Family Circle: Peanut Butter Cup Trees Recipe & Reindeer Doughnuts

Today Show: Family Circle Treats

Family Circle’s food director, Regina Ragone, visited Today Show to share some simple dessert treats for the holidays. Her ideas included Peanut Butter Cup Trees, Reindeer Doughnuts, and Marshmallow Santa Pops.

Today Show: Family Circle Royal Icing Recipe

You can use this icing in the peanut butter cup trees and the reindeer doughnuts.

Ingredients

• 1 16-oz box Confectioner’s Sugar
• 3 tbsp powdered Egg Whites
• 6 tbsp warm Water

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in a bowl.
2. Beat on medium with an electric mixer for around five minutes, until smooth and fluffy.
3. Cover in plastic to store. This recipe makes 2 1/2 cups.

Today Show: Family Circle Peanut Butter Cup Trees Recipe Ingredients

Much like Family Circle’s representative, I am stunned that there are so many sizes of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. “It’s OK that it doesn’t come out perfect, because it’s peanut butter cups,” Regina Ragone said.

• 24 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures
• 12 standard .75-oz Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• 12 snack-size .55-oz Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• 12 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis
• 12 SweetWorks Candy Stars (red or white)
• 1 cup Royal Icing
• 1 tbsp Sprinkles

Family Circle: Today Show Peanut Butter Cup Trees Recipe Directions

1. Chill all the peanut butter cups for about 15 minutes before starting.
2. Spoon one cup of Royal Icing into a zip-top bag, pressing out air. Seal the bag. Snip the corner off your icing bag.
3. Prepare a baking sheet with wax paper. Unwrap all peanut butter cups and put them on the wax paper.
4. Put a Reese’s miniature upside down and dot with frosting. Place a standard-size Reese’s on this and pipe a decorative line of frosting around its edge.
5. Secure a snack-size Reese’s on top with frosting. Add a second miniature to the stack and top it off with a mini.
6. Now you should have a four-layer Christmas tree shape, using five Reese’s cups.
7. Garnish with candy stars and sprinkles. Repeat steps to create a total of one dozen trees.

Today Show: Family Circle Reindeer Doughnuts Recipe

Ingredients

“The most fun part is the antlers,” Ragone said.

• 12 mini Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts
• 1/4 cup Royal Frosting
• 24 Brown M&Ms Minis
• 12 mini Unsalted Pretzels
• 12 Red M&Ms Megas
• 1 tbsp white Nonpareils

Directions

1. Prepare a baking sheet with wax paper. Spread doughnuts over this, with smooth sides facing up.
2. Use a sharp knife to cut 3/4” from each round side of a pretzel, and take out the center piece.
3. Transfer frosting to a zip-top bag and press out air before sealing. Snip the corner and pipe a dot of frosting into the center of each doughnut.
4. Attach a red candy, with its flat side down, onto the frosting as a nose.
5. Pipe two dots of frosting above the nose and attach brown M&Ms as eyes.
6. Insert the two pretzel pieces into the top of each doughnut to form the antlers.
7. Use extra frosting to decorate the reindeer doughnuts with nonpareils.