The holidays hit fast and furious and baking begins. I am all for great recipes that have just a few ingredients and taste awesome when they are done, are you? I have made this recipe forever and my aunt used to make them when I was a little girl. There is nothing quite like the taste that these lovely morsels offer and they are fast to prepare.
Perhaps what I like best about Church Window cookies is that they are no-bake, and simply use the microwave to achieve success. Pretty much any skill set from novice to pro can make these.
Better yet, the options for add-ins are endless. As you determine what you love inside of chocolate and marshmallows, add it in and change up this really easy to make the recipe. What could be better than that?
How about the fact that you never have to use an oven to bake these cookies! Fast. Simple. No-Bake perfection for a holiday cookie. Ready? Time to make Church Window Cookies.
No-Bake Church Window Cookies
Grab your wax paper, and that glass of wine (of course you need a little holiday cheer) and let’s make Church Window Cookies. IF you are like me, baking is not just about baking, it’s about the no-bake options that add-in that special ‘extra’ touch.
When I bake, I sip at wine, and before I know it, my cookies taste more divine! Do you do that? If not, treat yourself, I assure you baking will never be the same and for some reason, everything tastes better, lol!
When you have finished baking and then you look at your cookies, you might decide that you don’t have enough color between them to make a great tray! Don’t preheat the oven, you’ve done that enough.
Instead, try a no-bake option. There are a lot of those options, but one that reigns supreme in my home is church windows. The combination of marshmallow and chocolate simply are contenting to the palate, so I make this early on in the season.
Fear not, you can make these in a few minutes and they are bulk-creation friendly! You will love using colored marshmallows to change them up or plain white for snow-like windows!
As long as you have either a microwave or a stove, you can make this recipe. Did I mention you don’t need any special cooking or baking skills either? IT’s that easy!
Ingredients for No-Bake Church Window Cookies
Just so you know, instead of morsels, I use baking chocolate and it is 8 – 2oz pieces to equal the 2 c portion of morsels. I prefer the block chocolate over morsels when creating this each year.
1 stick of butter (1/2 C) make sure it is softened, not melted
2 C of semi-sweet chocolate
10 1/2 Oz bag of Mini Marshmallows (white or colored)
2 Tsp of Vanilla
Wax Paper
METHOD
Rip wax paper to about a 14″ piece. Repeat this and set aside. You will use this at the very end, but it must be ready and waiting.
Place marshmallows in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. These will be coated shortly. Now prepare the mixture to coat the marshmallows with.
First, place a softened stick of butter in a mixing bowl or measuring cup, whichever you prefer. Do NOT melt the butter, it will flaw the recipe, rather it needs to be ‘soft’.
Add in vanilla and mix. The mixture will have the vanilla mixed in, yet visible.
Then, in a microwave-safe dish, melt the chocolate. Stir until very smooth. You do not want any chunks.
Mix the chocolate and butter mixture together. Stir until the combination is smooth and no lumps remain. It is important to do this step as soon as the chocolate is smooth and not too cool.
The softened butter will melt in the warm chocolate. Once smooth, you will take the chocolate-butter mixture and top the marshmallows.
Do mix until all marshmallows are evenly coated. Generally, mix from the bottom to the top. This will ensure that all the bottom marshmallows are coated as well as the top ones!
Now, divide the mixture in 1/2. Place a piece of wax paper on your workspace and remove one-half piece to the paper.
Create a log with your spatula. Next, roll the log and then twist the ends. It will look like a huge Tootsie Roll if you have done this right! Refrigerate. Repeat process for the other 1/2.
After about 2 hours, removed from refrigerator, slice and serve. Or store up to 3 weeks in refrigerator and unroll and slice as needed. Do remember to store in an airtight container in the refrigerator to prevent the cookie log from taking on any other tastes.
Tips & Tricks
You can roll these in coconut, or nuts, or even sprinkles, We did not in order to keep them allergen-free (from nuts) for my son. For those that love sprinkles, you would need to roll those into the log paper before rolling and then they will grace the top of the log.
Alternatively, you can mix Sprinkles into the mixture during the last step of marshmallows to chocolate coating in a bowl. Lavishly live a delicious and easy to make a recipe out loud!