Christmas Lights Bites Recipe
- 1 (15- or 16-ounce) bag square waffle pretzels
- 2 (13-ounce) bags Hershey’s Kisses (or Rolo chocolate caramel candies)
- 1 (14-ounce) bag M&M’s milk chocolate candies (use all colors except brown)
Heat oven to 200 degrees. Unwrap the Kiss candies, and place the M&M candies in a bowl.
Place pretzels on an ungreased cookie sheet. Top each pretzel with a naked Kiss candy. Bake for 5 minutes; Kiss will look slightly glossy, but won’t lose its shape. (If you bake longer, you risk that the chocolate will get too hot and will seize.)
Remove cookie sheet from the oven, and, working quickly, firmly push one M&M down on top of each Kiss (M side down, unless you would like your cookies to advertise for free). The Kiss will squish into the pretzel, and all three pieces will adhere. Remove cookies from the sheet onto a plate, and continue making more cookies.
Let cookies sit on counter for several hours, during which time the chocolate will re-harden. (You may re-harden them quickly in the refrigerator, but you risk the M&Ms losing their glossy appearance and the chocolate getting a white bloom on it.) Store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
Makes 160 cookies.
Variations
- Substitute Hershey’s Hugs for regular Kisses (check them after 3-4 minutes because they soften faster).
- Substitute M&M peanut flavored candies for regular M&Ms.
- Substitute a Rolo candy (chocolate covered caramel) for the Kiss, and bake for 3-4 minutes.
For Valentine’s Day
- Substitute vanilla wafers for the pretzels, and use candy hearts instead of the M&M’s, to push into the Kisses.