STOP! Before you scroll through the photos: First, a little background. Please.
These are Charlie’s cookies. We’ve already made several batches of these cookies and Charlie is bored with the standard green wreath. I am also out of cornflakes, and – as it turns out – green food coloring. As usual, I refuse to go to the grocery store. Therefore, the photos taken of the process are going to, no doubt, be a little disturbing. Or at least off-putting.
Additional things that may be helpful to know as you read this post, and all previous and future posts I might make:
I never remember to take photos of the things I want to write about. Or, I start taking pictures, then forget to finish as I start running short of time, we eat whatever I’m making, and I say “Oh shoot. I forgot to take the rest of the pictures.” I never seem to have the correct ingredients. I think of all kinds of clever things to write while I’m cooking and snapping away, only to go completely blank when I sit down to type. And, I still don’t know why I am even doing this in the first place.
Well. I’m never really completely blank.
So, back to the old Cornflake Wreath Cookie recipe. This is a favorite of mine and Charlie’s. Dave likes them and so does Morgan. But they are Charlie’s favorite, and I make them for him. These are also my go-to recipe for any event I have to bring a few dozen to share. Since I usually forget that I am supposed to even bring cookies to share, I need to move quickly. I can whip up a batch in about 8 minutes, which might seem impossible to you, if you have ever tried to make the damn things.
Frankly, I have never once, not ever, succeeded in making the recipe according to directions. Have you? Seriously. Have you?
I am positive there is some insider’s secret to creating a ring of sticky, gooey, marshmallow-coated cornflakes. And, even if you DID succeed in getting the mess into the shape of a wreath, it ends up being only a fraction of the amount that you actually want to consume. So you end up eating three. Probably to the horror of the person who made them, since the formation of each fricken’ wreath likely took a minimum of 15 minutes.
Therefore I present to you the New and Improved Cornflake Wreath Cookie recipe.
Here are the changes I made to the original recipe: I add 1 teaspoon each of vanilla and almond extract (instead of 1/2 tsp). I use one 10 ounce bag of regular sized marshmallows (not 4 cups of mini), because I never have the minis. I use twice as much cereal (to make them more nutritional). Do you believe that? I use Red Hots with abandon (not just 3). And, I don’t waste my time forming them into rings. Honestly. You’d have to be insane to even try.
Maybe I’m just jealous that I can’t do it.
But I’m darn good at the rationalizations, aren’t I?
Without further a do:
The Recipe (if you can call it that)
Microwave 1 stick of butter in a large bowl for about 1 minute. It doesn’t have to be all melted.
Add the bag of marshmallows (be sure it’s the 10z bag and not the bigger one),
and toss with the partially melted butter.
Stir well and microwave for an additional 1 minute to get it smooth.
Add 1 teaspoon each of vanilla and almond extract.
Add enough food coloring to get the mixture the color you want. I do not recommend either blue or purple. My kids, however, do.
Add 8 cups of cornflakes (or, as I did here, the third bag of the Chex box you bought at CostCo and your kids won’t eat because they don’t like the wheat. That’ll teach them.), and gently stir marshmellow mixture to evenly coat the cereal.
Spray two spoons all over with non-stick cooking spray and scoop blobs of the mixture onto wax paper.
Immediately sprinkle generously with red hots.
After about an hour, flip the “wreaths” over so that the bottoms get hard. That way you can store them in a ziplock bag.
I just did that, and while I was at it, I sampled these pitiful purple Wheat Chex cookies. Not only are the truly hideous, but I also ran out of almond extract and only had about 1/4 teaspoon.
It doesn’t matter. They were really good. How much you wanna bet I’ll be the only one who eats them? (The blue ones are already half gone).
New and Improved Cornflake Wreath Cookies (in less than 10 minutes)
1 stick (1/2 c) butter
8 cups Cornflakes
10 oz bag Marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp (or more) food coloring. I recommend GREEN
red hot candies
Microwave butter in large bowl for 1 minute. Add bag of marshmallows and toss to coat. Microwave marshmellows and butter for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave another 1 minute and stir until smooth.
Add vanilla, almond extract and food coloring. Add cornflakes and stir gently to coat.
Spray two spoons with Pam (or non-stick cooking spray). Spoon large blobs onto wax paper. When mixture is gone, immediately sprinkle with red hots. If you wait too long, the candies won’t stick.
After about an hour, flip the wreaths over to let the bottoms harden. Store in ziplock bags.
Tracy says
I just had someone give these to me at work, and I had never heard of them before! Now I can make my own! 🙂
admin says
seriously? you never had them before? I thought they were ubiquitous! ( sorry, that word popped into my head and I had to use it.)
so I gotta know: were they shaped into rings? If so, please consult with her and report back as to how she does it. I suspect the much higher butter to marshmallow ratio makes them far less sticky than mine. But then I would feel so guilty eating them…
I wait with bated breath for your response.
Lisa Kingrey Johnson says
I wish I had a photo of my perfectly formed and bright green wreath cookies for you, Jennie!! Except we ate them already. your photo is hilarious and nasty!!
Merry Christmas, Jennie.
admin says
GASP! No! Really?? Perfect rings?
HOW???
It’s the butter, right?
Rhonda says
btw, I followed these from the Tasty Kitchen site to tell you that I actually found them under “drinks”, I thought you might wanna correct that on their site. I LOVE these btw and was looking for the recipe. I think the blue is kinda cool.
admin says
Drinks? Seriously? Hmmmm. That might be a good angle: put my recipes where all the booze-hounds lurk and hope to catch their eye!
thanks for visiting. It’s so fun to get to chat with other bakers/cookers/gardeners/etc.
merry christmas!
admin says
Assuming this isn’t a joke or spam, thanks!
Rick says
Thank you for such a great recipe. I’m going to try it out right now.
Barb says
Can you freeze or keep a week before Christmas in plastic bags in the
garage or refrig
admin says
Yes. Though tightly sealed they keep really well for at least a week I. The pantry.
Allison says
Hello, I have been making these cookies for years with my mother. The last two years I made them on my own and I had a problem with the marshmallow not hardening after I formed them into wreaths. I end up having to scrape if off the wax paper when I was ready to eat them. I don’t think I’m doing anything differently so I don’t know why they won’t set up anymore.
jenmenke says
Hi Allison! I just made my first batch for these a couple days a ago. Yummm. I have had your problem a few times, and for me it was always when I tried to skimp on the butter. Did you by chance do that?
tracikaym@hotmail.com says
My daughter and I make these all the time. Pink coloring for hearts ( valentines day). We use a bit more vanilla and almond, about 1 , 1 1/2Tbsp., plus 1,2 tsps almond., gives a very unpleasant reminder of a gas relief product. We used yellow tonight and orange for fall leaves. I was reluctant on the orange, almost convincing her to choose a different color, they came out beautiful. We skip the red hots all together. Sometimes add springless, while chocolate, but those aren’t usually on hand. Thanks for posting. I hope everyone shares these with others. I had missed them since I was a kid, remembering this woman who would come to our house with these, oh so good treats, I would eat the whole plate, kids sneaking around the grown ups. I came across the recipe last Christmas, and they always vanish and are loved, simple, the good stuff…
jenmenke says
ALL HOLIDAYS?? Oh Lord help me… what a great (and scary) idea… Halloween, here I come…
dorothy says
what you do is take the blob of cornflakes, plop it on the waxed paper,then push your index finger into the middle and spread it out some so there is a hole. that is the only way I could get them to be wreathlike. not perfect but functional.
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Lois says
I am going to make these for my 1st time, green for Christmas & blue for Hanukkah. Wish me luck!
Jenmenke says
Good luck Lois!! 🙂
Diana J Rippie says
Made these yesterday and this morning they are too sticky to remove from parchment. I suppose being in Fl doesn’t help. Yes, got A/C going. Any ideas? Cornstarch, powder sugar, discard?