As much as I love to bake, I don’t generally make nine thousand different types of Christmas cookies. I’m actually pretty boring when it comes to Christmas cookies. I make my mama’s super delicious butter cookies, some peanut butter blossoms, and I always, always, always make buttons. Buttons really aren’t cookies though, and, actually, I don’t personally make them. I recruit my kids for that.
Buttons are the simplest treats you can make, they take minutes to prepare and bake, and then you just have to wait for the chocolate to harden up. My four year old and nine year old can do these completely by themselves. Best of all, people just gobble these up!
All you need are round pretzels, also called pretzel rings, Hershey kisses, and m&m’s.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the pretzel rings out in a single layer. Plop a Hershey’s kiss in the center of each pretzel and bake at 200 degrees for about 5 minutes. The kisses hold their shape, so don’t wait for them to melt or you’ll burn your chocolate! Remove from the oven and smoosh an m&m right down on top of the Hershey’s kiss. Let them cool long enough for the Hershey’s kiss to harden back up and then go ahead and devour all of them.
Go make these. Your holiday just isn’t complete without them!
I’ll be back later in the week to share the recipe for those scrumptious little chocolate cookies covered in powdered sugar “snow” that you see in the above photo!
Updated to add: A lot of people have emailed me to say that they are having a difficult time finding the pretzel rings. I always buy the Kitchen Cooked brand, but even then I can only find them for a few weeks around Christmas. If you can’t find the rings, just buy the little square grid shaped pretzels (I think they are made by Snyder’s) and put the kiss right on top of the pretzel. They won’t look like buttons, but they are just as cute and yummy!
I always make these, but I love to make them with hugs instead of kisses – it gives them the cutest stripes
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Ok, you really need to stop posting so many yummy Christmas things!!! I actually have a roster of yummy Christmas things that I traditionally bake but I’ve been trying out a bunch of the stuff you have posted and really, I’m just going to get colossally fat this xmas!
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Ooh! Nice, fancy new blog graphics!
I will try these with the boys next week and I’ll try with the striped peppermint kisses, too. Yummmm.
Thanks for sharing. Hope you have a super Christmas!
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ok the way I see it.. 8 hrs to eat all the delicious recipes you share and 16 hrs at the gym… or.. wait 16 hrs to eat and 8 hrs to sleep..
phew~~ scared myself for a minute..
Merry Christmas Karly
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yum! i’m going to make these for christmas this year! i’ve tried the pretzel squares with rolos on top that are yummy too!
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what a cute idea, and you executed it really nicely! i love treats that’re so festive yet easy and completely delicious. bravo.
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These add a cute and festive crunch to your cookie trays!
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I am so making these with my kids! Thanks!
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Oh this is the 2nd time I’m seeing Holiday M&M’s that’s just green and red in colour!! I wished there are some in Malaysia..
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I just thought of something else awesome about this recipe. You can use it for every holiday — just change up with the Easter, Valentine’s Day, etc. M&Ms.
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This is great! Love it!
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I do these with mini pretzels, peanut butter cups and walnuts
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What a fun project for the kids! And so colorful as well as delicious. Super idea!
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Totally going to make these! And the “chocolate crinkle cookies” (thats what we call them) are my all time favorite christmas cookies. Yum.
God, I need to stop eating so many cookies. We haven’t even hit Christmas…and then there is New Years. Shit.
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I’ve never heard of these, believe it or not, but they look awesome and I do believe I’ll add them to the list of things to do when my 3 year old twin grandkids come. They love baking with me and this will be less messy than most of our projects – ha! Plus yummy…thanks!
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I recently wasted time and money making a recipe for healthy Christmas cookies. My 12 year old refused to take them to school and I couldn’t even pawn them off at the office. I should have known better.
These look like guaranteed winners.
JOY!
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I make these with rolos, round pretzels and pecans. A pretzels turtle! Mmmmm! So yummy!!
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They look delicious and simple too!
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Is it hard to find the pretzels in just rings like that? I dont remember seeeing those at the grocery store. What brand are the pretzels?
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2010 will be the year of buttons ( in my kitchen)!
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Where do you find the round pretzels? I’ve checked our local grocery stores and no luck! I’m here in San Diego, CA and would love to make these!
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I really like your writing style, its not generic and extremly long and tedious like a lot of blog posts I read, you get to the point and I really enjoy reading your articles! Oh, and merry Christmas!
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I love these! I make them every year! You can also do them with the mini pretzels if, I can’t find the rings. They aren’t quite that purty.. but
I have a similar recipe, I’ll email it to you later. Just like this, except not
(i’m cryptic, aren’t i)
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Wow! I’m making these today with my family! Soooo cute.
I love you blog, BTW.
Check out my kid-friendly activity making butter with your kids:
Easy Homemade Butter: http://www.fabfrugalfood.com/appetizers/easy-homemade-butter/
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Oh my goodness! These are lovely! I love your photos as well. I can’t wait to produce as good of photos as you.
Happy holidays and happy new year!!
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These are so cute. I used to make them with my mom every year, but I haven’t made them in awhile. Thanks for reminding me about them!
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Simplicity is best when it comes to baking for Christmas! I love these!
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Oh my gosh, yum. I need to make some of those.
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Oh, these are so cute! I’ve never seen them before, and now can’t wait to do them.
~~Lori
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Where did you find those pretzel rings? I’ve looked all over and just can’t find ‘em!
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How so very adorable!! I’ve never seen pretzel rings. I love how simple these are to make.
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I make these but used Rolos and walnuts. I call it the lazy woman’s turtle.
I’ll have to try them with Kisses and M&M’s!!
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If you make them with the square grid shaped pretzels when they come out of the oven pop another pretzel on top and you have a sandwich! I call them pretzel covered chocolates.
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Thank you. Not bad submissions you have here. Have some extra sites to point to with more info?
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I like to melt white almond bark, pour it in the center of the round pretzels, top with 1-3 cinnamon red hots, and sprinkle with just a bit of red & green sugar.
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I am making them right now! I ordered a case of the kitchen cooked pretzels online. Yay!!
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