Have you made your Christmas dessert yet? Every parent has experienced the worry of slaving over a holiday meal only to have the little ones decide they’d rather eat chicken fingers and fries. Our solution? Take kid-friendly recipes that you know your family will love and give them a holiday twist. This Marshmallow Treat Wreaths recipe is a seasonal riff on everyone’s favorite snack bars. They’re bound to be gone in minutes because this is one Christmas Dessert that both the young and young-at-heart will go nuts over.

Christmas Dessert: Marshmallow Treat Wreaths

Prep Time: 90 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 36-48 mini wreaths

Marshmallow Treats Ingredients:

½ cup butter

10 ounces marshmallows

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 cups plain cereal (Rice or corn will work perfectly.)

1-1 ½ teaspoons green food coloring

1 jar of red cinnamon ball candies

Christmas Dessert Directions:

1. Line 3-4 baking sheets with parchment paper. (Note: Parchment paper is truly necessary. Otherwise the treats will stick.)
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat.
3. When the butter is melted, add in the marshmallows. Stir everything together until the marshmallows are completely melted and a sticky paste forms.
4. Turn off the heat to add in the vanilla extract and green food coloring. Put the food coloring in a little at a time so you can control the shade. Then, return it to low and stir to combine.
5. Once you’re happy with the color, stir in the cereal until everything is mixed together.
6. Working in batches, dump ¼ cup of the mixture onto the parchment paper. Use greased hands to form it into a round, wreath shape.
7. When all your wreaths are formed, decorate them with the cinnamon candies. Arrange the candies in groupings of three so they look like holly berries.
8. Transfer your completed wreaths into the refrigerator and allow them to set for at least and hour.
9. Remove the wreaths from the parchment paper, using a knife to release the edges, if necessary.

Our favorite feature of this Christmas dessert is that it can be easily adapted to fit your needs. Wrapping a few of these up in a box would make the perfect DIY holiday gift. If you’re short on time and hosting a crowd, go ahead and make one big wreath instead of the mini ones pictured here. If your family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, you can easily use white food coloring to create snowman-shaped treats instead. Just be sure to make extra because, whatever shapes you create, your loved ones will be vying for second helpings.

What are your favorite holiday desserts? Are you trying out any new seasonal recipes this year? Tell us all about it in the comments.

For more holiday recipes, head on over to Stagetecture’s archives.