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I think my most favorite time of the year is when the holidays arrive. I’ll admit, it’s a little ridiculous that signs of the holidays seem to show up earlier and earlier each year in the stores, but I’m 100% Ok with it! The Christmas season would be year-round thing if I were in charge! It’s such a wonderful time of the year to enjoy doing special things with my daughter like watching our favorite Christmas movies, working on festive crafts, and baking up some favorite holiday cookies in the kitchen!  I am so lucky to have a daughter who enjoys doing these things as much as I do! I get excited to see which special variety of M&M’s® I’m going to find in the holiday candy section at Walmart each year. The other day, I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw bags of M&M’s® White Peppermint and M&M’s® Hot Chocolate chocolate candies on the shelf on the holiday candy aisle.I did a fist pump before tossing both bags into my shopping cart, along with a bag of M&M’s® Holiday Milk Chocolate candies, which I also found on that aisle. I couldn’t resist adding a Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix and Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting to my cart either, which I found on a holiday display in the center aisle. Last, but not least, I grabbed a gallon of Great Value Milk. In our home, you can’t have cookies without milk! Now I was ready to bake up some holiday fun at home!

Anything peppermint is my Kryptonite, especially these candies! I love all things peppermint and it was time to kick of the holiday baking season with a batch of (Almost) Better Than Christmas M&M’s® White Peppermint Cookies! They are delicious and don’t take too long to prepare.

Hey, as long as we’re talking about the holidays, go enter the #BakeintheFun Sweepstakes for a chance to win a KitchenAid® Mixer!

Holiday #BakeInTheFun

So…while I was busy baking in the kitchen, my daughter decided to make some easy (yet adorable) Snowman Milk Glasses for us to use later on for our cookies & milk. She had seen a similar idea on Pinterest, using clear glass coffee mugs. So, when I was out shopping, I picked up some glass drinking glasses, perfect for her project. All you need to make your own holiday glasses are: whatever type of drinking glass you prefer (wine glasses would be cute too) and permanent markers. You may also want to keep a pack of baby wipes handy, for mistakes.

She first sketched out a couple of snowman faces on paper. She then drew a different one on each of our glasses, deciding to make one a snowman and the other a snow woman.  

I poured some of the milk I’d purchased at Walmart into each glass, creating a complete snowman look and they were ready to use. (It’s important to note that the marker will wash off when you wash the glasses.)

Milk, cookies, and a holiday movie! What a fun way to spend the afternoon together!

Did you know that each year, food banks in our country provide for hungry children and families in need? In numbers that translates to more than 46. 5 Americans and about one in every six children who rely on Feeding America food banks each year.  One of the most requested food items is milk, but on average, food banks are only able to provide the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person per year. That’s because while Americans are generous with canned and dry goods, many don’t think to donate milk because it’s perishable.

This year, The Great American Milk Drive will deliver a gallon of milk to a family in need in YOUR local community for each small donation received at pourmilklove.com.  Also, with every purchase of 2 bags of M&M’s® at Walmart (9.4 oz bags or larger), up to a gallon of milk will be donated to the drive. Click here for a coupon good for towards the purchase of ANY TWO (2) M&M’s® Chocolate Candies, (8 oz or larger).

(Almost) Better Than Christmas M&M’s® White Peppermint Cookies Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 container Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting (you’ll be using the sprinkles that are on the top portion of the container)
• 1 9,9 oz bag of M&M’s® White Peppermint chocolate candies

Cookie Preparation: 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. (This is my best kept baking secret.)
3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated and brown sugars, and vanilla extract until creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating them in after each one is added. 
5. Beat in the flour mixture gradually.
6. Mix in the chocolate chips and M&M’s® White Peppermint with a spoon.
7. Add in the sprinkles from the Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Vanilla Flavored Frosting. (set some extra aside)
8. *This is an extra step. I like to wrap my cookie dough in plastic and stick it in the refrigerator for about 10-20 minutes. (You can skip this step if you’d like to).  
9. Spoon generous portions of the cookie dough onto the parchment paper-covered baking sheet. (They’re supposed to be pretty giant.) 
10. Bake 10 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and add a few more pieces of each candy plus some more sprinkles on the top of each cookie. This will help them to bake while staying visible in the cookie.
12. Bake 3-5 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving. 

Won’t you consider joining Feeding America in The Great American Milk Drive, the first-ever national program to help deliver highly desired and nutrient-rich gallons of milk to hungry families who need it most. Log onto milklife.com/give to learn about the need for more nutritious foods in America’s food banks and see how your small donation can make a big impact.

Be sure to check out more delicious holiday baking recipes, including these M&M’s® Holiday Snowflake Cookies which includes Pillsbury™ Funfetti® Holiday Cake Mix in the recipe. I’d love to hear what your favorite holiday recipe is? Leave a comment below!