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For dessert, I wanted to make something simple but tasty. The idea of melting Hershey’s Hugs onto square pretzels and pushing M&Ms down into them has been floating around the internet for a while now. Since I was making Irish Stew and Cheesy Soda Scones for dinner, I decided to make these vaguely Irish and use green M&Ms only.

And the name? Well, I’m just a dork. An actual leprechaun hug could quite possibly be the thing that nightmares are made of, but these leprechaun hugs are the perfect balance of sweet, salty and addicting. That’s a good, albeit dangerous, thing.

These are very easy to make, but it takes a while to unwrap all of the hugs. I took them out of the oven after 4 minutes and they weren’t quite melted enough, so I popped them back in for a few more minutes. They harden best with a quick blast in the fridge. These were a big hit, and would be great at any St. Patrick’s Day party!

Leprechaun Hugs (Pretzel Hugs)

Author: Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen - Ashley Covelli
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 13 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Hershey’s Hugs
M&Ms
Shaped pretzels

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200°F.

2. Unwrap hugs and place in a bowl.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay out pretzels on top of the prepared baking sheet. Stand a Hug up on the center of each square.

4. Bake for 3-6 minutes, until the Hugs are soft enough to press the M&Ms down into the tops, but not so soft that they’re melted all over the place.

5. Remove from the oven and press one M&M down into the center of each Hug.

6. Let the tray cool to the touch, and then pop it into the refrigerator for a few minutes until the chocolate is set. Enjoy straight out of the fridge or at room temperature.