Recipe Box, Snow Pea Tree and Christmas Candy
In case you need some help in your holiday kitchen, wow your guests with a Snow Pea Tree
or bake up some irresistible Christmas Candy Squares
You don’t have to go to a lot of trouble, sometimes all you need is a little red and green
For the snow peas, you steam them briefly in the microwave
You can give them a rinse, put them back in the plastic produce bag they came in and put them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Pat dry on paper towels
Then spread with a flavored soft white cheese spread, like Rondele or Alouette…it will look like snowy branches!
Lay them out in a Christmas tree shape on a holiday platter. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight if you want to make this ahead of time
The cookies are just a version of 7 layer bars or Magic cookie bars. I got the idea for these from Lynn over at Happier Than a Pig in Mud. She made a sweet and salty version with a pretzel crust and peanuts that had me drooling. You can see her Salty Sweet Magic Cookie Bars with Pretzel Crust here
My version uses Synder’s Salted Caramel pretzel pieces, dry roasted peanuts and peanut M&Ms
I used a food processor to convert the pretzels into crumbs for the crust and then chopped half the peanuts
After mixing melted butter with the pretzel crumbs and patting into a crust, add a layer of chocolate chips, a layer of chopped peanuts, then the rest of the whole peanuts. Pour milk over all and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes
Remove from oven and immediately press M&Ms into hot cookie. Lynn said this keeps them from cracking during the baking process for a prettier cookie. I pretty much managed to screw this up because I didn’t really get them pressed down far enough and I cracked them when I cut them, BUT the cookies tasted so amazing that I didn’t care ^^’
This is what I made for my annual Goodie Swap group, and I packed them in glitter sprayed Ball jars
This group started when we were all young brides and we have laughed and cried together over the years
Packaging is a big part of our goodies, and if you don’t have time to bake, it’s perfectly acceptable to buy~
The “peppermint” bag is a white bag that Jennifer painted with simple red stripes!
So cute! Such a fast and easy idea~ thanks Jennifer!
Talented Kit made the fun red nosed reindeer tag~ she makes a special tag every year and I hang them on my goodie swap tree
It stays decorated, stashed away in a storage closet off season
It is a “scrapbook” full of wonderful memories
Our grown children still ask when the Goodie Swap is~ 🙂
For the other recipes that were part of this years easy brunch see Green Chili Strata with Bacon Roses here and Bleu Cheese Tart with Cranberry Chutney here and Holiday Salad here
For dessert we had Baby Bites [iced mini cakes] from a local bakery, Pastry Art
You might also want to check out Bloody Mary Buffet here for another very easy brunch
Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope I’ve given you some ideas for some easy holiday eats!
Snow Pea Tree
Ingredients
- 50-60 fresh snow peas
- 1 cup soft white cheese spread like Rondele or Alouette
Instructions
- Rinse snow peas and place in a plastic bag, bowl or wrap in a paper towel and microwave on high for 1 1/2-2 minutes. Pat dry.
- Spread half of snow peas with a layer of cheese spread and top with another snow pea.
- Lay the filled peas in a tree shape on a platter if desired. Cover and refrigerate for up to 36 hours. Makes 24-30
Christmas Candy Squares
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed Salted Caramel Pretzel Pieces [Synder’s] or any pretzels
- 4 T butter
- 1 large bag 12 oz., semi sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups dry roasted peanuts divided
- 1 bag Christmas Peanut M & Ms
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Melt butter in a 9 x 13″ baking dish.
- Add pretzel pieces and using a fork or your fingers pat butter into crumbs forming a crust.
- Top with chocolate chips.
- Pulse 1 cup of peanuts in food processor to chop finely.
- Put chopped peanuts on top of chocolate chips and then top all with the remaining whole peanuts.
- Pour milk slowly and evenly over all.
- Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until set in the middle.
- Remove from oven and immediately top with M&Ms and press down into hot cookie.
- Let cool. Refrigerate for several hours before cutting into small squares. Yield: 4 dozen
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It sounds like you all have a blast Jenna! I love the gift tag this year, it really looks cool! Thanks for the shout-out… Time’s a ticking, hope you got your Ho-Ho-Ho on:@)
This looks delicious, and such a fun thing to do with friends. I am printing the Christmas candy recipe. Thanks!
Thank you for all the nice recipes.
Thank you so much Liz, Merry Holidays to you!
All great ideas. I might give the snow pea tree a try for our annual Christmas Eve PJ party.
So fun Jenna! I love how you carry out a theme for your parties! You bars in the jars are so cute too and I love the idea of ‘goodie swap’ much more than the traditional cookie swap. 🙂
The snow pea tree really has my attention…Fun, and very clever. Love it. Your jars are adorable too. Thanks for the inspiration.
Merry Christmas!
thanks Velva, Merry Merry to you too!
The snow pea tree is awesome! I like the way you “play” with food, Jenna…
Merry Christmas!
Love the snow pea tree, and my husband would love the Christmas crack in the jar! What fun to share with your girlfriends.
thanks Rita, we have a lot of fun…
The snow pea tree is so cute. What are the little red balls? I can’t stand to look at the Christmas Candy Squares–I need a tissue for the drool before I ruin my computer.😂
haha! The little red balls are called Pepper Drops, they are small pickled Peruvian peppers shaped like a tear drop. I found them in a small plastic container in the produce section of my grocery store. They’re sweet and tangy. You could also use cherry tomatoes, chopped red pepper, or pimeintoes