Holiday M&M Pretzels

I love this 'recipe' because it's not only quick, easy and fun, but it's brightly colored, looks great on your holiday cookie platter and they taste so good! With only three ingredients you can either whip these up yourself or have your kids or grand kids join you in the kitchen.

This time of year it's easy to find round pretzels in most grocery stores. This week I did my grocery shopping at a Super Walmart which had them in two different area's, so if you can't find them in your local grocery store, check Walmart.

Holiday M&M Pretzels

1 bag round pretzels
1 bag Hershey's chocolate kisses (unwrap them)
1 bag M&M's

Place the pretzel rounds on a foil or parchment covered cookie sheet for easy lifting later. Place one unwrapped Kiss in the center of each. Bake at 275 degree's in the oven for about 5 minutes until the chocolate looks 'wet' and shiny. This means it's 'squishable' and melty. (Love my use of the English language!?) Remove from the oven and press one M&M into the center of each chocolate, pressing down just a bit. Let cool completely for the chocolate to harden again.

Delicious, fun and frugal!

Use squares or rounds or even regular pretzels:  over the years, we've used them all!

 

My youngest daughter helps place M&M's

Peppermint Pretzels

If you are a regular around here you know that one of the 'must have' items on the list is M&M Pretzels where you melt a Hershey's Kiss in the center of a round pretzel and top it with an M&M. Yummy for those that like chocolate (most of the world!) but alas, if you are a regular reader you also remember that I don't care for chocolate. What I do like? Peppermint Pretzels!

I though I had a 'finished product' to show, I looked over the photos on my camera and it seems with all the baking I did today I didn't snap a picture of the finished Peppermint Pretzels. They are already in a ZipLoc baggy in the freezer so you'll have to just imagine!

While I like to top these with a little peppermint swirl "chocolate chip" - I did not have any on hand so today I melted them in the oven, tapped the tray on the counter to 'settle' the melted mint into the rounds of the pretzel and then left them to harden that way.

Peppermint Pretzels

Round pretzels
Hershey's Peppermint Kisses
Hershey's red and white swirl 'chocolate chip' size peppermint chips OR
red or green M&M's

Place round pretzels on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. Place an unwrapped peppermint kiss in the center of each. Place into a warm oven (325 is fine) for a few minutes until the mint is shiny and soft. Remove and gently press one peppermint chip or even a red or green M&M into the center of each to squish it down into the round form.

Let set until they harden. These can be frozen as well! 

 Used in this recipe;

 

Cherry Poppy Seed Winks

Continuing with the Cookie a Day theme,  a cookie that truly means "Christmas" for many people as they think back to Grandma's cookie tray at the holidays.   Although I'm posting my standard recipe - most of you know by now I always "play with my food" and one of the ways I play with this one is to use almonds instead of pecans and using delicious cranberry preserves in place of the cherry.  When I make them this way (as I did this year) I don't bother with poppy seeds. 



Cherry Poppy Seed Winks

1 c powdered sugar
1 c butter, softened
1 t vanilla
1 egg
2 c flour
2 T Poppy seed
1/2 t salt
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/2 c cherry preserves or half cherries, patted with paper towel to dry

Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, beat powdered sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg. Blend well. Add flour, poppy seed and salt. Mix well and drop by heaping teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Roll into a ball.  Roll ball in chopped nuts.  Place back on the cookie sheet.

With your thumb or the end of a wooden spoon, make an imprint in the center of each cookie. Fill each center with 1/2 teaspoon of preserves or a cherry half. Bake for 20 to 25 min. or until edges are light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Makes 30 cookies.

Rolled in nuts

Add an indentation

Fill with your preserves

I used cranberry this time instead of cherry.  Play with your food!

Cream Wafer Cookies

Serving idea

Another old fashioned recipe and an old fashioned cookie, that many families just like ours make every single year.  As a matter of fact, my oldest daughter is making these this year to give to some of her college professor's as a small Christmas gift.

This recipe is in my 1964 Betty Crocker Cooky Book - which was handed down to me from my father-in-law.  My husbands parents had received it as a gift in December of 1964 and it's been a favorite of mine since I was lucky enough to receive it.



Cream Wafers

1 c butter
1/3 c whipping cream (liquid form yet)
2 c flour

Mix and chill dough 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375. Roll the dough 1/8" thick. Cut into 1 1/2" rounds. Transfer to wax paper with sugar and coat both sides. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and prick with a fork. Bake 7-8 minutes. Let cool completely.

Sandwich the cookies together with this filling:

1/4 c butter, soft
3/4 c powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1 t vanilla

tint to the colors you wish.

Cooling after baking...

You might be interested in the round cutters needed for this recipe;

         

A Cookie a Day Til Christmas: Our Swedish Tradition - The Best Rosettes

You must have a rosette/timbale set to make these.

Continuing with a 'cookie a day until Christmas' here is one of our family tradition's that goes back to my own childhood of visiting my Grandmother's house on Christmas Eve.  My Grandma H. always (always!) did and I grew up loving them. Even as a child I didn't like things that were 'too sweet' and this one is not, save for the sugar sprinkled on top.  They are a tradition in our home and I hope one day to share the tradition with my own grandchildren as well.  You do need a Rosette/Timbale Set to make these.

Rosettes

2 eggs
1 t sugar
1/4 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
1 c milk
1 c flour

Break eggs into a bowl, add sugar, salt, vanilla, milk and flour. Beat briefly just until smooth. Do not overbeat! Too much beating makes your rosettes blistered and tough.

Have hot oil, lard or shortening in a pan on the stove heating. Leave the rosette iron in the hot oil for several minutes while you make the batter. Dip the hot iron into the batter being careful not to let the batter come up over the edge of the iron. Dip just about 4/5th of the way up the iron. Immediately place the iron/batter into the hot oil. Hold the iron in place and cook the rosette until it's golden brown and crisp. The temperature of the oil is perfect when it takes about 25-30 seconds for the rosette to cook. Too fast and it burns, too cool and it will be soggy and greasy. Use a fork to shake the rosette off the iron and onto a paper towel lined rack. When they are cool sprinkle with powdered sugar. These can be frozen. This recipe will make about 40.

If they do not come off the iron they were not fried long enough or you let the batter come up over the edge of the iron.
If they are blistered and thick, you have beaten the eggs too much.
If the rosettes drop off in the hot oil the iron is not deep enough in the oil.
If they are not crisp they have been fried too fast or the oil was not hot enough.

Heat the iron in the oil while you mix the batter

You must have a rosette set to make these.

Don't dip the batter up over the edge of the iron so they will slide off after frying.

Drain on paper towels

Sprinkle with powdered sugar for a delicious treat!

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