Cookie Cereal
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My homemade cookie cereal recipe is your excuse to have cookies for breakfast! Made with wholesome ingredients, I love how they bake in under 10 minutes!
Did anyone else grow up as a cereal kid? In my house, Cookie Crisp was the unanimous favorite. But as a healthy recipe developer, I wanted that nostalgia without the sugar crash.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, I started with the base of my proven healthy chocolate chip cookies, but I quickly realized that a standard cookie dough doesn’t work for any cereal. After several batches, I learned the secret: skipping the granulated sugar entirely. By using maple syrup and increasing the dry ingredient ratios, I finally achieved a mini-cookie that stays crisp and crunchy, even after soaking in a bowl of milk. My recipe leaves you with a wholesome, childhood favorite that I feel good about sharing with my family.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Quick and easy. With just a few minutes of prep work, this cookie cereal takes just ten minutes to bake.
- Healthier than store-bought. My healthy version has no white flour, dairy, or refined sugar (and definitely no “natural flavor” or high fructose corn syrup!).
- Easy to make ahead. Just like regular cereal, you can bake and store the leftovers for up to 2 weeks.
- Versatile. I have my cookie crisp cereal every morning with almond milk, but you can use it on top of ice cream, in a yogurt bowl, you name it.
Key Ingredients
- Almond Flour. I used blanched almond flour to give the cookies a lighter color and crispy texture. You can use almond meal if you prefer, but note that the cookies will be darker in color and slightly crumbly.
- Arrowroot Starch. Helps hold the cookies together. You can replace this with tapioca powder. Several readers asked if cornstarch works, so my team and I recently tested it and it works. Use the same amount as the arrowroot.
- Baking powder. Leavens out the cookie cereal and gives it a slight rise.
- Vanilla Extract. A non-negotiable in all my cookie recipes.
- Maple Syrup. Provides sweetness and holds the cookies together well. You can use agave nectar, too.
- Coconut Oil. Gives the cookies a buttery flavor. You won’t taste the coconut at all, I promise! Melt your coconut oil until it is at room temperature.
- Milk of choice. To form the dough! You may need a bit more milk than the recommended amount. I used unsweetened coconut milk, but any milk is fine (soy, coconut, almond, etc).
- Chocolate Chips. What is a cookie without chocolate chips? I used mini chocolate chips.
How to make cookie cereal
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Make the dough. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 2- Shape and bake. Form mini cookies, about 1/4 of an inch in size. Place on the lined baking trays and press into a cookie shape. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until golden.
Step 3- Cool and serve. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pans completely before enjoying with milk or storing for later.
Ways to enjoy this
I may be boring and prefer my cereal plain with milk, but you can use it in all sorts of different ways. For instance, you can sprinkle it on top of coconut ice cream, overnight oats, yogurt, or smoothie bowls for some added crunch and sweetness. Or you can fold them into my healthy granola for a healthy snack!
Arman’s recipe tips
- Don’t overmix the dough. The dough is fragile, and any overmixing can make the cookies crumbly.
- Stick to my recipe. I know it may be tempting, but trust me, the ratio of wet to dry ingredients in this recipe is specific to Cookie Crisp cereal. Other cookie recipes won’t yield the same texture.
- Make them any size. I used ¼-inch balls purely for the cereal factor, but of course, you can make them as big or as small as you like.
- It’s okay if the cookies are a little soft. They’ll continue to cook as they’re cooling. Plus, you want them to soften when mixed with milk–and not become mushy.
- Add more chocolate. Swap 2 tablespoons of almond flour for cocoa powder to make a double-chocolate cookie-crisp cereal.
Storage instructions
To store: Like any breakfast cereal, store this cereal in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Store a batch in the freezer to enjoy later! Place the leftover cookie crisp cereal in a freezer-friendly container and freeze it for up to 2 months.
✅ Nutrition reviewed
“I love how this homemade take improves blood sugar balance. By replacing refined sugar with a touch of maple syrup and choosing almond flour, this cereal is far less likely to cause the mid-morning sugar crash we see with most boxed options. It’s a feel-good way to enjoy something sweet while actually fueling your body.” – Felicia Newell, MScAHN, RD, CPT.
Homemade Cookie Cereal
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot starch can use tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoon maple syrup can use agave nectar
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil softened, not melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup milk of choice * See notes
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your almond flour, arrowroot flour and baking powder and mix well. Add your maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract and mix until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold through your chocolate chips.
- Using your hands, form tiny balls of dough, around 1/4 of an inch in size. Place on the lined baking trays and press each one into a cookie shape. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until golden on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the pans completely, before enjoying with milk or storing for later.
Notes
- Tips: See my recipe tips above for making the best cookie cereal.
- Milk: You may need to add more for a smoother batter. I used unsweetened almond milk.
- Leftovers: Keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
More homemade cereal recipes
I have quite a slew of homemade and healthier cereals, so try one of these if you love this cookie one:
- Protein cereal– Skip the store-bought $13-$15 boxes and make my delicious version that packs in 20 grams of protein per serve.
- Keto cereal– Enjoy cereal without the carb or sugar crash. This is my answer to crispy cereal.
- Protein granola– Crunchy granola that uses healthy ingredients and packs in protein.
- Keto granola– No, there aren’t oats in here, but you’d never tell.
- Low calorie cereal– For a lighter yet filling breakfast. It’s SO easy to make.
Originally published June 2020
These are the sweetest cereals I saw. So good and interesting.
Thanks so much, Mario- I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I really cannot believe I found this recipe. Thanks so much.
Wow never made homemade cereal. Will do it when I have more time, just increase amounts.
Did you try it with corn starch? How was it?
Yes, it worked really well with cornstarch- equal amounts of arrowroot 🙂
Can you use white flour?
You could try!
Hello! Can I use corn starch instead of tapioca starch or arrowroot starch? Or how can I substitute that ingredient?
Hi- yes, after getting a few requests, I re-tested this recipe to see if it would work with cornstarch, and it does 🙂 I’ll update the recipe card and post to reflect that.
Muss ich ganz schnell nachmachen, danke auch für die Gramm Angaben!!!
Grüße aus Berlin, sendet
Jesse-Gabriel