Peppermint Bark Fudge

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, MARS Incorporated. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeInTheFun #CollectiveBias 

I love everything about the Christmas season. The decorations, the parties, the time with family and friends, the baking and sharing of treats, the two weeks off from work and so much more. Most of these are things that I think most people look forward to and associate with the holidays but I also have something that I consider my own secret cue that Christmas is on its way - seasonal flavored candies. 

I can't help myself. The minute stores start putting out their Christmas Limited Edition flavors I have to buy them all. And not because I'm someone who likes to eat candy straight from the bag (no  judgement if that's your thing), but because I can't stop imagining all the holiday treats I am going to bake using flavors like peppermint, gingerbread and white chocolate.  My personal favorite- holiday flavored M&M'S®. 

I seriously stockpile them. It starts with buying a bag or two of each limited edition flavor or colorway. Then usually a week or two later I swing back to Walmart and grab a couple more bags of my favorites. I have major issues with being worried that I will make an amazing recipe only to want to recreate it later in the month and not be able to find the flavor of M&M'S® I originally used. I may or may not have an entire storage bin in my pantry dedicated to seasonal baking products. While stocking up I am also sure to check out Ibotta (my favorite cash back app ever) and take advantage of the holiday baking rebates they have right now. 

What I purchase varies from year to year but every year I make sure to always stock up on my two favorites- M&M’S® Brand White Peppermint (Limited Edition) Candies and M&M’S® Brand Minis Milk Chocolate Baking Bits in the red and green colorway. I bake a ton over the holidays. Between parties, family get togethers, my own annual Christmas party and gifts and treats for coworkers and friends I may make my favorite recipes 3-4 times in the month of December.

One of the things I love the most about seasonal M&M'S® is that they make it so easy to adapt my tried and true baking recipes to holiday themed treats. I use them to mix into cookies to add a pop of festive red and green or to top my favorite buttermilk cupcake bites for an easy party dessert. With this recipe I simply took my easy, two ingredient fudge recipe and added in some M&M’S® Brand White Peppermint (Limited Edition) Candies to make it Peppermint Bark Fudge. It took minutes to make and is the perfect thing to wrap up and gift to family and friends.

Peppermint Bark Fudge

• 1 bag of M&M’S® Brand White Peppermint (Limited Edition) Candies 
• 2 cups of white chocolate chips
• 1 cup of regular chocolate chips
• 1 can of condensed milk

1.) In a saucepan, combine the chocolate chips and condensed milk and melt over medium heat. Stir occasionally.

2.) While that is melting, crush the entire bag of M&M’S® and separate them into two equal amounts. Line a 9x9 baking dish with tin foil and set aside. 

3.) Once the chocolate chips are melted stir in one half of the crushed M&M’S®. Pour the mixture into the lined 9x9 pan.

4.) Top the fudge with the second half of the M&M’S® and press them lightly into the fudge to make sure they stick. Let cool before cutting. Once cut the fudge will stay freshest if stored in the refrigerator. 

I love being able to spend time in the kitchen making holiday treats with my family and then sharing the love with our friends and co-workers. What makes me feel even better is that every time you buy a bag of M&M'S® at Walmart they are donating a gallon of milk to a local food back. Check out The Great American Milk Drive and learn more about how you can help this holiday season. 

Christmas Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ShareTheHoliday #CollectiveBias

The holiday season is officially here and in our house that means lots of baking and dessert making. Every year I spend an entire day in the kitchen making tons of Christmas treats and packaging them up and give them to my co-workers, friends and family.

This weekend I wanted to test out a new recipe to add to my traditional list of treats and since we were going out of town for a wedding I figured the recipe could also double as a thank you gift to my parents and in-laws who would be watching Easton for us.

These cookies are a twist on one of my favorites- Brown Butter Snickerdoodles. The browned butter is an added step from your traditional snickerdoodle recipe but it makes all the difference. This version are also topped with holiday chocolate covered candies and they add a whole other layer of richness to what is already a complex and delicious cookie.

Since I'm not overly crafty, I usually stop by Walmart at the beginning of the holiday season every year and pick up a few packages of Rubbermaid TakeAlongs in the limited edition holiday colors. I love how easy and festive they are to wrap up Christmas treats before I give them as gifts. The Quik Clik Seal™ keeps cookies and other baked goods fresh and since they are microwavable and freezer safe your recipients can reuse them for pretty much any kind of food storage once they have eaten all your treats. 

I dressed mine up a bit by adding some metallic twine and a holiday gift tag to make them even more festive. At less than $4 per package Rubbermaid TakeAlongs are an affordable option for gifting Christmas  baked goods and with the amount of baking I do this time of year I'll be stocking up on the holiday colors while they are in stores through December 24th. For more holiday baking inspiration be sure to visit Share The Holiday! 

Christmas Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Ingredients (makes about 36 cookies)

For The Dough

• 2 sticks (8oz) of unsalted butter
• 2 3/4 cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of firmly packed brown sugar

For The Rolling Mixture

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup mini chocolate covered Christmas candies

Instructions

1.) In a medium sauce pan, place butter (cubed) and heat on medium heat until the foam subsides and the butter turns brown. Should take between 8-10 minutes.

2.) Pour the browned butter through a strainer into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium to bring back to room temperature, 5-7 minutes.

3.) Whisk together the milk and eggs.

4.) Once butter has cooled, add the sugars (amounts for the dough) and beat on medium for about 2 minutes.

5.) Add in egg and milk mixture and beat until fully combined.

6.) Add in the rest of the dry ingredients in 3 parts until just combined.

7.) Cover dough in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for at least an hour but not more than 24 hours.

Mix the cinnamon and sugar for the rolling mixture in a bowl. Place candies in a separate bowl.

8.) Using a cookie scoop or your hands form uniform ball of dough. Press the dough ball into the mini candies and then roll it in the cinnamon sugar mixture before placing on a lined baking sheet. If you roll it in the sugar mixture before putting the candies on they won't stick very well so add the candy first.

9.) Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies have started to "crack".

10.) Let the cookies and the chocolate cool completely before storing in Rubbermaid TakeAlongs.

M&M's® Crispy Treats

 This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CrispyComeback #CollectiveBias

 

In high school, our cafeteria had an amazing selection of snacks and candy. If I had an extra .50 cents I use to love picking myself out a treat to save for before swim practice after school. One of my favorite things to get were M&M's® Crispy. Back then they came in a bright blue bag and I loved how crunchy and airy they were. I was devastated when they were discontinued so you can imagine my excitement when I walked into CVS last week and saw that they had been brought back in all their crispy glory.

I'm now a teacher at my former high school and I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to see our cafeteria carrying M&M's® Crispy once again in their new, light green bag. The delicious milk chocolate with a crispy rice center with only 180 calories per serving still makes for perfect afternoon snack (teachers need snacks too). While I love the single serving bags, I am thrilled that they now come in larger sized bags too so that I can easily use them for baking at home.

Since M&M's® Crispy bring back all kinds of nostalgia for me it would make sense that I should use them one the most nostalgic childhood desserts- Rice Crispy Treats. These are just your standard rice cereal treats adjusted to make room for lots of colorful, crunchy M&M's®. As if these treats weren't crispy enough, the addition M&M's® take them over the top with their chocolate and crispy centers.

These take only minutes to make and I for one would be happy to find one in my lunch bag or waiting for me at home when I got back from school. (hint, hint husband) You can add more or less M&M's® Crispy depending on your tastes but I found a cup to be the perfect amount.

M&M's® Crispy Treats

• 10oz bag of mini marshmallows
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 5 cups of crispy rice cereal
• 1 cup of M&M's® Crispy

1.) Place the marshmallows and butter in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes and then remove and quickly stir. Microwave for another minute and stir again.

2.) Slowly combine rice cereal into marshmallow mixtures. 

3.) Once combined stir in the M&M's® Crispy. Don't stir them too much or the colors of the shells will start to run.

4.) Using a spatula lightly sprayed in cooking spray, press the mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. 

5.) Let cool completely and then cut and serve. They can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap for an on the go treat or stored together in an air tight container. 

Right now you can save $1 when you purchase M&M's® Crispy at CVS. Be sure to print out this coupon and save!