A Little Candling Party

Licorice Scented Candles

The movie Hocus-Pocus has always made me want a black Halloween candle, and since I'm a secondary virgin, I hope that after I light this one that Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker will come visit me. Together we can suck the lives from the children of Salem, or at the very least boil them down into a highly effective wrinkle-reducing face cream. For years I've hunted for Black Licorice scented candles, and I've only found one, in November, on clearance (a day late and dollar short, so to speak). My mom had a black licorice candle that she only brought out around Halloween, and that thing lasted for years. As a kid I used to think it was the nastiest smelling candle ever, as it was very strong. Recently my mom admitted that she often burned it at night, after we had gone to bed, to mask the smell of pot. 

You will need the following: 

festive jars

1.5 lbs candle wax

wicks

anise essential oil 

a black crayon

*A few notes to begin with: candle wax will ignite, so be careful about splatters. Don't heat wax to more than 190 degrees. Always use a candy thermometer.  Check the packaging of wick kits, many contain lead which causes cancer. Clean-up is tedious, I suggest using disposable everything.

Step 1: Cut wax into small pieces and slowly melt in a double boiler. Keep an eye on the temperature. Your goal is 170 degrees. 

Step 2: Whilst wax is melting, take your wick and dip the metal tab in wax. Adhere to bottom of jar and wind around a pencil, to keep it straight and in place. 

Step 3: Chop up your crayon and mix it into melted candle wax. Stir thoroughly. 

Step 4: Once wax has reached 170 degrees, add in 2-3 tsp anise essential oil, stir and transfer wax from double boiler to spouted cup. Pour about an inch into the bottom of the jar to set the wick. 

Step 5: Pour the rest of the wax in, and allow to cool and cure for 24 hours. The wax will sink in the middle. Fill in after 24 hours with some reheated left-over wax.

Once the second round of wax is solid, it will be finished. Light it up! 

*Helpful hint: put waxy utensils in the freezer for easy clean.