Pretzel M&M Hugs {Christmas Style}

Published December 11, 2018. Updated December 13, 2018

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These Pretzel M&M Hugs are the perfect little festive treats for Christmas parties or gifts. They only need 3 ingredients, they take no time at all to make, they look so pretty and festive and of course they’re incredibly delicious!

Pretzel M&M Hugs in a red snowflake bowl. The consist of square pretzel base, hug chocolate and red and green M&M's.

Easiest Chocolate Pretzels!

It’s been six years since I first shared these so I thought in case you’ve missed them I better re-share them. Every year at Christmas these easy treats are always one of the most popular things on my blog!

We love to make these fun chocolates when the holidays roll around because they are they’re amazingly simple, so fun and festive, and so addictive!

Who can resist that sweet and lightly salty combo? And you just can’t go wrong with chocolate. Ever.

And thanks to the Hugs you get both white and milk chocolate in these (since their centers are filled).

Holiday treats don’t get any easier than this! They are perfect for gifting and it’s a treat everyone will love.

Pretzel M&M Hugs in rows on parchment paper lined baking sheet.

You Only Need 3 Ingredients for This Easy Christmas Treat!

The best part about this recipe – you only need 3 ingredients!

  • Square Pretzels (not butter flavor!)
  • M&M’s
  • Hersey’s Hugs Chocolates

Ingredients for pretzel m&m hugs shown here.Pretzel M&M Hugs

How to Make These Chocolate Pretzels

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
  • Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

Showing how to make easy christmas treat. Putting square pretzels lined up in rows on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

  • Align pretzels on cookie sheet in a single layer then top each pretzel with one Hershey’s Hug chocolate.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 4 – 6 minutes, until the chocolate is shiny and soft, not totally melted!

Adding hugs to pretzels on baking sheet.

  • Remove from oven and carefully place one M&M in the center of each soft Hug and press down on M&M to spread the chocolate.
  • Place in freezer or refrigerator and allow to rest until chocolate has set, about 5 – 15 minutes (freezer will be fastest).
  • Store in an airtight container.

Adding M&M chocolate over melted hugs in center.

I love to wrap them up in cellophane bags and tie  with red ribbon, or place in festive tins and give to friends and neighbors. Just be sure to save a stash for yourself!

I highly recommend making a double batch which is what I did this time around.

How Many More Bags for More Batches?

  • One 12 oz. bag of Hugs will have about 75 chocolates (enough for one batch).
  • Then you should be able to get about 5 batches from an 11.4 oz bag of M&M’s and a family size bag of pretzels.

Tips for This Recipe

  • Don’t melt chocolates fully. They should still be standing, they might droop slightly but no puddles. Test one M&M then return to the oven if needed.
  • If your oven doesn’t totally cook even you can rotate the sheet halfway through if the back of the oven cooks hotter.
  • I love to use silicone liners here because then they don’t slide around. Parchment will work too though. Just be sure to line with one or the other so they don’t stick to the baking sheet.
  • Be sure to let the chocolate set fully before you package or store them otherwise they’ll smudge and stick.

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Pretzel Hugs
4.87 from 36 votes

Pretzel M&M Hugs

These Pretzel M&M Hugs are the perfect treats for Christmas gifts or parties. They only need 3 ingredients, they take no time at all to make, they look so pretty and festive and they're dangerously delicious!
Servings: 70 pretzels
Prep15 minutes
Cook5 minutes
Chill5 minutes
Ready in: 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 70 square pretzels (do NOT use butter snaps)
  • 70 Hershey's Hugs chocolates (from nearly 1 full 12 oz package), unwrapped
  • 70 Milk Chocolate M&M's , I used the red and green Christmas package

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Align pretzels on cookie sheet in a single layer then top each pretzel with one Hershey's Hug chocolate.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 4 - 5 minutes, until the chocolate is shiny and soft (but NOT melting, the chocolates should still hold their shape).
  • Remove from oven and carefully place one M&M in the center of each soft Hug and press down on M&M to spread the chocolate. 
  • Place in freezer or refrigerator and allow to rest until chocolate has set, about 5 - 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition Facts
Pretzel M&M Hugs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 31 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 17mg1%
Potassium 1mg0%
Carbohydrates 4g1%
Sugar 3g3%
Calcium 10mg1%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.
Recipe adapted from g*rated

 

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191 Comments

  • michele holt

    Totally easy. My husband and both have M names and have been called M&M. Just made these for him for Valentines Day. I even found a Valentine M&M tin to out them him. Im sure he will love them !

  • Pam Wallace

    Made these for Christmas and the grandkids loved them. They ate these and ignored the other desserts. My granddaughter wants me to make them again for her birthday in March.

    • Tracy

      I made these once and they were yummy but they didn’t look pretty enough to serve at my party. The kisses part cracked and looked grayish – do you know what I did wrong? Or does the milk chocolate kisses just do that? I made them the day before the party and put them in the freezer. Thanks for any help – my daughter wants them for our party this Saturday!

      • Jaclyn

        Jaclyn Bell

        Chocolate can tend to bloom in the freezer, white chocolate doesn’t tend to do that at least it’s lighter so it’s not really visible. If you chill in the fridge it may not be as bad.

  • Karen

    I have been making these for years but had the same problem with the kisses not melting. I figured out that the Christmas holiday ones were the ones that didn’t melt. I compared the bags of regular and holiday and their ingredients are indeed listed differently. I’m going to the store right now to try and get some of the regular ones. I’m trying to be hopeful as these are such a big hit for my family and coworkers.

  • Kathy Schoen

    You should know that they have changed the recipe for hugs, and they DO NOT MELT anymore! I have made this awesome recipe for years, but it does not work anymore, because the HUGS do not get soft or glisten…just sit there like a piece of plastic on a pretzel. I am so frustrated after unwrapping all of those HUGS!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Sorry they didn’t work for you, I made them this year twice and both batches worked for me so not sure what’s happening.

    • Susan House

      Kathy- I just made a batch before Christmas and the Hugs worked fine as always.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I don’t like the flavor with these but some people have said the like them with butter snaps so I guess just personal preference.

  • Keeley

    I love these but noticed that the m&m color fades on mine, so they don’t look as vibrant like in this pic. Do you know how to prevent that?

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Sorry I’ve never had that happen so I’m not sure what’s happening. Maybe a humidity issue. Are you keeping them in an airtight container?

    • April

      I had the same issue with my first batch. Making a second batch now and going to skip the fridge and just let them cool on the counter. I think maybe that’s the issue??

    • April

      I had the same issue with my first batch. Just made another but skipping the cooling off in the fridge. So far no fading, so I’m guessing that’s where the issue is.