Cereal Cookies

You’re going to love these cereal cookies! Made with Corn Flakes, Cocoa Krispies, oats, and chocolate chips, these cookies are full of texture and oh-so delicious.

YOU GUYS, it’s been so long since I’ve posted anything on the blog. I promise, I haven’t forgotten about it, and I certainly haven’t taken a break from baking, recipe development and photography. In fact, I’ve been so busy with my freelancing work that I simply haven’t had extra time to spare. But here I am with a new cookie recipe that I think you’re going to love! Cereal cookies- simple, easy, absolutely delicious, and loaded with texture. I love these.

I actually pulled this recipe from my late grandmother’s recipe box. I made it just as my grandmother wrote it (on a faded index card of course), and they were really good. BUT I can’t leave well enough alone, so I tweaked them a bit. And that’s the cookie recipe I’m sharing with you today! I’m certain my grandmother wouldn’t be offended by my tweaking- she was, after all, just as opinionated as I am.

It’s pretty obvious what makes cereal cookies so good and so interesting, right? Cereal. Cocoa Krispies and Corn Flakes, to be exact. And before you second guess putting cereal in cookie dough, you’ve got to try these. The cookies are still nice and soft, but the cereal adds a nice bit of chewy and crunchy texture. Plus, the Cocoa Krispies give the cookies a subtle chocolate-malt flavor which I love. Paired with old-fashioned oats and chocolate chips, these cookies are texturally fabulous and pretty darn delicious.

What you’ll need to make these cereal cookies:

Butter: Butter adds flavor and moisture to the cookies. Make sure to use unsalted butter and give it time to soften before using.

Light brown + granulated sugar: Brown sugar adds a deeper flavor to the cookies, as well as moisture and a chewier texture. Granulated sugar makes the cookies more tender, helps them spread and brown in the oven, and of course makes them sweet!

Eggs: Eggs help bind the cookie dough together and add a bit of moisture.

Vanilla: For extra flavor.

Flour: All-purpose flour gives the cookies their structure. For best results, it’s important to measure your flour correctly, either by weight or by using the spoon and level method.

Oats: Old-fashioned rolled oats give these cookies a chewier texture, which pairs perfectly with the crunchy cereal.

Kosher salt: For balance.

Baking soda + baking powder: To help cookies rise (and brown) in the oven.

Cocoa Krispies and Corn Flakes cereal: The stars of the show! Using cereal in these cookies is what gives them great texture. The cookies are soft, but the Cocoa Krispies and Corn Flakes studded throughout add some extra crunch and chewiness. The Cocoa Krispies also add a subtle chocolate-malt flavor, which is really delicious!

Chocolate chips: I opt for semisweet chips, but feel free to use milk or dark chocolate chips instead!

FAQs:

Why is this recipe primarily listed in grams? I develop my recipes in grams because weighing your ingredients is the best, most accurate way to bake. Baking is a science and precision is key to success! Measuring cups are not standardized, and what’s more, the way each baker uses them varies drastically, which ultimately gives you inconsistent (and sometimes negative) results. For instance, did you know that scooping flour out of a cannister can give you 50% more flour than what’s called for in the recipe? By weighing your ingredients rather than using measuring cups, you can confidently know that you are using the correct amount of each ingredient, giving you greater success & delicious results. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale, like this one when you bake. Plus, it makes clean up a lot easier!

Can I use quick oats for this recipe? I don’t recommend quick oats in cookie dough as this will change the texture of the cookies. Stick with old-fashioned rolled oats!

Do I have to chill the dough? I do recommend chilling the dough for at least 1 hour before scooping and baking. This allows the flavors to deepen a bit and keeps the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, giving you a thicker cookie.

Can I use other types of cereal? To maintain the same texture, I’d definitely stick with Corn Flakes and a “Krispies cereal” variety- instead of cocoa, try plain Rice Krispies or cinnamon sugar Rice Krispies.  

A few notes before you bake:

To make scooping cookies a breeze, I use a #40 spring-loaded scoop, which holds about 2 tablespoons of dough.

Rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. If your oven gets hotter in the back (like most do), you’ll want to rotate the baking sheets from front-to-back halfway through baking. This keeps the cookies in the back from burning or browning too much.  

These are even better the next day. Most of the time, okay 99.99% of the time, I recommend eating cookies as soon as they’re cool enough to not burn your mouth. But hear me out- these cookies actually once they’re completely cool and are even better the day after baking. The cereal gets a chance to “crisp back up,” giving the cookies some nice crunch throughout an otherwise soft cookie.

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