Spin Cycle - Two EASY Holiday Treats

I love to bake and have made some pretty elaborate stuff in the past (have also had some pretty elaborate disasters, but that is a post for another day), but these two very simple treats always get rave reviews.

Pretzel Treats
"Snyder's Snaps" square pretzels
Hershey's Kisses
M&M Candies

Preheat oven to 170. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the pretzels in a flat single layer on the paper. Unwrap the Kisses and place on Kiss on each pretzel (an excellent job for kids to help with!). Place in oven until Kisses soften, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately push one M&M into each Kiss to mostly flatten the Kiss. Cool in the refrigerator until the Kisses re-harden.

Since the fine folks at M&M's (the one candy to have when you're having more than one) make them in colors for many holidays, these can be made for all occasions. I have had these made with Rolo candies instead of Kisses, too, but I prefer the original with the Kisses.

The Mailman groans when he sees me making these. "You're not making those AGAIN?" but there are places that we go that I'll be yelled at if I show up without them.


Peppermint Bark
30 starlight peppermint candies (or any peppermint candies)
2 1/2 boxed Andes mints
1 1/2 bags white chocolate chips

Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper. Unwrap peppermint candies and put into two Ziploc bags. Using a hammer or mallet, crish the candies. Melt Andes mints in the microwave and spread on the wax paper. Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave and add the crushed peppermints (you can reserve some to sprinkle on top, too). Spread over the Andes mints. Cool in the refrigerator for one hour. Cut or break into bite-size pieces.

The nice Andes mint people also make Andes chips that are sometimes sold with the chocolate chips in the supermarket, and this makes life a whole lot easier. They aren't always available, though. I bought a new (new to me anyway) Nestle's product "Dark Chocolate and Mint Morsels" a few days ago, but haven't tried them yet. I sometimes use candy canes instead of starlight mints - they just seem easier to break up.

Want some more holiday goodies? Just reading about them doesn't add inches to the hips, does it? Go see Sprite's Keeper, she's also the keeper of the Spin Cycle list.