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.
Arman’s tips before starting
Don’t overmix the dough. The dough is more delicate than regular cookie dough, and overmixing can make the finished cookies crumbly.
Stick to my recipe. I tested several versions before landing on this one. The ratio of wet and dry ingredients is specifically designed to create tiny cookies that stay crisp in milk without becoming hard.
Make them any size you like. I used ¼-inch balls purely for the cereal factor, but of course you can make them larger if you don’t plan to enjoy them without milk.
Don’t worry if the cookies seem a little soft. I actually prefer pulling them from the oven when they’re just set. They continue to firm up as they cool and soften perfectly once they’re added to milk.
Key Ingredients
- Almond Flour. I used blanched almond flour to give the cookies a lighter color and a 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 as they disperse better into the dough.
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. 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!
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.
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, milk, 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
Do you think that I could substitute the almond flour with chickpea flour? I have made pizza crusts that use a similar ratio of either almond flour or chickpea flour and tapioca flour. Either has a good crunch if crisped long enough.
I haven’t tried personally Natalia, but I’d be so curious to hear how it goes- please let me know if you try it.
It was a terrible outcome and I plan to make this with the recipe as written. I use chickpea flour all the time for sweet and savory baked goods, but the cereal choice was a bad idea…..
Oh no, did it turn out a little odd tasting or just not hold up when baked?
It was off tasting and really tough texture with the chickpea flour. I’ll try it next time as written but I might sub in some hazelnut flour for the almond flour.
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!
The recipe notes milk but your instructions don’t mention the milk. Is the milk added with the other wet ingredients?
Apologies, Anna! It is just before folding through the chocolate chips. I’ve amended the recipe card to reflect that 🙂
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