Crispy Rice Sugar Cookies

My husband and I were talking about Crispy Rice cereal the other day, and neither of us are the biggest fans. The cereal is ok, we suppose, but it doesn’t really have a lot of distinct flavor. To the two of us, Crispy Rice cereal is simply a conduit for a lot of sugar, which is really the best way to make this cereal tasty. Crispy Rice cereal is used a lot in baking, so I do have it on hand most of the time.

This version of a Crispy Rice cookie is so different than anything else I have seen. The cereal is most often used in different no-bake cookies, but this a cookie where it plays the starring role. It’s a simple sugar cookie: sugar, flour, and butter, but with the addition of Crispy Rice cereal. And here is the most unusual feature: they bake for a really long time.

These cookies bake for 40 minutes total, which at first made me think that they would over bake into nothing! They do bake at a lower temperature of 300 degrees, and that helps. Something about the nature of these cookies is that they don’t burn, but just become beautifully crispy! These cookies have a crunch that is hard to replicate in a home baked cookie, and it’s wonderful. The flavor is somewhat delicate, butter and the flavor of Crispy Rice cereal, but these cookies are all about the crunch. I can’t wait to make these again!

Crispy Rice Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups Crispy Rice cereal

Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium until light and fluffy. In a small bowl stir together the vanilla and baking soda and then add that to the butter mixture, mixing well. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour. Fold in the Crispy Rice cereal with a spatula.

Shape the dough into 2-tablespoon mounds and place on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately flatten the cookies with a metal spatula.

Return the cookies to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes. They will be golden on top.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Seeded at the Table