The ultimate cereal cookie for anyone nostalgic for cinnamon toast crunch cereal!
While I never ate sugary cereals regularly as a kid, from time to time I would have them as a treat and hands down Cinnamon Toast Crunch was my favorite. I tried to recreate the cereal in cookie form using not only ground cinnamon toast crunch cereal, but also steeping some of it in milk to infuse the cinnamon cream cheese frosting. It’s an indulgent cookie but one that’s full of that cinnamon toast flavor.
Ingredients and Process
Key Components:
- Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal: This recipe uses 1 cup of cereal for the flour, 1/2 cup for the cream cheese frosting and about 1/4 cup for decorating the cookies. Using the cereal at all three steps really helps infuse the cookies with the cinnamon flavor. Having at least 2 cups of the cereal on hand is ideal.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: About half of the frosting will go inside the cookie dough and the other half is used for decorating the cookies once they’re cool. One way to really intensify the cinnamon toast crunch flavor in these cookies is by gently boiling some milk and letting about 1/2 cup of cereal steep in it for 20 minutes and then straining it. You’ll only add 2-3 tablespoons of the strained cereal milk mixture, but it’s great leftover to add to coffee or other baked goods.
Tips:
- There are multiple steps to these cookies but none of them are too time-consuming (sidenote: if you’re looking for cookies that you can whip up quickly, check out my gourmet chunky monkey cookies!). I suggest steeping the cereal in milk first since it needs about 20 minutes to simmer, which is the perfect amount of time needed to gather and organize all the other ingredients. Once done, I would then make the cinnamon toast crunch ‘flour’ and the cream cheese frosting.
- You will end up with leftover steeped cereal milk, but you can use it with coffee, making hot chocolate, or adding it to other baked goods.
- *You can skip the steeped milk portion and opt for adding 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the cream cheese frosting instead. It will still be delicious.
- I suggest using a teaspoon cookie scoop. I use King Arthur’s cookie scooper but you can find similar ones in most stores. Of course, you can also use a teaspoon measure!
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies
Decadent cookies infused with multiple layers of cinnamon toast crunch cereal, from the flour to the cream cheese frosting.
Equipment
- 1 sheet tray
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp butter room temp
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanila extract
- 1¼ cup flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup cinnamon toast crunch cereal (plus some for decorating and ½cup for the frosting)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup cream cheese softened
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp cereal milk (recipe here)
Cereal Milk
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup cinnamon toast crunch cereal
Instructions
Cereal milk frosting
- For the cereal milk frosting: Place ¾ cup milk in a small saucepan on medium heat and let it get to a gentle boil. Turn to a simmer, then add ½ cup cinnamon toast crunch cereal. Let the cereal steep on simmer for about 1-15 minutes. Strain.
- In a Kitchen Aid (paddle attachment) or with a handheld mixer, cream the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting starting first with the butter and cream cheese. After 2 minutes of mixing, scrape the mixture down the sides and add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and 3 tablespoons of the strained cereal milk. Combine for about a minute and set the bowl aside. (If you're using a handheld mixer, you don't need to wash the beaters for the dough).
Cookie Dough
- To make the cinnamon toast crunch 'flour' pulse 1 cup of the cereal in a food processor for about a minute. You'll want a relatively fine level of crumb. Set aside.
- For the dough: In a medium or large mixing bowl, cream 8 tbsp of softened butter with the dark brown sugar (about 3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix for another minute or two until combined.
- To the same dough bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt and the ground cinnamon toast crunch. Mix until smooth and combined.
- Using a spatula, fold in half of the cream cheese frosting into the batter. Cover and store in fridge, overnight ideally.
- Once combined, refrigerate overnight (ideal).
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and using a teaspoon cookie scooper (or spoon), place cookies about 3 inches apart on tray.
- Bake for roughly 11-12 minutes depending on your oven. Once they start to get a light golden brown edge, they're done.
- Let cool and take the left over cream cheese frosting and place a dollop of it on each cooled cookie (using the back of a spoon works in this case if you don't have an offset spatula).
- Place a couple of cinnamon toast crunch cereal bits on top of each cookie and enjoy! Cookies are best the same day of baking but can be stored in an airtight container for up to two days.