Christmas Wreath Cookies (No Bake!) are quick and easy festive marshmallow treats with crunchy cornflakes and mini chocolate coated candies.
If you like Rice Krispie Treats, then you are going to love these gooey, crunchy marshmallow wreaths! These adorable treats are a fun and festive no-bake Cookie Recipe perfect for a last minute Dessert during the busy holiday season.
Quick and easy Cornflake Wreath Cookies are sure to be a hit this holiday season. Not only do they make a festive, bright, and fun addition to any dessert spread, but they’re also incredibly easy with just 5 ingredients.
Table of contents
- About our Christmas Wreath Cookies Recipe
- Christmas Wreath Cookies Ingredients
- Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- How to Make Christmas Wreath Cookies
- Nutritional Facts
- Christmas Wreath Cookies Recipe Tips & Tricks
- What to Pair With Christmas Wreath Cookies
- How to Store Christmas Wreath Cookies
- FAQ for Christmas Wreath Cookies
- Christmas Wreath Cookies Variations
- Related Recipes
About our Christmas Wreath Cookies Recipe
You are going to love these simple and delicious No-Bake Wreath Christmas Cookies because they’re a holiday treat that doesn’t require oven time. When you’re trying to get a lot done during the busy holiday season, it’s nice to have a recipe that you can just throw together, then let it set while you work on the rest of your holiday baking.
The simple, no-bake cookies are actually marshmallow treats, like mini Rice Krispie treats, with a couple tweaks. Instead of the crispy rice cereal, you swap in cornflakes because their crinkly edges and flat, jagged shape looks like leaves. They look even more like leaves thanks to the food coloring you use to make them a bright green color. Finally, they get some tiny M&M candies on top to mimic the ornaments on real wreaths plus their candy shell adds a delicious crunch to these tasty holiday treats!
Christmas Wreath Cookies Ingredients
- Marshmallows: The reason you want to use mini marshmallows for making gooey marshmallow treats like rice krispies and these Cornflake Wreaths is because they melt faster. This means less time over the heat so you don’t burn them.
- Butter: The butter helps loosen up the melted marshmallows so they coat the crispy cereal better but it will return to solid it cools so that marshmallow mixture doesn’t stay soft. It also adds a delicious buttery taste!
- Cornflakes: While the marshmallow base might be the same as rice krispies, these festive no bake treats are made with corn flake cereal instead of puffed rice cereal. The jagged shape of the cornflakes look sort of like leaves which is perfect for making wreath treats.
- Green Food Coloring: Of course if you are making a holiday wreath, you want it to be green! You need quite a bit of regular green food coloring, about 2 teaspoons, to get the color a vibrant, festive green.
- Mini M&M Candies: Colorful, round miniature candies make the perfect decorations for your wreath cookies because they look like bauble ornaments. We like the crispy candy shell and milk chocolate center of M&Ms but you can use any small round candy instead.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Large Pot: You want to use a big enough pot to easily fit the 5 cups of cereal plus the melted marshmallow coating with plenty of room to stir. You need to mix it quickly so it’s best not to try and transfer the marshmallow mixture to a large bowl or it could cool and become difficult to coat the cereal evenly.
- Baking Paper: You will want to lay out wax paper or parchment paper over a baking sheet or flat surface so the cookies don’t stick while they are setting. Parchment paper also comes in handy when storing these, just place it between layers so the cookies don’t stick together.
How to Make Christmas Wreath Cookies
Time needed: 20 minutes.
- Make the Marshmallow Coating
Melt half a stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the food coloring and the marshmallows until the marshmallows start to inflate. As soon as they puff up, remove the pot from the heat and stir until smooth.
- Coat the Cereal
Stir the cornflakes into the hot marshmallow mixture until they are completely coated. You need to work quickly, but be careful not to crush the cereal as you are stirring.
- Shape the Wreaths
Scoop out ¼ cup amounts of the cornflake mixture and place on a parchment lined baking tray or flat surface. Cool for 30 seconds then gently shape each mound into a round wreath with a hole in the center.
- Decorate and Cool
Carefully press the chocolate candies into the top of the still warm wreaths to decorate them. Use red candies to make a bow, or just add colorful ones all around the wreath like ornaments. Cool until they set before serving.
Nutritional Facts
Christmas Wreath Cookies Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use the Right Marshmallows
- You want to use mini marshmallows because they melt faster than jumbo marshmallows. Make sure you use fresh marshmallows because stale marshmallows don’t melt well at all either. Basically you want the marshmallows to melt quickly into the butter so that makes a smooth mixture. If they take too long to melt, it will turn more into a giant sticky glob and you won’t be able to mix the cereal in easily.
- Prevent Sticky Hands
- Working with melted marshmallow gets pretty sticky fast and the stickier your hands are, the harder it will be to shape your cookies. You can spray your hands lightly with cooking spray so that the marshmallow mixture doesn’t stick while you are forming the wreaths.
- Let the Kids Help Make Them
- Little aspiring bakers will love helping make this dessert almost as much as they love eating them. If you have younger kiddos you might want to handle the stovetop part without them. But, they can help to form the wreath and add the candy decorations.
What to Pair With Christmas Wreath Cookies
Drinks: These delicious marshmallow treats would taste great and look perfectly festive next to a mug of Peppermint Hot Chocolate. If you want the chocolate without the peppermint, try our rich Chocolate Milk or Classic Hot Cocoa.
Cookie Box: Make sure to tuck these Wreath Cookies into your Christmas Cookie Box filled with holiday favorites like Gingerbread Cookies and Christmas Pinwheel Cookies. They are a great box filling treat to throw together while you wait on the dough to chill for other cookie recipes.
How to Store Christmas Wreath Cookies
Store: If you keep your house fairly cool, you can cover the Cornflake Wreath Christmas Cookies in plastic wrap to keep them at room temperature. They’ll stay fresh for about 2 days. You can also refrigerate them for about 4-5 days, and just put them out at room temperature to soften them before serving.
Freeze: To freeze these cookies, you will first want to freeze them on a parchment lined flat tray for about an hour to keep them from freezing together. Transfer them to a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw at room temperature then serve.
FAQ for Christmas Wreath Cookies
You probably have too much butter in the marshmallow mixture or too much marshmallow mixture for the amount of cereal. You can pop them in the freezer to help stiffen them up but next time, make sure to use the measurements in the recipe for the perfect ratio of marshmallow, butter, and crispy cereal for your treats.
If you over cook the marshmallows, it will break down and crystallize the sugars, similar to caramel, and they will harden when it cools. This is why you want to use fresh mini marshmallows because they melt quickly which keeps you from overcooking them.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 5 cups corn flakes cereal
- 4 cups mini marshmallows
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons green food coloring
- 1/2 cup Mini M&Ms candies
Instructions
- Add the butter on medium heat to a large pot.
- When butter is just melted add in the marshmallows and food coloring.
- Turn off the heat as soon as the marshmallows inflate and stir until smooth.
- Add in the cornflakes quickly and stir to combine.
- Drop in ¼ cup sized piles and let cool for 30 seconds before gently forming into a wreath shape and topping with mini M&Ms.
- Press in red M&M candies to decorate as a bow or colorful ones around the wreath to decorate as ornaments.
Nutrition
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Christmas Wreath Cookies Variations
Candy: You can add all kinds of little candy pieces for decorations Try some crushed candy canes, colorful sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or nonpareils. Little red heart cinnamon candies would be super cute! You could also add shredded sweetened coconut flakes as a snowy decoration.
White Chocolate: If you want to add some amazing chocolate flavor to this recipe, you can add white chocolate chips to the marshmallow mixture. Add ½ cup white vanilla baking chips to the pan when you add the marshmallows and stir to combine. Keep stirring until they have melted completely with the marshmallow mixture.
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