These easy no-bake Christmas wreaths are a fun holiday cookie that puts a spin on the classic Rice Krispies treat recipe. Melted marshmallow and butter (and a little bit of green food coloring) transform cornflake cereal into cute little mini wreaths to make the season brighter.
It only takes about 15 minutes to put these wreaths together and you can customize and decorate them however you like!
Looking for more holiday cookie ideas? Check out:
- Melted Snowman Cookies
- Grinch Cookies
- Soft & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Aunt Judy’s Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
- Snowball Cookies
Tips for making wreath cookies:
- Make sure to spray your fingers with nonstick cooking spray (or butter them!) so you can handle the sticky mixture when forming the wreaths.
- For sturdier cookies, you can pack your 1/3 cup measuring cup with the cookie mixture before dumping it out and shaping it into a wreath. The more loosely shaped wreaths will be a little floppier when picked up, so make your wreaths more dense if you want it to feel more solid when handled.
- Add a little powdered sugar once your cookie is cool for a snowy effect!
- The most common decorations are red hots or mini M&Ms, but you can use star candies, candy pearls to look like ornaments, or even pull-and-peel Twizzler pieces to make a small bow.
Ingredients for wreath cookies:
- Cornflakes: All you need is plain cornflake cereal for the base of these wreaths.
- Butter: Melted butter makes the marshmallows even creamier for a rich cookie coating.
- Marshmallows: You can use mini or regular sized marshmallows for this recipe.
- Vanilla extract (optional): Just a little hint of vanilla is added and you can also put in some almond extract if you have that on hand.
- Green food coloring: We like gel food coloring as it’s a more concentrated color, but you can use liquid as well.
- Decorations: You can use whatever sprinkles or candies you want to decorate your wreaths!
How to make wreath cookies:
Melt the marshmallows: Add your marshmallows and butter to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30-second increments until melted, stirring each time. Quickly add your green food coloring a few drops at a time until you get the color you like and stir in your vanilla and almond extract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make wreath cookies without a microwave?
You can easily also make wreath cookies on the stovetop if you don’t have a microwave. Just add your butter to a saucepan over medium heat, and once it’s melted, add in your marshmallows, stirring often until melted. Remove from the heat, add your extracts and food coloring, stir to combine, and then fold in your cornflakes to finish your cookie dough.
Add the cornflakes: Working quickly, add in your cornflake cereal and fold in until evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture.
Shape your wreaths: Spray some nonstick cooking spray onto your fingertips (or butter them) and scoop a 1/3 cup of the mixture onto a piece of wax paper or a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Use your fingers to make a hole in the center and shape the flakes into a wreath. Add your decorations while the coating is still warm.
Cool your cookies: Put your cookies into the fridge for about 2 hours to let the marshmallow coating to fully set before storing or serving.
Looking for more holiday recipes? Try our:
- Eggnog Pie
- Christmas Cake Pops
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls – Small Batch
- No-Bake Pumpkin Pie
- Eggnog French Toast
- Spiced Gingerbread Waffles
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you store cornflake wreath cookies?
Store wreath cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. You can add pieces of wax paper between layers of cookies so they don’t stick together and spray the bottom of the container with nonstick spray as well.
Can you freeze cornflake wreath cookies?
You can freeze wreath cookies for four weeks but you’ll want to wrap them individually in wax paper or plastic wrap coated with a little nonstick cooking spray. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
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Ingredients
- 4 cups cornflakes
- ½ cup butter
- 30 marshmallows ((or 4 cups mini marshmallows))
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract ((optional))
- green food coloring
- candy decorations
Equipment
- 1 microwave safe-bowl or saucepan
Instructions
- Melt the marshmallows: Add your marshmallows and butter to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30-second increments until melted, stirring each time. Quickly add your green food coloring a few drops at a time until you get the color you like and stir in your vanilla and almond extract.
- Add the cornflakes: Working quickly, add in your cornflake cereal and fold in until evenly coated with the marshmallow mixture.
- Shape your wreaths: Spray some nonstick cooking spray onto your fingertips (or butter them) and scoop a 1/3 cup of the mixture onto a piece of wax paper or a cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Use your fingers to make a hole in the center and shape the flakes into a wreath. Add your decorations while the coating is still warm.
- Cool your cookies: Put your cookies into the fridge for about 2 hours to let the marshmallow coating to fully set before storing or serving.
Notes
Tips for making wreath cookies:
- Make sure to spray your fingers with nonstick cooking spray (or butter them!) so you can handle the sticky mixture when forming the wreaths.
- For sturdier cookies, you can pack your 1/3 cup measuring cup with the cookie mixture before dumping it out and shaping it into a wreath. The more loosely shaped wreaths will be a little floppier when picked up, so make your wreaths more dense if you want it to feel more solid when handled.
- Add a little powdered sugar once your cookie is cool for a snowy effect!
- The most common decorations are red hots or mini M&Ms, but you can use star candies, candy pearls to look like ornaments, or even pull-and-peel Twizzler pieces to make a small bow.
How to make wreath cookies without a microwave:
You can easily also make wreath cookies on the stovetop if you don’t have a microwave. Just add your butter to a saucepan over medium heat, and once it’s melted, add in your marshmallows, stirring often until melted. Remove from the heat, add your extracts and food coloring, stir to combine, and then fold in your cornflakes to finish your cookie dough.Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
These are so cute & fun to make with the kids. Very hands on activity to keep them busy when school is out. But $7 to yield 10 homemade cookies? Talk about inflation! Maybe we can just go to Crumbl Cookies and split one of their monster cookies. But where’s the fun in that? My kids would vehemently disagree. Thanks for the fun and tasty recipe ideas!
Such a classic cookie!
How fun! This brings me back to childhood, when my mom’s friend made something similar, but called them “Holly Berry Cookies,” with cornflakes and Red Hots for the berries. Thanks for the happy memory!
when I made these they were so ugly! I can’t wait to use your method next time :)))