Snoopy and Charlie Brown Bring a Little Peanuts Magic to the Baking Aisle

Charlie Brown has spent years trying to enjoy Christmas without something going wrong. When it comes to baking, however, he finally has a chance to turn things around. Duncan Hines has teamed up with the Peanuts gang for a collection of baking mixes and kits that brings a little cartoon nostalgia into the kitchen.

The collection features treats inspired by some of the most familiar characters, and the names are almost as much fun as the desserts themselves.

Charlie Brown gets the Charlie Brown-ie Blondie Bar Mix, inspired by his unmistakable yellow shirt and its black zig-zag pattern. The finished blondies carry that familiar design, making this one of the cleverest ideas in the collection. You can practically hear Lucy offering her opinion on how they turned out.

Snoopy gets two treats of his own. The Snoopy Crinkle Cookie Mix is made for chocolate lovers, with powdered-sugar-covered cookies that would look right at home on a dessert plate. Then there is the Snoopy Skate Yellow Cupcake Mix, complete with white frosting and blue snowflake sprinkles. It seems Snoopy has traded his doghouse for a spot in the bakery.

Peppermint Patty gets a peppermint-flavoured brownie mix, with crushed candy cane pieces suggested as a finishing touch. And Lucy? She gets the Snowball Cookie Kit, which makes 24 powdered-sugar-covered cookies. Given Lucy’s personality, I would not recommend eating the last one without asking first.

The collection also includes a Great Pumpkin Bundt Cake and Glaze Mix, bringing the Peanuts baking fun into the autumn season. Each product takes a familiar character or part of the Peanuts world and turns it into something you can actually serve around the kitchen table.

There is something wonderfully familiar about the idea. Peanuts has been part of family entertainment for generations, and its characters have become closely associated with holiday traditions, friendship and the simple pleasures of spending time together.

You do not need to be a master baker to join in. A box of mix, a little frosting and a kitchen full of good company will do nicely. Just remember to save Charlie Brown a blondie. He has had enough disappointments.