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

  • Kthomas

    Why can’t I use butter snaps? I bought them by mistake. Do they not turn out, or just taste weird?

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I just don’t like the taste here blended with the chocolates but others have said they like them just fine so it would just be personal preference.

  • Kathy Stephan

    Can you heat these in a microwave? I’ve done them in the oven but haven’t tried the microwave yet. I thought about doing some while at work as there is a lot of down time but only have a microwave in the kitchen

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I haven’t ever tested so I’m uncertain how they’d work out. I think it would be a challenge to melt them just to the right temp without getting puddles but perhaps trying a few at 50% power and seeing how it goes.

  • Jacque Rogers

    I couldn’t find square pretzels, so tried with regular pretzels. Candy melted into a mess. Then I tried with mini-pretzels, and they did the same. Next time, I’ll wait until I can drive 30 miles to get the square pretzels!

    • Betty

      I always use the mini pretzel twists. I prefer the way they look. If you do not over bake the hugs, and you do not push the hugs through the pretzels, they do not make a mess. I have never had any problem. I do use a parchment paper liner on the cookie sheet, and only bake for about 3 minutes, maybe 4, depending on your oven.

  • Kim

    Going to make these for a couple parties I have next week. How long will they stay fresh if in an air tight container or ziploc bag? I don’t want to make them too far ahead.

  • Sherry

    I made these this year but used Hugs candy cane then used red/green holiday m&m’s. Delicious !

  • Nancy

    These were awesome! So simple to make. The hardest part was unwrapping all the Hershey’s lol. Going to add them to my other Christmas cookies to give away. Thank you for the recipe!

  • DaisyMae

    I am going to make these for a party and i have eaten them before and they are so good and they are really easy to make