The halls have been decked, the tree has been trimmed and the candles have been lit. Everything’s ready for your holiday party except for one small detail: your snacks. Before panic (and hunger) set in, run out to your local convenience store for a few key ingredients and make some of our favorite holiday recipes. Enjoy!
Reese’s Pretzel Bites: It doesn’t get much easier than this three-ingredient crowd pleaser, perfect for both salty and sweet seekers.
Est. Total Cost: $10-$15
Ingredients:
- 1 bag square pretzels
- 1 bag mini Reese’s peanut butter cups
- 1 bag Reese’s Pieces candy
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Lay out the pretzels and place a mini peanut butter cup onto each one
- Put the pretzels with the peanut butter cups into the oven for about 1 minute (just long enough to make the peanut butter cups soft)
- Place a Reese’s Pieces candy onto each softened peanut butter cup and let cool
Peppermint Bark Dip: A twist on a classic holiday candy, this dip can be used to smother just about any type of cookie to make it instantly taste like Christmas (!).
Est. Total Cost: $15-$20
Ingredients:
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1 container frozen Cool Whip
- 1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy canes or mints
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips or broken chocolate bar pieces
- 1 package of cookies (think: Oreos, Nilla Wafers, etc.)
Directions
- Mix the cream cheese and Cool Whip together until blended and soft
- Crush up the peppermint candies and mix–along with the chocolate pieces–into the cream cheese/Cool Whip mixture
- Put into a festive bowl and serve with the cookies of your choice (we used Oreos, and it was delicious!
Mini Doughnut Hot Buttered Cheerios: Who says cereal is just for breakfast? This sugary snack will satisfy every partygoer, even late into the evening
Est. Total Cost: $10-$15
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 4 cups Cheerios cereal
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Sprinkle of nutmeg
Directions
- Melt the butter and pour over the Cheerios cereal
- Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, then mix with the buttered Cheerios
Christmas Chex Mix: For some people, it’s not Christmas until there’s homemade Chex Mix on the table. Below’s our favorite take, but you can make this your own by adding more (or less) of any ingredient.
Est. Total Cost: $20-$25
Ingredients:
- 12 cups Rice Chex cereal
- 1/3 cup red and green M&Ms
- 1 package chocolate-covered blueberries
- 1 cup white chocolate chips or broken up white chocolate bar pieces (we used Hershey’s Cookies ‘N Cream bars)
- 1 chocolate bar
- 1/3 cup dried cherries (we used the ones in the Sahale Maple Pecans Glazed Mix)
- 1/3 cup crushed pecans (we used the ones in the Sahale Maple Pecans Glazed Mix)
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut (we used the coconut in the Snack Club Tropical Trail Mix)
- 1/4 cup raisins (we used the raisins in the Snack Club Tropical Trail Mix)
- 1/4 cup mixed nuts (we used the almonds and peanuts in the Snack Club Tropical Trail Mix)
Directions
- Melt the white chocolate and chocolate bars together, then pour over the Rice Chex
- Mix in all the other ingredients and let cool
Salami & Cream Cheese Roll Ups: Looking for something slightly more substantial for your friends and family to much on? We’ve got the slam (or rather, salami?) dunk with these lunch-meat roll ups.
Est. Total Cost: $15-$20
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. thin-sliced salami meat
- 6-8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 package Ritz crackers
- Green pepper or baby carrots (optional)
Directions
- Spread the cream cheese between 2 plastic wrap sheets
- Remove a layer of plastic wrap and spread a layer of salami on top of the cream cheese
- Flip over so the cream cheese side is on top
- Spread diced veggies on top (optional)
- Carefully roll up the sheet and cut into even pieces, then place on top of the Ritz crackers