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 37 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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194 Comments

  • Dianne

    I have looked @ CVS, HEB, etc., this past week & have not been able to find Hugs anywhere in the regular candy or Christmas aisle. Any suggestions?
    We made two bags of Pretzels using give bags of Kisses today & they are volcanoes. We kept leaving each batch in longer trying to get them to melt more… I just read all the comments – Duh! I would never have guessed less time.

  • Kara

    I made these with regular kisses. I put them in mason jars and after a few days noticed they had white spots on them. I looked on Hersheys site and it says could be chocolate bloom caused by heating the chocolate and the cocoa butter separating. The site says they are fine to eat, but look strange for gifts! Looks like mold! Wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

  • Dorian

    These look so adorable. I went to the store and got everything to make them except the pretzels. I couldn’t find round or square pretzels(that weren’t butter snap). I bought mini round pretzels. Do you think that will work or should I continue the search?? TIA

    • Dorian

      I’m sorry I didn’t mean mini round. I purchased just regular mini pretzels

    • Sharon

      They have them at the Bulk Barn…. they are called ‘waffle pretzels’.

    • Fred

      Store them? They never last long enough to wonder! But, I’d guess they’ll keep until the pretzel goes stale. Covered with clear wrap, I’d think a week or more in the fridge.

  • Lindsey

    These look great! Can they be made ahead of time and frozen? Has anyone tried?

  • R

    My first batch I baked with snaps and regular kisses, for 5 min at 200 deg, and they came out ok- the choc did crack a bit. The second batch I did for a bit longer, and the chocolate cracked way too much, so I put them back in the oven. However, the longer the time in the oven, the worse it got. Like volcanos like someone mentioned. Then I looked at your advice- less time and it worked. I put the next batch in for only 2 minutes and they turned out the best!
    However, I was able to fix my second batch. I made them into sandwiches, by putting a pretzel on top and pressing down. That way the cracked chocolate didn’t show, and enough melted chocolate came through the top for me to stick an M&M on top. Thanks for the recipe!!! I will definitely make again.

  • C A Moore

    I have made these 2 years in a row. They turn out good, the kids love them, but they seem to fall off the pretzel. What am I doing wrong?