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Church Window Cookies are a no-bake chocolate treat packed with colorful marshmallows, toasted walnuts, and a snowy coconut coating. They look like stained-glass slices, but they’re surprisingly easy to make. You’re going to love having a festive treat that doesn’t require turning on the oven.
Why You’ll Love It
- No-bake and easy — melt, stir, shape, roll, and chill.
- Colorful without decorating — the pastel marshmallows create the stained-glass look.
- Makes plenty — this recipe yields about 48 slices.
- Great texture in every bite — smooth chocolate, chewy marshmallows, crunchy walnuts, and sweet coconut.
Ingredient Notes
Use semisweet chocolate chips here. They keep the cookies from becoming cloying, because the marshmallows and sweetened coconut are already bringing plenty of sweetness to the party. I’ve used store-brand chips and name-brand chips, and both were fine. If your chocolate chips tend to be thick or stubborn when melting, just stay patient and keep the heat low. Chocolate can turn on you in a blink—ask me how I know.
The butter is plain old regular butter. Nothing fancy is needed. I usually use salted because that’s what I keep in the refrigerator, although unsalted works just as well. There is so much sugar around the holidays that a little salt is practically public service.
Pastel mini marshmallows give these their classic window look. Around the holidays, you might find seasonal colors instead, and that’s fine too. Regular white mini marshmallows work if that’s all you can find. They won’t look quite as colorful, but nobody has ever turned one down because it lacked visual drama.
Please toast the walnuts. I know, it’s an extra step and I’ve skipped it before. But toasted walnuts taste nuttier and less—how do I put this kindly—like they’ve been sitting in a pantry too long. Just keep an eye on them, because nuts go from toasted to bitter little charcoal pebbles faster than you’d think.
The coconut should be sweetened shredded coconut. The sweetened kind gives that fluffy, snowy coating these need. Coconut can be left off if preferred. Without it, the chocolate logs still taste good—chocolate and marshmallows are not exactly going to disappoint anybody.
Ingredients
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butter, sliced up so it melts without making you wait all afternoon
- 10 ounces pastel mini marshmallows
- 3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the semisweet chocolate chips and sliced butter together until smooth. Low heat is important here. Do not crank it up because you’re in a hurry—I have done that, and chocolate gets grainy and sulks forever. Stir gently until it is just melted and glossy.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the chocolate mixture cool slightly. You still want it melted and easy to stir, but not hot enough to melt the marshmallows into a weird pastel swamp. This takes a few minutes, usually about the time it takes me to wipe down the counter and realize I forgot to put away the mail.
Add the toasted chopped walnuts and the pastel mini marshmallows to the cooled chocolate mixture. Stir carefully until everything is coated. Try not to smash the marshmallows too much. You want those little colorful pieces to stay intact, because that’s what makes the slices look like windows.
Lay out three pieces of parchment paper. Divide the chocolate-marshmallow mixture evenly among them. It will seem a little sticky and unruly, and it is. Don’t panic. This is not a beauty contest at this stage.
Use the parchment paper to help shape each portion into an 8- to 10-inch log. Fold the paper around the mixture and gently press and roll until you have a fairly even log. It does not need to be perfect. Mine never are. If one has a slightly lopsided end, congratulations—you made it at home.
Roll each log carefully in the sweetened shredded coconut, covering the outside as well as you can. I usually scatter the coconut over the parchment and roll from there, which saves a dish and gives the coconut somewhere to go besides all over the floor.
Wrap the parchment paper around the coconut-covered logs and place them in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight if you’re getting a jump on things. Two hours works, but overnight makes slicing especially easy.
When you’re ready to serve, unwrap the logs and slice them into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces. A sharp knife helps. If the slices crack a little, let the log sit at room temperature for a few minutes, then try again. Put them on a plate and watch them disappear.
Variations
You can absolutely switch up the nuts if walnuts aren’t your thing. Pecans are lovely and a little softer, while peanuts make these taste almost like a candy bar situation. Cashews work too, though I rarely have enough left in the pantry to test that theory since they disappear by the handful.
You can make a version without coconut if you prefer. Without the coconut, just chill the chocolate logs wrapped in parchment and slice them as usual. They’ll still taste good—chocolate and marshmallows are not exactly going to disappoint anybody.
You can also use regular mini marshmallows if pastel ones aren’t available. An all-white batch may not look as festive, but it will vanish just as fast.
I did try adding sprinkles once. The idea was cute. The execution was… a little much. The sprinkles made the outside crunchy in a way that reminded me of eating sand at the beach, which I do not recommend recreating in dessert form. A few would probably be fine, but I’d leave well enough alone.
Storage & Reheating
Keep Church Window Cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where they’ll stay fresh for up to a week. I like to put wax paper between layers so the slices don’t stick together, although sometimes I don’t bother and then regret it later. This is who I am.
They also freeze well. Wrap the logs tightly in plastic wrap or place sliced cookies in a freezer-safe container with wax paper between the layers. You can freeze them either before or after slicing. Let them thaw in the refrigerator before serving, or leave a few slices on the counter for a short while if you’re impatient—which I generally am around sweets.
There is no reheating involved, thank goodness. The refrigerator is doing all the heavy lifting. If they sit out too long at a warm holiday table, they can get a little soft, so I usually bring out one plate at a time and keep the rest chilled. This makes me sound organized.
Final Notes
These cookies have that old-fashioned, slightly goofy charm I can’t resist. They’re bright and sweet and a little messy around the edges—like the holidays themselves, really. Every year I tell myself I’m going to make fewer treats, keep things simple, not buy three kinds of wrapping paper because one has tiny gold trees on it… and then here we are.
Make these when you need something easy but still special. Make them late at night after the kitchen finally gets quiet, when the refrigerator hum is the loudest thing in the house and you can almost believe you have everything under control.
Almost.
Church Window Cookies
Ingredients Â
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butter sliced
- 10 ounces pastel mini marshmallows
- 3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
InstructionsÂ
- In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the semisweet chocolate chips and sliced butter together until smooth, stirring gently until the mixture is just melted and glossy.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the chocolate mixture cool slightly so it is still melted and easy to stir, but not hot enough to melt the marshmallows.
- Add the toasted chopped walnuts and pastel mini marshmallows to the cooled chocolate mixture and stir carefully until everything is coated, trying not to smash the marshmallows.
- Lay out three pieces of parchment paper and divide the chocolate-marshmallow mixture evenly among them.
- Use the parchment paper to help shape each portion into an 8- to 10-inch log, folding the paper around the mixture and gently pressing and rolling until fairly even.
- Roll each log carefully in the sweetened shredded coconut, covering the outside as well as you can.
- Wrap the parchment paper around the coconut-covered logs and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight for easier slicing.
- When ready to serve, unwrap the logs and slice them into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces with a sharp knife, letting the log sit at room temperature for a few minutes first if the slices crack.