Allison: Halloween Treats

Hello again! Isn't my sister, Lisa, such a fun mom? I love reading about their fun family traditions. I can't wait for my little ones to be old enough to participate in and start some new family traditions.

This week, I thought I'd share one of my favorite treats to make almost any holiday of the year. I don't have a name for them so we'll call them holiday pretzels. I know I've seen these on Pinterest lately, but I've been making them for almost 10 years now, thanks to the Kitchen family. I lived with three sisters in college and spent a Thanksgiving with this amazing family, where we made these fun treats. I've been making them ever since (with a few changes).

Here's how you make them:

Step 1- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2- Unwrap A LOT of Hershey Kisses.

Step 3- Spread mini pretzels on a baking sheet and place 1 unwrapped kiss on top of each pretzel.

Step 4- Place the cookie sheet in the oven for about 2 1/2 minutes.

Step 5- Pull the tray out of the oven, and press one M&M down on each kiss.

Step 6- Allow pretzels to cool (or sneak a few while they're still gooey.  Yum!).

The finished product and my "helper".

See how easy that was? I also love this treat because little ones can help with the first part. I usually don't let them push the M&Ms down as the pan and chocolate can get pretty hot. I can't wait for my little ones to be able to join me in making these! For now, my two-year-old is way more interested in eating the supplies.

After having made these for years, I've found a few tricks or ideas to share:

- With all the different kinds of Hershey Kisses, you can definitely use more than just plain chocolate. The melting time may be reduced or extended. I usually open the oven and test pushing a M&M down in one of the kisses. If it doesn't go down easily, it's not melted enough.

- An even easier way to change the flavor is to switch out different M&M flavors. I've used peanut, almond, mint and any other fun flavor available. The holiday pack colors also make then more festive.

- Be careful not to let the chocolate melt for too long in the oven. The chocolate can over cook, causing the tip to harden and add a degree of difficulty to your project. I always set a timer since I've forgotten a batch in the oven more than once.

- Once the chocolate is ready, push the M&Ms down as quickly as possible. As the chocolate cools, this gets harder to do.

- Sticking the tray into the fridge or freezer will speed the cooling process (obviously). They also store really well in either the fridge or freezer in a Ziploc bag.

These are the perfect treat to gift or have at a Halloween (or any holiday) party.  But watch out... they're addictive!!  :)  Hope you all enjoy this treat and have a great week!

P.S.  You might see some day changes for the next few weeks.  For a little while, we'll now be posting just Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (I still went a day early... oops!).

Allison