Partying in Red: M&Ms and Friends

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I just need to get through three more fun days of holiday craziness and then we are homeward bound! I really can’t wait to be nestled in the snowy hills of New Hampshire. It’ll be the first time we’ve all been together for Christmas (because my brother left to serve a mission for two years the week after Ben and I got married).Before my friends and I all go our own ways for the holidays, I wanted to have a little get together as part of a gift to them. It was a full morning of baking, but it was nice to spend an hour or two with my favorite ladies (and their darling children who I contemplate kidnapping on a regular basis).

I wanted something casual, cute, and holiday friendly without being a Christmas party and so I went with the color red: red napkins, red straws, red socks in gift bags, red cake stand, red flowers, and red pants. The food was all for snacking and I have most of the recipes below, but it all revolved around the classic M&M candy. We had brownies, scones, cookies, and plenty of candy pieces. I loved the scones right out of the oven, and the chopped peanut m&ms in the brownies were a fun twist.

^^the original plan was to use these new glasses for M&M malts (an attempt at the M&M blizzard :), but with so many other sweets I left the ice cream in the freezer. Ben and I will try them soon.

^^this little boy is always my favorite – when he crawls up on my lap and hands me a book, there is no resisting.

^^the brownies got these young women’s approval 🙂

^^this little girl is better dressed than I am… if only our clothes were the same size 🙂

^^a little blurry – but casey+baby are too cute

^because naturally I wore red pants to my red party 🙂

^scones with homemade whipped cream 🙂

^^I share the recipe below … but guys, the peanut butter frosting is amazing.

^^I like taking pictures of food. It doesn’t complain. It sits perfectly still. It can’t close its eyes.

m&ms: walmart // straws: minted.com // cake stand, napkins, hanging decor: Target

• 1 C butter, softened
• 1 C sugar
• 1 C brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 C flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 C rolled oats
• 1/3 C chopped chocolate chips 
• 1 C M&Ms

• Cream butter and sugar. 
• Stir in eggs and vanilla. 
• Separately, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Add dry mixture to wet mixture. 
• Stir in oatmeal, chocolate chips, and M&Ms. 
• Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until the edges turn golden. 

• 2 C flour, sifted
• 8 tbsp butter, frozen
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1/2 C greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 C M&Ms

• 1 1/4 C butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 C sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 C cocoa powder
• 1/2 C chopped Peanut M&Ms
• powdered sugar
• creamy peanut butter
• 4 tbsp butter (for frosting)

• Whisk butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cocoa powder until smooth.
• Stir in chopped Peanut M&Ms
• Pour into greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean (appox. 20 minutes).
• For the frosting: 2 C powdered sugar, 4 tbsp butter, a large spoonful of peanut butter, and 1 tbsp of water until smooth. Add a little more water or powdered sugar here to get desired consistency. 
• Frost brownies by drizzling frosting over pan of  brownies (for this make a thinner frosting by adding a bit more water) or piping frosting over cut out brownies as shown in pictures. Top with an M&M and serve!

**for those who asked: the wall painting was a gift from my Grandfather (a very talented artist) and our stemware shelf was built by Ben (and contains bottles of sparkling cider)