The smell of peppermint fills the air inside Lucas Candies, where owner Nick Loucas and his baking partner Debbie Bertrand are hard at work on a beloved Christmas tradition. "We do live candy cane ...

is a Christmas mascot built on a kind of delicious deception. It looks so wholesome — a cheerful red-and-white curl of peppermint, practically jingling with innocence. It hangs from trees, fills ...