Snickerdoodle Cheerio Cookies- 2 Ways

I bought a huge box of Honey Nut Cheerios and wasn't able to eat them all before they went stale. I couldn't bring my self to throw them all away and decided that I might be able to revive the sad chewy Cheerios by turning them into cookies.

Snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies mainly because they have cinnamon and I LOVE cinnamon! So, naturally, I decided to make snickerdoodle Cheerio cookies---one batch chewy and another crispy. For the chewy cookies I mixed the cereal into the cookie dough, much like you would chocolate chips. For the crispy cookies, I ground the cereal up in a food processor and used the ground cereal in place of flour. Both types of cookies were rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking, just like snickerdoodles. The result? Highly addictive cookies! The chewy cookies had crisp edges with chewy centers while the cripsy cookies were slightly crumbly and great for dipping in coffee or tea.

So next time, don't throw away your stale cereal, make them into cookies!

Snickerdoodle Cheerio Cookies-Chewy
Makes 24 cookies

For cookies:
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 cups Honey Nut Cheerios

For cinnamon sugar:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add in the egg and beat for an additional minute. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients until well blended. Mix in the Cheerios.

Chill the dough for 2 hours, as dough will be too soft to roll in sugar without chilling. Once chilled, roll dough into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving cookies to a cooling rack.

Snickerdoodle Cheerio Cookies-Crispy
Makes 24 cookies

For cookies:
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup ground Honey Nut Cheerios (about 2 cups whole)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups rice krispies
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon milk

For cinnamon sugar:

1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together Cheerios, flour, rice krispies, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.


Beat the butter and both sugars together on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add in the egg and milk; beat for an additional minute. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients until well blended.

Roll dough into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. The dough may be a little hard to roll into balls as they may want to fall apart. Add more milk, a teaspoon at time, until the dough sticks together more easily. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving cookies to a cooling rack.