Editor's note: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live.
I first encountered this old-time recipe fifteen years ago, when I worked in the test kitchen of Ladies' Home Journal. I was a bit of a food snob back then and questioned how anything with marshmallows and cornflakes, not to mention green food coloring and cinnamon red-hots, could be considered edible. To my surprise, the crunchy, wheaty, sticky sweetness of these wreaths was quite pleasing when freshly made, and the air-dried wreaths were shiny, adorable, and perfect for adorning the mantlepiece as well as hanging from window frames and on the Christmas tree.
Store: In an airtight container.
Keeps: For eating, about 1 month; as ornaments, indefinitely.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 1 1/2 dozen 2-inch wreaths
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Spray a medium saucepan with nonstick vegetable shortening or lightly grease it.
Step 2
Melt the butter over low heat.
Step 3
Add the marshmallows and melt them over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth (about 6 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the food coloring and vanilla extract until well blended. Stir in the cornflakes to coat them well. Keep the mixture warm by placing the saucepan in a large pot or skillet filled with 1 inch of very hot tap water. Replace the water as it cools.
Step 4
Working quickly so the mixture does not harden, use the 2 spoons, or lightly greased fingers, to drop small (1 heaping tablespoon) mounds of the cornflake mixture onto the wax paper. With lightly greased fingers, quickly form cornflake mounds into wreaths with holes in the centers. Immediately, while the wreaths are still sticky, decorate the wreaths with red-hots.
Step 5
When wreaths dry, they may be strung with nylon string or gold ribbons as tree ornaments.
Recipe notes
Back to topSee Related Recipes and Cooking Tips
61 Christmas Candy Recipes to Sweeten Your Holiday
Make these Christmas candy recipes—including chocolate truffles, fluffy marshmallows, and peppermint bark—and then wrap them up for loved ones.
