Behold, the Angel

For the last several years, I have been making this little angel choir as favors for the children who come our Santa Party the week before Christmas. I saw Food Network's Sandra Lee make the angles out of items that you can buy from the store. In checking her recipe, I found that she has changed it up some, but I like my way. You will need these items:

• Marzipan for the head: I buy it in the local super market where it is shelved with the baking goods. You may have to look for it or ask a clerk to help you find it. A specialty  cooking shop will probably carry it, too. My package made about nine heads, about 3/4 inch balls
• Candy melts or white chocolate chips. I buy the candy melts at Hobby Lobby and use them instead of the chocolate chips because I like the consistency better and they are cheaper.
• Sugar Ice-cream cones, not the waffle cones that have an uneven edge. I bought the the waffle cones and had to break off the bottoms so that the angels would sit flat. 
• Twisted pretzels for the wings
• Vanilla wafers for the halo
• Shredded coconut colored with food coloring for the hair.
• Sprinkles or silver dragees. I couldn't find the silver dragees in the stores, so I purchased a bottle of very large sprinkle colored beads at Hobby Lobby, which I like very much.

Since I do not have a double boiler, I found a method of melting chocolates on Pinterest: fill a slow cooker with enough water to stand a Mason jar in. Place the chocolate (chips or candy melts) in the jar. It takes a while to melt the chocolate, but it can sit in its hot bath while you work. It won't burn or scorch or harden while you work. It is awkward taking it out of the tall jar, but I used an iced tea spoon to dip the chocolate out to coat the cones and to use as glue to glue the pieces together.

This year I got smart and laid the angels down while the halos and wings hardened; otherwise, with the soft chocolate glue, they will slide out of place.

I use a food pen to draw on the faces. I purchased mine at the super market in the baking aisle where the frosting supplies are shelved.

I place each angel in a clear plastic food bag purchased at Hobby Lobby. (Can you tell that I love that store?) 

To assemble the angels, coat the cones with melted chocolate or candy melts. As the chocolate begins to harden, add the dragees. I spoon a bit of chocolate on the vanilla wafers then let them harden. I put a small amount of melted chocolate in a small bowl to coat the pretzels and let them set. 

To attach marzipan head, I first push it down on the pointed end of the cone to make a hole in the head then I drizzle a small amount of melted chocolate on the point of the cone to glue the head to the cone and place the head back on the point. Now the head won't fall off.

With the wafers laying flat on the counter, I drop a small amount of chocolate on the wafer. The back of the marzipan head needs to be slightly flattened, so I use wafer to press a flat surface on the back the head and lay the head on the melted chocolate then let it set before I turn the angel over and adhere the pretzel wing. I always did these two steps with the angels upright and always had problems with the halos and wings sliding out of place. Reclining the angels solved that problem.

Because I did not buy the sugar cones, I had to break off the bottoms of the waffle cones and still they did not stand up, so I perched them on top of spice jars to set.

The final step will be to give the angels hair. I used shredded coconut colored with yellow food coloring. I drizzle a drop of chocolate on the head and smoosh the coconut in place. I draw a simple little face, always with a smile, sometime a devilish little smile.

This is a great project for those who need to be creative, who feel the need to do something special or impressive, but who have limited amounts of talents such as I. Time consuming. Yes. Not a last minute project. Expensive. Probably. Marzipan is costly and I don't remember how much. But it is Christmas. If you have older children, this makes a perfect project for them.

And this is what makes all of the work worth it, to see the smiles on the children. Santa always amazes them with his magic and his all-knowing. It is surprising how well behaved they are all after they visit with Santa. It is my special gift to the family and I do it for the children. We had 21 people in our small house, half of them children, the oldest were 15 and 13, 3 4-four year olds,   7, 8, and 10 year olds and one 2 week old who slept through the whole party. Her little brother, the 15 month old was fine on Santa's lap until he took a moment to look into his face then he wasn't so happy.

I showed a video of our last Christmas Eve party in our old house in 2008 that I had found on the old computer. The afternoon that I found it, I had good cry as I watched everyone saying "Merry Christmas" into the camera. I cried because five of our dear family members are no longer with us. The great grandparents are gone, the dear friends left us, and our favorite aunt and uncle left us much too soon, but we filled the house with the new generations and made more wonderful memories.

For you my dear friends, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. May the season, however, you celebrate be joyous and happy as we praise the Lord and we celebrate Christ's birth, and give thanks for the many blessings that life gives us. 

Noel Noel