When my husband Brian and I got married, I became step-mom to Kelly.  Brian and Kelly like to go fishing and hiking together, two activities I prefer to skip out on, so over the years Kelly and I have found our own common interests. Kelly lives with her mother most of the time, but when she spends time with us I like to have fun projects for us to do, many of them involve spending time in the kitchen. Kelly just turned 10, but she has been helping me in the kitchen since she was 5. We started with small tasks, but this past summer she successfully made quite a few recipes with little help from me.  She is great at chopping vegetables, with even more precision at making even cuts then mine tend to be.

Kelly arrived last night to spend winter break with us. She and I started talking about cookies and she immediately wanted to go to the kitchen and start creating. I chose a simple recipe that she could do on her own with my supervision.

This recipe is very similar to making a rice krispie treat, with a holiday twist.  It is easy to put together and last night Kelly made our wreaths from start to finish.  All I did was read the steps to her and made sure she was careful around the stove. If you are looking for a fun project with your kids over winter break, this one is fun.

Edible Wreaths

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 tsp green food coloring

4 cups of cornflakes

40 large marshmallows

3 drops of mint extract (optional)

3 tbsp cinnamon red hot candies

Before you start cooking, line counter top with wax paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

I had Kelly pre-measure everything she would need to make her wreaths

Using a large sauce pan,  begin to melt butter over low heat when melted add in marshmallows,  stir constantly until marshmallows are completely melted.  Remove from heat and add in the mint extract (optional) food coloring and cornflakes.  Stir until thoroughly mixed.  Butter a small spoon and drop small mounds of cornflake mixture on waxed paper.  Lightly butter fingers and form cornflake mounds into wreaths with holes in the center.  Decorate with cinnamon candies.