Hot Cocoa Crispy Treats and Holiday Cake Mix Cookies

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There are so many holiday flavors, but two of my favorite are hot cocoa and peppermint. And since I can’t decide which one I like better, I’m not going to make Santa choose either. I’m making Hot Cocoa Crispy Treats and Holiday Peppermint Cake Mix Cookies.

And since these are for Santa, both need to be served with a glass of Great Value 2% milk (I have a source that says it’s Santa’s favorite). I grabbed the milk and everything else I needed at Walmart. They had almost everything I needed in their holiday baking section. By voting for your favorite holiday treat photo you’ll be entered in a drawing to win one of eight KitchenAid® mixers.

M&M’s® Hot Chocolate were the inspiration for our hot cocoa crispy treats. To make them you’ll need:
3 tablespoons butter
1 10 oz package of mini marshmallows
6 cups cocoa crispy cereal
1 cup M&M’s® Hot Chocolate

Melt the butter and marshmallows in a large pan over medium/low heat. Then add the cocoa cereal and half of the M&M’s®. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a greased 9×13 inch pan. Top with the remaining M&M’s®. Allow to cool.

Once the treats are cool you can slice them into squares to put on the plate for Santa.

The treats are best if eaten within a day or two, so I’ll have to make another batch for Santa. Oh, darn.

I think he’ll also really like our Peppermint Holiday Cake Mix Cookies. For these you’ll need:
Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour

Combine all ingredients. Scoop by the teaspoonful, roll into balls, and place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool before frosting with Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting.

Now here comes the peppermint. Top the frosted cookies with two M&M’s® White Peppermint.

Now add some sprinkles from the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting package. Look at those cute little tree sprinkles!

Put Santa’s treats on the table with a mug of milk and he’s sure to reward you with some nice presents this year.

Santa knows how important milk is, do you? Hungry families in your community are missing out on the essential nutrients supplied by milk because it’s not typically donated to food banks – even though it’s in high demand. Log onto the Great American Milk Drive to learn about the need for more nutritious foods in America’s food banks and how your small donation can make a big impact. And when you purchase 2 bags of M&M’s® at Walmart (9.4 oz bags or larger) up to a gallon of milk will be donated to the drive.

Visit Bake in the Fun for more holiday recipe inspiration!