Denise says:
The dreidel is one of the best-known games during Chanukah. This 4-sided spinning top has 4 letters: Shin, Hey, Gimmel and Nun. These letters mean ‘ a great miracle happened there’. Each letter has a fate, Nun means nothing happens, and the next player spins the dreidel, Gimmel takes all the tokens in the pot, Hey takes half the pot and Shin the player must put one token in the pot.
As well as playing the dreidel game with chocolate Chanukah gelt why not play with these Chanukah biscuits! These delicious dreidel shaped cookie are light and simple to make. You can shape them using a dreidel cutter (I found some on the internet) but you can make them using a paper template and drawing round that. For an authentic look, you can also pipe a selection of Shin, Hey, Gimmel and Nun Hebrew letters using ready made colour icing. Little helpers will love making these!
To grind the Brazil nuts, place in a food processor for 2- 3 minutes until completely ground.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 8- 10 minutes
Makes: 60 biscuits
Ingredients:
100g margarine / unsalted butter2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
100g ground Brazil nuts – ground in a food processor
200g plain flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon almond essence
Topping: Coloured icing, coloured sprinkles (Hundreds and Thousands)
Method
1) In a food processor, cream together butter or margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.2) Stir in the egg, orange zest, and ground Brazil nuts.
3) Sift together flour and baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture.
4) Mix well. Stir in almond essence.
5) Pre- heat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F/ Gas mark 4.
6) Roll out dough 2 cm thick on a lightly floured board.
7) Cut into dreidel shapes or other desired shapes.
8)Bake on a tray lined with non-stick baking parchment paper for 15 minutes.
9) When cool, pipe a selection of Hebrew letters. Can be frozen or stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.