Licorice Day : Make An Easter Basket

Licorice is made from the root of the licorice plant. So now you may be wondering what a licorice plant is. Believe it or not the licorice plant is the same thing as the legume or bean plant. The word licorice means "sweet root". Licorice is often something to disagree about, while there are many that love it there are many others that do not. The distinctive licorice taste comes from acid in the licorice roots that is 50 times sweeter than sugar

Licorice is often used for medicinal purposes. The chinese in early times used licorice to fight cancer. Since that time the Rutgers University have performed studies that show that licorice may be effective in treating prostate and breast cancer. Licorice can relieve the pain of ulcers and is supposed to be healthy for the adrenal glands too.

First you will need these ingredients: pull-n-peel licorice, and any small Easter candy. Take 2 pull-n-peel licorice and peel apart. You should be left with 18 thin pieces of licorice. Taking 2 pieces of licorice form an X. Repeat this step so that you have 3-4 separate X's. Lay these on top of one another staggering their positions. The end result should look like this:

Now, take another piece of licorice, starting at the center of all the X's, choose one of the ends and go over the piece. Then going around the circle, alternate going over and under each licorice end, staying as close to the center as possible. As soon as one of your licorice pieces runs out, grab another piece and start where the other one ended. To bind the two together, you can squeeze and roll them together. Continue going over and under the licorice ends until you have a base size that you desire.

Once you have completed your base, cut the end of the licorice you were using to weave and tuck in. To form the sides of your licorice basket, take a piece of licorice and measure how big your licorice will need to be to form the side. Cut the licorice piece to size (let's call this licorice piece y). Once again, weave over and under each licorice end and seal licorice piece y by squeezing and rolling the ends together. Continue this step up the side of your basket. Keep in mind that the first loop (licorice piece y) that you will use to form the side will be the hardest step, but once you have established that you are now weaving on top on each licorice piece y, it goes easier. Weave as many licorice piece y's as necessary until your basket is your desired height.

Now that your basket is the appropriate height, you will notice that you have extra ends of the licorice. Simple trim these shorter and tuck into the basket. Some will be tucked on the outside of the basket and some will be tucked on the inside of the basket. This depends on whether the licorice end was over or under the final licorice piece y. *Make sure that you leave two pieces (on opposite sides of the basket) left untrimmed. These will help form the handle of the basket.
Finally, Take The two opposite ends of licorice and seal together over the basket (again, twisting and squeezing the ends together). Now, take 2 new strips of licorice. Using these two pieces along with the licorice ends you just sealed together, braid the handle. leave a tiny bit of extra licorice on both sides so that you can tuck the two ends of the new pieces of licorice into the basket, and you're done!

Trust me, this is a tough project. I definitely underestimated it; however, the result is worth it. I now have a completely original Easter treat that is completely edible! If you need any clarification on any of these steps, please leave me a comment below.

Thanks for stopping by :)

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