DIY Christmas Goodies Serving Tray from CANDY!

Ok. So this was one of those things that I saw on Pinterest and thought, "No way.  There's either a trick to it, or it's a Pinterest Old Wives Tale.  It can't be that easy!"

Well, guess what?  It totally is.  I started out with instructions from this blog over here, and then headed out to the dollar store to pick up some candy.  I figured that 2 bags would give me a few tries.

It's pretty much as easy as this:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 
3) Unwrap your candies, and start making a design on the parchment paper. (According to the ladies at Tutto Bella, if you forget the parchment paper step, you won't be getting the tray off in one piece.)

Step no. 3 is where I learned that I wouldn't be getting more than one try out of the two bags of candies.  (I ended up with 4 to spare after I laid them out.)  And also where I learned that they put more red candies than green candies in these baggies.
4) Bake for 8-10 minutes.  I did 9 minutes, and I should have taken it out after 8 minutes - the candy started to get a little too hot and got a bit bubbly. 

5) Take out of the oven, and allow to cool on the cookie sheet.  I found that this took about 15 minutes.
6) Remove the parchment paper from the bottom, and there you have it!  A beautiful, though not perfectly shaped, serving tray for your Christmas goodies!  (Be careful - the tray is very fragile!)

The great thing about this tray is that when your party is over, you can break it up and either eat it, or use for future Christmas baking recipes!

Thanks again to the ladies at Tutto Bella for the tutorial!  It really is just that easy!