Patriotic Pretzel Hugs

Ingredients:

Small Twist Pretzels

Hershey Hugs

Red and Blue M&M's

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place the pretzels on ungreased cookie sheet, place hug on the top of each pretzel

Bake pretzels for 2-3 minutesor until chocolate softens

Once you remove the pretzels from the oven, place m&m's on top

Cool and serve

**Change m&m color for different holidays

Cake Ball Flag Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® cake mix (any flavor)
• Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
• 1 container Betty Crocker® Whipped vanilla frosting
• 1 bag (14 oz) red candy melts
• 1 bag (14 oz) white candy melts
• 1 cup blue candy melts (from 14-oz bag)
• Betty Crocker® Decorating Decors red sugar crystals, if desired
• White sparkling sugar, if desired
• Betty Crocker® Decorating Decors blue sugar crystals, if desired

Directions:

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan, using water, oil and eggs. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• 2 Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. Crumble cake into large bowl. Add frosting; mix well. Using 1-inch scoop, shape mixture into balls; place on cookie sheet. Freeze about 45 minutes or until firm. When firm, transfer to refrigerator.
• 3 In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave red candy melts uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds; stir. Continue microwaving and stirring in 15-second increments until melted and smooth.
• 4 Remove a few balls from refrigerator at a time. Using 2 forks, dip and roll 1 ball at a time in red coating. Return to cookie sheet; immediately sprinkle with red sugar crystals. Dip a total of 28 cake balls in red coating.
• 5 Repeat melting instructions for white candy melts. Dip a total of 23 cake balls in white coating; immediately sprinkle with sparkling sugar.
• 6 Repeat melting instructions for blue candy melts. Dip remaining 12 cake balls in blue coating; immediately sprinkle with blue sugar crystals. Refrigerate all coated cake balls about 10 minutes or until set.
• 7 On serving tray, arrange cake balls in flag pattern in 7 rows, starting from the bottom: 1 row of 9 red balls, 1 row of 9 white balls, 1 more row of 9 red balls, 1 more row of 9 white balls, 1 row of 4 blue balls and 5 red balls, 1 row of 4 blue balls and 5 white balls, and 1 more row of 4 blue balls and 5 red balls. Store tightly covered. Serve at room temperature.

**Change color and pattern for different holidays!

Firecracker Red, White and Blue Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
• Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box
• Red food color
• Blue food color
• 1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting

Directions:

1 Heat oven to 325°F. Generously grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan. Make cake batter as directed on box, using water, oil and egg whites. Pour 1 cup of the batter into small bowl; stir in red food color until well mixed. Pour another cup of the batter into separate bowl; stir in blue food color until well mixed.

2 Pour red cake batter into bottom of pan. Carefully pour remaining white batter over red batter in pan. Carefully pour blue batter over white batter. (Blue batter does not need to cover white batter completely; it looks better if it just forms a ring in the center of the white batter.)

3 Bake as directed on box or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place cooling rack over cookie sheet. Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack. Cool cake completely, about 30 minutes.

4 When cake is cool, divide frosting evenly into 3 microwavable bowls. Microwave 1 bowl of frosting uncovered on High a few seconds until smooth enough to drizzle over cake. With spoon, drizzle all of white frosting back and forth around cake in a striping pattern. Repeat microwaving second bowl of frosting until smooth. Stir in a few drops blue food color until well blended. Drizzle over cake, scattering frosting back and forth. Repeat with remaining bowl of frosting and red food color, making sure red, white and blue frostings can be seen on cake. Let cake stand at room temperature until frosting is set before serving.

**Change color for different Holiday