/2 inch from top of ornament to create opening for hanging; sprinkle ornament lightly with candy decors. Rotate straw a quarter turn after 30 seconds and again after 1 minute; remove straw (this prevents the straw from sticking to the candy, which could cause the ornament to break when removed).

Working quickly, form flower petal points by drawing the tip of a toothpick through each candy to form a point. If the candy has cooled too much, return the cookie sheet to the oven and heat 1 to 2 minutes longer and try again. Allow ornament to cool completely on cookie sheet; gently remove foil. Thread ribbon through the hole made with the straw to hang the ornament (see illustration b).