There is something about the holiday season that makes eating candy that much more enjoyable. Maybe it’s just the word Christmas in front of it, but the best holiday parties always include beautiful Christmas candy dishes filled with dangerously delicious candy. Spode, a well known bone china brand, has a lot of beautiful pieces to choose from, like their Christmas Tree Annual Revere candy dish, to add the right touch of holiday spirit. If you are looking for a hostess gift to bring to a Christmas party, letter candy dishes are also popular. Either choosing the first letter of the host’s first or last name, you can then fill the dish with some Christmas candy for everyone to enjoy. If you are stressed about what candy to fill your dish with, here are three of our favorite Christmas candy recipes that everyone will definitely love and are super easy to make.

Pretzel Turtles:

The perfect combination of sweet and salty

Makes: about 20 candies/cookie sheet

Total time: about 12 minutes, Hands-on time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

• Bag of mini square butter snap pretzels
• Bag of Rolos or some similar caramel covered chocolate candy
• Bag of pecan halves, not chopped

How to make Pretzel Turtles

1. Preheat the oven to 300º F
2. On a parchment lined cookie sheet, arrange the square pretzels in a single layer
3. Place one Rolo on top of each square pretzel
4. Bake for 4 minutes, and then remove from oven
5. Right after you remove the cookie sheet, and while the candy is still warm, press a pecan half onto each candy covered pretzel
6. After the pecan half is pressed into the chocolate, allow them to completely cool before storing or serving in your favorite holiday candy dish

Christmas Snack Mix

Another delicious sweet and salty combo that you can also add your own spin and get creative with different ingredients

Makes: a bowl full

Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• Bag of Chex Mix
• Bag of milk chocolate Christmas colored red and green M&Ms
• Bag of chocolate covered peanuts (milk or dark chocolate)
• Bag of dried cranberries

How to make your Christmas Snack Mix

1. Mix all of these together, choosing your own portions and even adding your own favorite ingredients into the mix as well if you want
2. Serve in a Christmas bowl or cookie jar

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Nothing says Christmas time like peppermint!

Makes: about 12 ounces/cookie sheet

Total time: about 45 minutes, Hands-on time: 15

Ingredients

• 12 ounces (or about 2 cups) of dark chocolate, either dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar chopped
• 12 ounces (or about 2 cups) of white chocolate, either white chocolate chips or white chocolate bar chopped
• 8 crushed peppermint candy canes (regular size not mini) - Helpful hint for doing this: unwrap the candy canes and place them in a Ziploc bag. Use a rolling pin or wooden spoon to crush them. You can also use a food processor, but for the purposes of easy clean up a Ziploc bag might be easier
• (optional) Add a hint of peppermint extract for extra peppermint taste

How to make Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark

1. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil
2. Melt the dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals, and then stirring after each melting – should take about 2-3 minutes depending on your microwave
3. Pour the dark chocolate onto the aluminum foil cookie sheet, using a knife or spatula to spread the chocolate – helpful hint: the chocolate does not need to reach all sides of the cookie sheet, it just needs to be about 1/8″ thick
4. Once the dark chocolate is properly spread, stick it in the refrigerator to firm while you prepare the white chocolate
5. Melt the white chocolate mostly the same way you melted the dark, in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals, and then stirring after each melting but just before all of the white chocolate is melted stir in 3/4 of the crushed peppermint, setting about 1/4 aside for later – this is also where you’d add in the hint of peppermint extract if you want
6. Once the white chocolate is melted with the peppermint stirred in, bring out the cookie sheet with the dark chocolate and pour the white chocolate on top, evenly spreading it over the dark chocolate
7. Then while the white chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the rest of the crushed peppermint candy canes on top, pressing down very slightly to ensure that they stick
8. Place the cookie sheet back in the fridge for up to 30 minutes while it all firms up together
9. Once it is completely hardened, break the peppermint bark into uneven pieces  and serve on a festive Christmas candy dish

Most important of all, enjoy! The holiday season is about being around your friends and family and good food. It can definitely get stressful, but don’t let that overshadow the joy that comes with this time of year. And hopefully these recipes are helpful and make your life easier whether you are the host/hostess or guest.