The Simplest, Most Time-Consuming, Impressive Dessert EVER

A few months ago my friend Michal came to a party with the most eye-catching, impressive dessert in the history of not baking. She arrived with two half-litre mason jars with candy skewers sticking out all around. It was a feast of colour and confection!

So yesterday, in advance of going to dinner at another friend’s place, I decided to take my lack of time for baking and my difficulty grabbing more than fifteen minutes alone during the day and apply them to ripping off Michal’s idea.

It took all afternoon, with lots of interruptions. Without interruptions it’ll still take at least the amount of time it takes to bake a cake. Longer if you’re inclined to create themes and colour stories (I wasn’t, but I will soon. Soon). Still. It’s impressive to show up with one of these things.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Gather your materials. These include: candy, skewers, and a cup or jar (ignore the baggy of drink umbrellas and swords in my photo – I had ambitious plans for those that didn’t really work out). The candy should be soft enough that the pointy end of the skewer can pass through it without too much muscle behind it. (Candy with holes in it = bonus.) The skewers should have at least one pointy end. (I had a limited variety of candy because we decided to shop for it on the evening of Easter and all the good places to get candy were closed. Next time around there will be Twizzlers.)
2. Fill the cup or jar with a few inches of a spongy kind of candy (like marshmallows) or candy that’s small enough to behave like pebbles (I used a whole package of tiny gumdrops). This both weighs down the vessel and provides a base to stick the skewers into.
3. Skewer the candy. Leave a few inches at the bottom of each skewer free from candy – this is the end you’ll stick into the candy in the cup or jar.
4. Arrange the skewers in the cup or jar. Poorly tied bow optional.
   
5. Impress your friends. Enjoy the sugar rush.
6. Brush your teeth.

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Cross-posted at Vancouver Is Awesome.