No Bake Fudgy Peppermint Cathedral Cookies

I am a holiday candy hoarder, and I think companies cash in on that. They put out all kinds of limited edition flavors and when they are gone, they are gone, forcing people to buy two bags in case they run out of the first one (cough). When I see a new flavor, whether it’s marshmallows, M&Ms, Hershey’s Kisses, or Oreos (which I still have yet to see these gingerbread ones?!), they usually end up in my cart. Then they sit in my pantry forever, leaving me with out-of-stock candy so I can’t post recipes since none of you can get the ingredients until next year (#foodbloggerproblems anyone?) So this year, I made an effort to do better and made No-Bake Fudgy Peppermint Cathedral Cookies, which uses both peppermint marshmallows and M&Ms for a holiday treat.

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I had a bag of peppermint marshmallows and white chocolate peppermint M&Ms. I did Peppermint Rice Crispy Treats last year, so I wanted a new recipe. Then I hit a wall with the M&Ms. I didn’t want to do cookies since I did that for Halloween. I was going to do fudge, but I had such a bad day in the kitchen that night, I just knew it would fail. I had a recipe for Cathedral Cookies in my recipe box, so I started thinking. Mini peppermint marshmallows. That could work! Then instead of nuts, I used M&Ms.

I was a mess that night (literally). Chocolate ALL over my hands trying to roll the dang thing up. I was so skeptical that these were even going to work. I shoved it in the freezer and went to bed. The log set up beautifully and cut so easily. And everything smelled like peppermint. Of course, being as fudgy as they are, you can’t leave them out of the fridge too long or they are quite messy slicing.

The cathedral part of the name comes from the original use of colored marshmallows. After slicing, the colors represent a stained glass window found in cathedrals. This peppermint version is all dressed up for the holiday.

The best part about these No-Bake Fudgy Peppermint Cathedral Cookies is making them ahead of time and storing the log in the freezer until ready to serve. That is one less thing for you to do when planning those holiday parties.

Source: Adapted from Taste of Home magazine