Menu Planning Mayhem: Christmas Baking
M&M’s have always had a very special place in one of our family Christmas traditions. But did you know that these popular candies could be used to tell the Christmas Story?
Neither did I…
I have fond childhood memories of my sister, Katie, and me being so excited to help Mom with her Christmas baking. She could always count on us for decorating the sugar cookies and helping her with our favorite Christmas treat- the M&M bars!
The sweet taste of coconut and chocolate over graham cracker crust coming together in one bite is simply delightful! If anyone makes these outside of our family, I do not know about it. I’ve never seen them served anywhere else.
Yet, in 25 years, I can’t remember a single Christmas going by without them.
Even as my husband and I seek to establish Christ-centered traditions of our own Mom’s M&M Bars are just one of those family traditions I knew I wanted to hold onto. So imagine my joy and surprise when I came across this on Pinterest:
What better way to gift this family recipe than telling the story of the greatest gift: The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!
It warms my heart to think about Christmas past-making these treats each year with Katie and Mom. Christmas present-sharing the M&M bars, including the story as gifts to our friends. And most of all, Christmas’s to come when I can, one day, make these with my children and teach them the true meaning of Christmas.
Mom’s M&M Bars
We did this by sight/memory growing up. I actually had to ask mom to write down the recipe, because I never remember the exact measurements.
Ingredients:
½ Cup (1 stick) of Butter/Margarine
1 ½ Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ Cup coconut
1 Cup plain M&M chocolate candies
* We used to make a batch of these with just the red and green M&Ms and one with multicolored just for fun!
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° (*325° if using a glass dish).
2. Place butter in a 13×9 pan, place in oven until melted.
3. Remove from oven. Make sure butter evenly coats the pan.
4. Pour graham cracker crumbs over butter, lightly pressing them into the pan.
5. Pour the whole can of condensed milk evenly over crumbs.
6. Top with coconut, then M&M’s. Pressing down firmly with hand.
7. Bake for 25-30 min until edges are lightly browned.
8. Let cool, cut into bars and ENJOY!
Now it’s your turn, what will you be baking in your home this Christmas?
Join us in the Menu Planning Mayhem by linking up your baking project or your week’s menu below or by sharing it in the comments! If you are joining the mayhem, be sure to snag a cute button to link back to the menu planning fun!
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Julie, this sounds so yummy! Thanks for sharing
Those sound delicious and I love the poem you found on Pinterest.