Cooking Lessons #706: No-Cook M&M’s Christmas Casserole

…from the Perspectives' Candy Kitchen

How you doin’? There are just 13 days ‘till Christmas! I found out my good friend Linda is quite a holiday cook. She writes me quite often regarding some of the blog recipes that we send. This time she sent one to me… she told me that No-Cook M&M’s Christmas Casserole is quite popular this time of year. It can be ready in no time—just as long as it takes to open 4 bags of the beloved panned candy. 
 
Forrest Mars Sr., son of the Mars Company founder, Frank C. Mars, copied the idea for the candy in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating British-made Smarties, chocolate pellets with a colored shell of what confectioners call hard panning (essentially hardened sugar syrup) surrounding the outside, preventing the sweets (candies) from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941. Production began in 1941 in a factory located at Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey.
 
The company's first big customer was the U.S. Army, which saw the invention as a way to allow soldiers to carry chocolate in tropical climates without it melting. During World War II, the candies were exclusively sold to the military. The resulting demand for the candies caused an increase in production and the company moved its factory to bigger quarters.
 
In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline "The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” And now you know the rest of the story!
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  20 servings
 
Ingredients 
1 bag plain M&M’s
1 bag peanut M&M’s
1 bag almond M&M’s
1 bag peanut butter M&M’s
 
Directions

1. Do not preheat an oven or pan.
2. Do not grease or spray a pan.
3. Simply open the bags and pour them into a casserole or serving dish.
4. Mix and Enjoy!

ChefSecret:  There are all sorts of different flavors these days—regular and holiday.  Mix and match as you please.

Quip of the Day:  Why was the M&M staring at the computer? It wanted to learn how to be a “smartie!”
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. 

#ChristmasRecipes #M&MsCasserole #Smarties #Holidays2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #RedCross #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                                                       ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023

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