U.S. residents have until Saturday, October 31, 2009, to register for the 2009 Halloween Million Sweepstakes at halloweenmillion.com by entering the UPC on packages of M&M’S, Snickers, Twix, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Skittles, and Starburst candies. (A full list of candies and sizes can be found here.)

One lucky person will receive the $1 million grand prize, and thousands more will get instant win prizes including one-day tickets and season passes to Six Flags or coupons redeemable for free packages of select Mars products.

In addition to the chance to win $1 million and thousands of instant win prizes, there’s also a virtual “haunted” mansion filled with heaps of creepy, cool fun. Mars has also created a “ghoulish” application featuring all of your favorite M&M’S characters in their Halloween costumes that is available on the M&M’S and Snickers fan pages on Facebook.

[image: flickr]

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True, they’re not terribly different from the cookies, but it was easier to serve up with a scoop of ice cream! I made mine in a 9×9″ pan because my 13×9″ was already in use. I baked it for about six minutes longer and they turned out perfectly.

M&M’s Blondies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (12 ounce) package M&M’s plain chocolate candies
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

~ Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.

~ Combine flour and baking soda and add to mixture; dough will be thick. Stir in M&Ms and walnuts. Spread in a greased 13×9″ pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

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This particular variety was released alongside the Transformers 2 movie. The bags are apparently available in “collector’s packs” with 5 different designs on the front (at least, mine says “5 of 5″). Mine was “The Twins,” which is the only design I’ve been able to find anywhere.

I’m not sure what strawberries and peanut butter have to do with Transformers — we haven’t seen the movie yet so I don’t know if there’s a specific tie-in or not or if it’s just a random thing.

Anyway, the M&M’s are three colors: brown, red and a red-specked yellow. They’re about the size of regular peanut butter M&M’s, with a few a bit larger.

The candy shell is thin, with a layer of the strawberry-flavored chocolate just under and around a peanut butter center.

I can just taste the peanut butter, which is about the same as the regular peanut butter candies (which I love), but the strawberry is, in my opinion, nasty. It’s got kind of a chalky, hyper-sweet taste that just lingers.

It’s not so bad after a few, but if the kids like I might just have to pawn it off onto them for a once-in-a-while treat.

I’ll be sticking with the regular peanut butter M&M’s!

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Thankfully, they’re pretty tasty! The pack is only 1.5 oz, and contained about 23 candies. The candies themselves are about the size of a peanut butter M&M (slightly bigger than a plain but smaller than a peanut), and come in dark brown, green and white.

Maybe they put Miss Green on the package to make up for the fact that there are very few greens inside? (I’m kidding – fewer greens makes sense and is actually pretty visually appealing against the white and brown.) Some of the candies are printed with cute little umbrellas, suns, palm trees and flowers with the M.

Now, I liked these to the point that if I had a pack I’d snack on it, but I don’t know that I’d seek them out again like I do the peanut butter or peanut varieties.

The coconut, I think, is right on and is balanced perfectly with the chocolate, which is the standard M&M’s milk chocolate. There is a lingering aftertaste that, while not unpleasant, sticks around for a bit. Thankfully, these have the standard hard candy shell and not the weird soft shells that the Premium M&M’s have.

The kids really liked them, though, so even if they’re not a candy I’m gaga over, the kids will finish the box for me!

These supposedly won’t be available in stores until August, but like I said, I picked this box up at Sam’s Club last week for about $8.

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Congratulations to Anita T, who says “I never met an M&M I didn’t like,” and to Debbie, who commented “I’m a dark chocolate fan & was thrilled when M&M’s started making the dark variety. I’m the only one in the house that likes the dark chocolate ones so I don’t have to hide the bag to make sure I get a few!”

Emails have been sent to both winners, who have 24 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen.

[image: flickr]

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The pretty colors of the pastel M&M’s are the perfect addition to any spring craft or Easter basket and are available in all the standard M&M’s flavors — plain, peanut, almond and dark!

I’ve got four bags of Limited Edition seasonal M&M’s to giveaway to two winners (two bags each)!

To Enter:

Leave a comment here telling me what your favorite M&M’s are. Plain? Peanut? Dark? Almond? All of them?

That’s it — and there are no wrong answers!

…..

~ Contest ends Monday, March 30 at 5:00pm PDT. Two winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email, and will have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

~ Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

~ Two winners will win two 12.6 oz bags of seasonal M&M’s each.

[image used with permission from M&M's]

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These would be very sweet as spring teacher gifts, classmate gifts, and church projects. All the material can easily be found at any craft store and the seasonal pastel M&M’s — in any flavor — can be found at your local grocery store or retailer.

Easter Chicks
Mini cellophane bags
Googly craft eyes
Felt fabric
Yellow pom poms
Webbed feet cut out from orange flannel
Yellow feathers
Orange beaks cut out of orange flannel
1 12.6-ounce bag of Milk Chocolate Easter M&M’S
Glue gun or liquid glue

Fill your cellophane bags with seasonal pastel M&M’S and tie the bag closed with a yellow fabric ribbon. Using a glue gun (or liquid glue), attach the webbed feet to the bottom of the bag. Then attach the eyes and beak to the pom poms to create the chick’s head. Let dry.

Attach the head and the feathers to the bag. Let the glue on the finished chicks dry for 24 hours.

[image used with permission from M&M's]

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I was recently sent a bunch of ideas from M&M’s full of crafty activities that you and your kids can have fun with as Easter approaches. Today’s idea is one that I want to try first, especially with Spring Break fast approaching and needing some ideas to take up some time!

Eggs in Nests

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 ounces fresh raspberries
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
30 wonton wrappers
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
6 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 bag Dove Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Promises
1 bag of coconut flakes colored green with food coloring*
1 9.9-ounce bag Easter Almond M&M’S

Place cream cheese in medium bowl. Using a spoon, mash rasp berries through a sieve (or use a food mill) so juice goes into the cream cheese, but seeds remain behind. Add sugar to
cream cheese mixture, then mix thoroughly until smooth and completely blended.

Pour oil into a deep saucepan and heat to 350°F over medium heat. While oil heats, set up a draining station with a rack set in a sheet pan or baking sheet lined with paper towels.

To assemble wontons for frying, wet a fingertip with the egg-water mixture and rub all four edges of a wrapper. Spoon a generous teaspoon of filling into center, then fold wrapper to make a triangle, pressing the edges together firmly. Grasp the two corners at either end of the fold and bring them together, sealing with a bit of egg wash. (It’s best to prepare one batch at a time, not allowing them too much time to dry before frying.)

Fry wontons in batches of six until golden brown, turning once, approximately 4 minutes. Allow to cool and drain thoroughly.

While wontons cool, unwrap the Dove Promises and place in a double boiler or a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted.

Dip one side of each cooled wonton into the chocolate, then sprinkle the colored coconut flakes on the outside and nestle M&M’S into the chocolate. Allow to cool completely before serving.

*To color, place the coconut flakes in a large bowl and add 1 to 2 drops of green food coloring. Stir with a spatula softly. Lay out on a cookie sheet to dry.

[image used with permission from M&M's]

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It’s more or less common knowledge that Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest chocolate holidays of the year, its only other real competition for the top spot being Easter!

This year I’ve got some very tasty, affordable ideas for a Valentine’s treat for your loved ones — and yourself, too!

At the top of my list is always See’s Candies. You really just can’t go wrong, for the mere fact that they have such a huge selection of chocolate and chocolate-covered goodies that everyone can find something they like, and if you don’t have a shop close by you can order online!

I wrote about Sucré last spring and recently got another little package of heart-shaped chocolates to try out. They come in three different flavors: Red Raspberry (dark chocolate heart filled with raspberry ganache), Heart of Rose (white chocolate heart filled with rose water and island vanilla scented white chocolate ganache) and Grand Coeur (milk chocolate ganache infused with orange and triple sec coated in a dark chocolate).

Patric Chocolate had renowned chocolatier Christopher Elbow lend his talents for a special Valentine’s bonbon. The elegant four-pack of decadent chocolates are ganache-enrobed squares of Patric Chocolate available only from their site, and only until February 13th or until they run out! They’re also currently offering free shipping on orders over $50.

I love the idea behind the All-Green M&M’s, which are said to, well, enhance libido! (Not really, it’s just “one of those things,”) I think it’s cute that M&M’s is running with it!

What treats are you giving away this year?

[images: flickr; sees.com; shopsucre.com; patric-chocolate.com; mms.com]

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M&M’s are once again releasing its limited-edition M&M’S All-Green Milk Chocolate Candies for Valentine’s Day!

What’s with the green ones? Legend has it all-green M&M’S are an aphrodisiac; rumors of their special powers have been circulating since the ‘70s. For this reason, M&M’S has made green the true color of love for Valentine’s Day. (You can also enter at the M&M’s site for a chance to win a romantic getaway for two to Paris!)

I’ve got five bags of All-Green Milk Chocolate M&M’s Candies to give away to two lucky winners!

To Enter:

Leave a comment here telling me what your favorite kind of M&M’s is (plain, peanut, etc). That’s it!

* Contest closes at 5:00pm PST on Thursday, January 29. Winner will be notified by email and will have 24 hours to respond with mailing information before a new winner is chosen.

* Open to U.S. residents only.

* One entry per household. Multiple entries will all be discarded.

* Two winners will win five bags each.

* All current Bloggy Giveaways at Chocolate Bytes may be entered one time each. Good luck!

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