Cathedral Windows Recipe

One of the great bonuses that came with marrying my husband was that my immediate family expanded exponentially immediately and with them came years of traditions and time-tested recipes.  For those of you who are regular readers, you might assume I am being my typical sarcastic self, but I assure you I am entirely sincere on this matter.

My mother prides herself on being a professional, working woman and she is one of the hardest working women I know.  However, she had no proclivity for anything remotely domestic so I grew up believing frozen dinners and grilled cheese sandwiches were gourmet meals.  And I honestly didn’t know you could make mashed potatoes from actual potatoes until my mother-in-law introduced me to the technique that did not involve adding water and butter to potato buds from a box.

So, along with a newly expanded family (my husband is one of 14 children), came decades of holiday traditions, many of them involving favorite family recipes.  They make a variety of delicious recipes and sweet treats at Christmas, one of which were these Cathedral Windows, which I found both beautiful and delicious.

The problem with making Cathedral Windows at Christmas is that it is VERY difficult to find the colored marshmallows at Christmas.  The colored marshmallows are essential since the whole point is to make the cookies look like stained glass windows.  No, the time to buy pastel colored marshmallows is during the Easter season.  And since Easter is the other time of year (other than Christmas) when most people attend church, these Cathedral Windows seem just as appropriate as an Easter recipe.

The great thing about this recipe is that it only calls for 4 ingredients. Actually, the family recipe also includes chopped nuts, but my kids prefer it without them.

Place chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan.

Melt over low heat, stirring constantly.  When all the chocolate and the butter is melted and forms a smooth consistency, remove from heat.  Place colored marshmallows in a large bowl.

Fold chocolate into marshmallows and stir well until all marshmallows are coated in chocolate.

Lay out a piece of wax paper and sprinkle coconut in a long, wide strip down the center of the wax paper.

Form a log out of the chocolate marshmallow mixture and lay it directly onto the strip of coconut.

Gently roll the log back and forth to coat sides in coconut.  Sprinkle additional coconut along the top of the log.  Roll tightly in the wax paper.

Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.  When ready, unroll and cut log into 1/2 inch slices.

Here is a printable version: Cathedral Windows Recipe.

Do you have your own favorite Easter recipe?  If so, please share it here.

Corinne Schmitt

I’m a work at home mom of five children. My passion is helping busy moms have happy, healthy homes and feel great about themselves.