Holiday Baking & Decorating {Recipe #HolidayCandy}

During the holidays I love to bake, but I love to bake things that aren’t too complex. I don’t want to spend hours baking after spending hours at work…not my idea of fun. That’s why I love simple, delicious holiday recipes. I made cookies for a holiday baby shower, and boy are they tasty. Not crunchy, not too chewy + they have a nice sweet, yet salty flavor thanks to the Butterfinger Jingles.

I picked up a bag Butterfinger Jingles and Crunch Jingles at my local Walmart for about $2.78 a bag, and each bag comes with about 30 bells. You’ll need about 20 Butterfinger Jingles to make these simply delish Jingle Sugar Cookies. In about 20 minutes, including prep time, you’ll have tasty cookies.

Chop ‘em.

Next, mix your flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In a large mixer, beat your butter and sugar until they’re totally blended.

Add in your egg to the butter/sugar mixture, and continue to mix together. Slowly add in the dry ingredients.

Now your dough is ready for Butterfinger Jingles! Use a spatula to mix in all the pieces of Butterfinger into the dough.

Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, portion out your cookies onto a greased cookie sheet. You should end up with about 24-28 cookies.

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown and enjoy! You can view the full recipe for the Jingle Sugar Cookies over here.

Now, I love to eat candy, but I also use it for decorating my living room! While entertaining, I like for guests to be able to munch on stuff while hanging out, so I take some simple vase filler crystal gems and layer them about 1/3 of the way up in a glass votive holder or hurricane. I sprinkle a generous amount of Butterfinger/Crunch Jingles on top of the gems, add in a festive LED tealight and…

I end up with an instant décor piece that serves as beauty and function. The LED candlelight bounces off the crystal gems and the foil from the Crunch Jingles makes it sparkle! Add a cute little bow, and it’s instantly snazzy. They’re affordable enough to make a few to place in common areas such as living, dining, and family rooms. Each one is roughly about $3 (glass, LED votive, candy).

And by using an LED tealight my chocolates won’t melt and my guests won’t burn themselves while reaching in for a treat. One bag of Crunch Jingles can easily make 1 large centerpiece or 2-3 small ones. These are also great hostess gifts since the hostess can use the glass, gems and LED tealight long after the holidays! I currently have 3 of these in my living room, and it may explain why my pants are fitting snug these days.

As always, Pee Wee is trying to see what in the world is going on. If there is food, Pee Wee is there. Wonder where he got that from?

Nestle candy is great for baking, but don’t forget about how it can be used as décor, too. Hang candy canes on a tree, make cookie ornaments, use candies to designate/jazz up place settings at the dinner table…the options are endless and affordable. For more great holiday recipes and ideas, check out www.nestleseasonalrecipes.com

Do you use candy when baking cookies? Do you ever use it to decorate your home?

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Nestle #CBias #SocialFabric #HolidayCandy