Holiday Treats

I don't really bake a ton over the holidays. I'm just not a baker. Don't love it, never have, and I admit that I probably never will. But this year I have really tried to do a couple treats that the kids can help prepare because I want them to have those memories.

Last week Ryan made some cookies that his mother made when he was a child: Hazelnut Thumb-print Cookies. Here are the kids taking turns measuring, dumping, stirring.

Then yesterday we made these Pretzel Turtles that my friend Jen told me about. Seriously, this is my kind of homemade treat - prepped and done in less than 15 minutes. And they taste pretty good.

Ingredients:
1 bag of rolos (maybe 2 if your kids eat as many as mine do during the process)
bag of pretzels
m&m's, salted cashews, walnuts, etc.
parchment paper & cookie sheet


Set oven to 350 degrees. Place rolos in center of pretzels. Place in oven for 3 minutes (just until rolos get glossy and barely start melting. Too long and it will be a mess). Take them out and push your other toppings into the rolo (smoosh it all down baby!). We did salted cashews and m&m's - both delish!


Here the rascals are placing the pretzels & rolos on the parchment paper ... can you guess what's in Finn's mouth?