Liora’s Peppermint North — Under the pine bough, while ornaments clicked softly in the draft, Liora rolled a plain peppermint chip around the rim of her wrapper. Read the full story →
Under the pine bough, while ornaments clicked softly in the draft, Liora rolled a plain peppermint chip around the rim of her wrapper. It was no bigger than a button, but it smelled like cold air and sugar caves. She wanted to know why the chip hummed every time the snowy window turned silver. The other cupcakes slept beneath their paper folds, so Liora nudged her candy cane like a walking stick and climbed the frosting spiral.
At the top, the window stars blinked out. The room went blue and still. From somewhere beyond the glass came a tiny voice: “Put north where north belongs.” Liora pressed the peppermint chip into the highest curl of frosting. Frost crackled, the candy cane leaned into a perfect hook, and every snowflake sprinkle pointed the same secret way.
Ever since, Christmas cupcakes keep a candy cane tucked in their frosting—not for decoration, but to remember the first peppermint north. Next time you spot that curved red-and-white hook, see if it seems to be listening to the snow.
