Easy Holiday Baking

If you're anything like me, you won't attempt a recipe if it has more that 5-7 ingredients. I easily get intimidated by the long list of ingredients and steps in a recipe before even reading it. I've found a few recipes for the holidays that are also very easy to make. Give them a try!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin
1 spice cake mix

1. Mix ingredients - batter will be stiff/sticky (Do NOT add eggs or oil, just the pumpkin!)
2. Drop by tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet
3. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes
4. Let stand for 5 minutes before placing on cooling rack

These are delicious! VERY moist - a cross between a cookie and a muffin. Warning - cookie will turn out exactly the way dough appears on cookie sheet, so I smooth them out with the back of a spoon. Only 2 WW points!

Black Bean Brownies

1 15 oz. can of black beans
1 box brownie mix

1. Rinse black beans well - with beans back in the can, add enough water to cover beans
2. Put bans in blender or food processor and puree
3. Add puree to brownie mix, and then bake according to package directions.

You DO NOT add the eggs or oil that the recipe calls for, JUST the black bean puree! Makes 20 brownies-- 2 Weight Watcher Points each! Rich, moist, fudgey and full of protein and fiber! They sound gross, but I can promise you that no one will know the difference.

Holiday Pretzels

1 bag of holiday pretzels (the round ones)
1 bag of holiday m&m's
1 bag of rolo's

1. Place pretzels on baking sheet and place unwrapped rolo in the center of each pretzel
2. Bake at 250 for 4 minutes
3. Immediately place m&m in center of rolo when out of the oven
4. Cool in fridge before eating

I made these this morning. It took me less that 10 minutes to make 2 cookie sheets full. There are about 55 rolos in one bag, so you may need 3-4 bags to fill the pretzels. These went fast - I took them to work and everyone loved them. When I got home from work, Adam had the rest of them gone already! Very easy to make - thanks for the recipe mom! Here's another tip - instead of an m&m on top, use 1/2 of a pecan - then it tastes like a turtle candy. (thanks Jodi H)