M&M Inspiration

A couple of weekends back, I happened on a trio of punctuation symbol wall art, on sale at TJ Maxx, that I could not pass up.  A ampersand, a # sign, and an @ sign – nifty… and only $7 each!  The pieces were kinda beat up; hence the deep discount.  I had various ideas for refinishing them, but the best one came to me while I was doing my stairs at work.  Candy wrappers! I decided to decoupage the symbols with M&M wrappers.  The packaging is wonderfully vibrant, perfect for a funky art display.  I figured I’d need 15 packages of the three different flavors I’d chosen.  But… what to do with all that candy?  I certainly couldn’t eat it! 

 Most of the chocolate became gifts for the lovely ladies who work behind the bar where my BF and I met.  A couple of years ago, I bought a set of four clear glass tumblers that came with removable vinyl stick-on words.  I’d been considering getting rid of them because I never used them, and this became the perfect opportunity.  I layered the three flavors of M&Ms in the tumblers and decorated them with the stick-on words.  The bright colors coordinated well.  Pretty!  I think they made a festive gift.  I brought them down to the bar when we popped in earlier this week. 

 The remaining candies that wouldn’t fit into the tumblers went into a Decadent M&M Cake I invented, using stuff I had on hand.

Decadent M&M Cake 

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 box Butter Cake Mix
• 1 can Coke Zero Cherry Vanilla
• 2 packages Dark Chocolate M&Ms

Chocolately Peanut Butter Frosting

• 3 packages Peanut Butter M&Ms
• 3/4 tub Cool Whip Light
• 1 container Marshallmallow Creme

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and mist 13×9 baking pan with nonstick spray.
• Empty cake mix into bowl, pour in diet soda and stir to combine.
• Stir in Dark Chocolate M&Ms.
• Bake according to package instructions.  Allow to cool.
• While cake is baking, microwave Peanut Butter M&Ms in 30-second intervals, stirring each time, until melted.
• Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Stir Cool Whip and marshmallow creme into chocolate until well blended and chill.
• When both cake and frosting are fully, cooled, spread frosting on cake.
• Chill thoroughly before cutting.