It’s getting chillier, which means that sometimes a walk to the dining hall in the evening is just so not worth it. But that doesn’t mean you should choose between being cold or being hungry. Nor do you have to rely on that bag of chips to satiate yourself if you just aren’t in the mood! Here are some cozy and simple treats you can make yourself, even in a dorm setting!
Something Salty
Growing up, one of my favorite holiday treats included something a little salty and a little sweet. As a kid, one of the treats my mother could trust me to put together without injuring myself was quite simple but sooo yummy: Hershey’s Kiss pretzel bites! All you really need are some Kisses and twisted pretzels, and if you’d like, some M&M’s too! All you have to do is place the Hershey’s Kiss in the middle of the pretzel, and microwave for around a minute or so, enough for the kiss to soften but not fully melt. If you choose to add some M&M’s, press them on top of the kiss, and pop those into the fridge to cool off a bit before snacking away! What is great about this simple treat is the endless possibilities of Hershey’s Kiss options. For the holiday season, try some other flavors; from caramel, to peppermint, to white chocolate, there is a wide variety of pretzel bites you can treat yourself to!
Mug Cakes & Microwaves
Shifting away from bite-sized treats, if you are looking for something a little more filling, look no further than the mugs in your dorm. Not only can these hold your coffee and your water, but they can now double as a baking dish. Mug cakes are a quick way to get a fulfilling dessert that is the perfect size for you and an easy way to hold a cake without making more dishes or an extra mess. Whether you want a chocolate cake, a brownie cake, cookie cake, or even cinnamon roll in a mug, all can be made with a spoon and your mug as the “baking pan.” So many amazing recipes are available with video tutorials on Tiktok, taking just a couple of minutes to prepare. While these would all require your typical baking ingredients, such as your flour, sugar, baking powder, and other ingredients not always in our college pantries, there are often mug cake mixes pre-made at many grocery stores. My personal favorite is the chocolate caramel mug cake from Trader Joe’s. With these—if the culinary arts aren’t your strong suit—you don’t have to worry too much about mixing and measuring, and you can still enjoy a tasty finished product. Hopefully now, you will look at the mugs on your shelf as having more possibility and potential than before…
Molds To Make You A Chocolatier
If you have an ice tray in your fridge, congratulations! You now have a chocolate mold to work with! Silicone molds are going to be the most ideal, as it is easy to pop out whatever you make from a more pliable mold . For a simple holiday treat, you can melt some chocolate chips you pick up from the store, but you can also mix in some other ingredients for something a little more unique. You can melt some caramel bits to add in a new layer to your chocolates, maybe chop small pieces of fruit such as strawberries to sprinkle in there! Some other really fun options include putting some chopped up candy bar bits, crumbled cookies, or adding a spoon of peanut butter, almond butter, pumpkin butter, cocoa butter, cookie butter–really any kind of butter! Whatever your heart desires, get creative and mix up some new elements into your silicone ice mould and pop it into your fridge or freezer until fully cooled before enjoying! Not sure what to make with the ingredients you have? There are so so many amazing recipes available on socials such as TikTok, so don’t shy away from perusing the net for some inspiration!
Not-A-Latte To It: Be A Barista For The Day
While I too love going out to a local coffee shop to treat myself to a latte, the bills rack up on a student salary! If you love your chai lattes as much as I do, you’ll also love the little cheat I’ve discovered– you can buy the concentrate a lot of coffee shops use from your local grocery store! If you take your chai really seriously, and if you have the time, you can make your own concentration— which entails brewing your own chai, spices, and sweetener of choice. Branch out into the barista possibilities! With this concentrate, typically add one part of this with equal parts milk of your choice, and you’ll have your latte–and with the pre-prepared concentrates, it’ll be plenty sweet without any additional flavors needed! If you want to add some more flavor, look into a simple caramel sauce, cinnamon, or even fun seasonal flavors with coffee syrups (my personal favorites are Monin). These lattes can be iced, as I like them, or you can warm them by microwave or kettle if you so choose! By making them at home, you can get roughly seven lattes for the price you’d pay for just one at a café, and it’ll take less than five minutes to put together in your dorm! You’ll love it, and your wallet will love it even more.
That’s all for now, but know that the options here are really endless. I tried to keep these treats as tame as possible, with the assumption that a full kitchen isn’t always accessible in all dormitories. The treats above all have a very quick prep time and little to no clean up necessary, but if you do have a kitchen available in your dorm, really make the most of such facilities when you have the time to! Hoping you all stay warm and well-fed this holiday season!