One of my family's favorite Holiday treats...
Around the holidays you will find me happily creating all sorts of treats in my kitchen. I love to make cookies and treats to give away as gifts and to also have on hand when family and friends stop by. I do believe that if I ever decided to skip the Christmas Wreath Marshmallow treats on any given year, I would be disowned by my family. They absolutely love them!
Mine do not really look like a wreath because I've gotten lazy over the years and don't take the time to form them into circles so, really, mine are more like Holly clumps with berries. It doesn't matter really whether they look like a wreath or not, it is that yummy buttery marshmallow taste that grabs them every single time. I also do not use the traditional cinnamon red hots for the berries, either. Instead, I substitute those little red hots with red M&M's.
Why the substitution, you might ask? Well, truth be told I start making my Christmas cookies and treats in September and October and I found that it is extremely difficult to find the little cinnamon candies at that time of the year. So, I decided to use red M&M's one year and my family actually likes that added bite of chocolate better than the cinnamon.
The Recipe Is So Easy!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons cinnamon red hot candies (or red M&M's)
Directions for making:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat. Add the marshmallows and cook until they are completely melted. Stir this mixture constantly so that the butter does not start to burn. Remove from the heat and stir in the food coloring, vanilla and cornflakes cereal.
Quickly drop the mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. You can form them into wreath shapes with lightly buttered fingers. Decorate with red hot candies (or my substitute). Allow to cool to room temperature before removing from the waxed paper. Store in an airtight container. They can be frozen!
A Few Tips For This Recipe
I do not recommend substituting the butter with margarine or a butter substitute. It will dramatically change the taste of your treats. Real butter works better with the marshmallows and if you are concerned about calories, well the butter is not the biggest culprit in this mixture. Trust me, use butter.
I make mine in my 6 quart dutch oven pan. It is large enough to accommodate the 4 cups of cornflakes and it is much easier to mix the ingredients together in.
Work quickly when dropping the mixture on the waxed paper from the pan. The marshmallow begins to set-up rather fast as it begins to cool. I do not recommend keeping the pan on the heat because it will begin to burn.
I also do not recommend trying to double this recipe. Although, you certainly have enough marshmallows and cornflakes to do a double batch; it is too difficult to get everything stirred and mixed together and then onto the waxed paper before it cools too much to work with.
Normally, I fix one batch and do my clean up (the pan gets pretty messy with green marshmallow residue!) and then in a day or two, I make the second batch. It is totally up to you as to how you approach it but one thing I would not attempt is to do a second batch in the pan that still has green melted marshmallow in it. That residue will burn while you are melting your butter and that ruins the second batch. Now, why do you think I know that? Hmmm? I learned the hard way that some shortcuts are just not worth trying when it comes to cooking!
If your family loves Rice Krispies Treats, they will love these Christmas Wreath treats! The cornflakes give it a slightly different taste but they are really good!
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Oh, yum, Beverly. And thanks SO much for this recipe. What fun ~ a colorful and tasty Christmas treat!
ReplyDeleteThese are truly fabulous Bev! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe and expertise. I would definitely prefer the m&m myself regardless. I am not really crazy about red hots, but I do love chocolate m&m's. Also, I love your wreath! It is a very original wreath swag that would be quite tasty for Christmas. I'll be watching for mine in the mail :)
ReplyDeletewell this sounds scrumptious! Thanks for the edible Christmas wreath!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom used to make these and I haven't seen them in years. Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteHow beautifully seasonal! What fun to make, too, and they sound delicious, not just pretty. Thanks for sharing your recipe and tips!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely tempted to make these, but since I don't care about the holiday coloring, I'll probably not make them green. I know they will be just as tasty.
ReplyDelete