Snack Recipe

My Friend Carmen is coming tomorrow and we are going to do some baking.  These are some of the recipes hoping to try.  This one looks quick and easy. We are going to have a small Christmas dinner while she is here and then of course our dinner on Christmas day.

Holiday Pretzel Treats

Salty pretzels combine with sweet chocolate for these fun treats that make a yummy gift few can resist. (In fact, you may want to make some extras for yourself!)

Ingredients

Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels

Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug

M&M's candy

Instructions

Heat the oven to 170F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.

Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.

This is would be great for children

For a really special gift, package these little guys with a mouse-related holiday book, such as "The Night Before Christmas," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!," or "The Nutcracker."
Ingredients
24 maraschino cherries with stems
Waxed paper
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
24 milk chocolate Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped
48 almond slices

FOR THE ICING:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Black paste food coloring

Red food coloring

3 plastic sandwich bags

Instructions

Drain the cherries and pat them dry with paper towels. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.

Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat them until smooth, working in 15-second intervals, stirring between each.

Holding a cherry by its stem, dip it into the chocolate and swirl it around to completely cover the fruit. Set it on its side on the waxed paper and immediately press a Hershey's Kiss onto the cherry for the head. For the ears, gently wedge two almond slices between the Kiss and the cherry. Repeat to make 24 mice.

Make a thick icing by mixing 1 cup of confectioners' sugar with a teaspoon of water. If the mixture is too dry, stir in more water, a few drops at a time, until you have a thick, smooth icing. Divide the icing among three small bowls.

Tint one bowl of icing black and one pink. Spoon each of the three icings into a plastic bag and snip a tiny corner from each. Pipe white eye dots on the mice, then refrigerate them until set, about 10 minutes. Add black pupils and pink noses. Keep the mice in the fridge until you're ready to serve them or give them away.

Dressed in colorful candy scarves and top hats, these stylish, easy-to-make snowmen are sure to liven up any holiday gathering.

Ingredients
bag of 8-inch pretzel rods
1 cup white chocolate chips
 mini chocolate chips
orange decorators' gel
 fruit leather (various colors)
gummy rings
 gumdrops

Instructions

1. To make a batch, melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler.

2. One at a time, dip one end of an 8-inch pretzel rod in the melted chocolate and use a plastic spoon or knife to spread the chocolate two thirds of the way down the rod.

3. Set the pretzels on a sheet of waxed paper and press on mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons. Use orange decorators' gel to add a carrot nose.

4. When the chocolate has hardened, stand the pretzels in a mug or glass and tie on strips of fruit leather for scarves. For each hat, stretch a gummy ring over the narrow end of a gumdrop and secure it on the pretzel rod with a dab of melted chocolate.