Soft and chewy Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies made with brown butter and cinnamon toast crunch cereal and then drizzled with a cinnamon scented white chocolate!
These cinnamon toast crunch cookies are very similar to a snickerdoodle cookie, but with a nostalgic twist. Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal was one of my favorite breakfast cereals growing up and the leftover cinnamon milk was the best part. So when I developed these cookies, I wanted to make sure to capture that by topping the cookies with a cinnamon scented white chocolate drizzle.
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♡ Why You Will Love These Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies
- Absolutely delicious. These cookies taste just like cinnamon toast crunch cereal, but in cookie form. The center is soft and chewy, the edges are crispy and the milky white chocolate drizzle ties all the flavors together.
- Not too sweet. I know looks can be deceiving, but these cookies are not very sweet at all. The cookie itself is lightly sweetened. The white chocolate drizzle adds most of the sweetness, but you can use as little or as much as you'd like.
- Easy to make. It's a simple sugar cookie recipe.
Ingredient Notes
Here are some notes about all the ingredients used in this Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies. Quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card below!
- Unsalted Butter - We'll be browning some unsalted butter to add nutty flavor.
- Brown Sugar - Adds flavor, moisture and contributes to the chewy texture.
- White Sugar - Adding a bit of white sugar creates those crispy edges.
- Egg - Emulsifies the batter and adds structure.
- Vanilla Extract - For flavor.
- Flour - We're keeping it simple with all-purpose flour.
- Baking Soda + Baking Powder - Helps the cookies brown slightly and adds a little bit of lift.
- Cinnamon - For extra cinnamon flavor.
- Salt - Balances the sweetness.
- Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal - We'll be grinding the cereal down to a fine powder and adding it to the cookie dough and then garnishing the tops of the cookies.
- White Chocolate + A Pinch of Cinnamon - A bit of melted white chocolate with a pinch of cinnamon will be drizzled over the tops of the cookies. Alternatively, you can add ½ cup of white chocolate chips or chunks into the cookie batter if you'd prefer.
*See recipe card for quantities.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Here are step-by-step photos and instructions on how to make these Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies! Please find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Step 1. Make Brown Butter - In a light colored saucepan and over medium heat, cook butter until browned.
Step 2. Cool - Quickly pour the brown butter into a small glass bowl, making sure to scrape in all the little brown bits. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool down slightly.
Step 3. Grind Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal - Pulse or grind cereal in a food processor or grinder into a fine powder.
Step 4. Combine Dry Ingredients - In a small mixing bowl, combine together the ground cinnamon toast crunch cereal, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and fine salt.
💡 Tip
Use a food processor or grinder to pulverize the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal. We want it as fine as possible because the larger pieces of cereal turns into a weird chewy texture when baked.
Step 5. Combine Wet Ingredients - In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter (okay if it's still a little warm), brown sugar and white sugar until well combined.
Step 6. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until thick and lightened in color. If you're using an electric mixer, whisk for 2 minutes on medium-high speed. If whisking by hand, whisk for 3 minutes.
Step 7. Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients - Sift the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and gently mix until just combined. Discard any larger pieces of cereal. Do not overmix.
Step 8. Chill the Dough - Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes. This will make it easier to scoop and roll.
Step 9. Scoop, Roll & Chill Again - Using a large cookie scoop (#20 scoop, which holds 3 tablespoons), scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and roll each dough ball in between the palms of your hands until smooth. You should get about 9 cookies. Cover and return back to the fridge for 20 minutes.
Step 10. Bake - Bake 4 to 5 cookies on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a preheated oven of 350ºF (180ºC), for 10 to 11 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cookies sit on the baking tray for 1 minute and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
💡 Tip
For perfectly round cookies, try this hack. Right when you pull the cookies out of the oven, place a large round biscuit cutter, ramekin or bowl over the cookie (it should be a bit bigger than the cookie itself) and make several circular motions. As the edge of the cookie touches the inside of the biscuit cutter, it will round out any irregular edges.
Step 11. Garnish & Serve - Transfer finely chop white chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt over a pot of simmering water or in the microwave in 20 second intervals. If you'd like, stir in a pinch of cinnamon. Drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cookies and then top with some crushed cinnamon toast crunch cereal. Serve and Enjoy!!
Substitutions
- Brown Butter - If you would like to use regular melted butter instead of browning it, you can reduce to 7 tablespoons which is 98 grams.
- Brown Sugar - You can use light or dark brown sugar.
- White Chocolate - You can drizzle melted white chocolate over the top of the cookies, or you can fold in ⅓ to ½ cup of white chocolate chips into the cookie dough.
Storage
- Baked Cookies at Room Temperature - Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Baked Cookies in the Freezer - Did you know these baked cookies freeze and thaw incredibly well? You can store baked cookies in a freezer-safe bag for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature before eating. It takes about 40 minutes to thaw.
✨ Expert Tips
Use a kitchen scale to weigh all your ingredients. Baking in grams, rather than volume, is the best and most accurate way to bake! All my recipes include gram conversions based on King Arthur's Weight Chart.
If you are not using a kitchen scale, measure your flour correctly. Fluff and aerate your flour first, then spoon into your measuring cup and finally level off with the back of a butter knife. Do not pack it in as it will add too much flour.
Use a large cookie scoop. For chewy cookies, it best when cookies are large. I'm using a #20 cookies scoop which holds 3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) of dough.
Do not overbake. I found that baking them for a total of 11 minutes yielded the best texture for me. It had the perfect about of crispy and chewy bite.
Use a food processor or grinder to pulverize the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal. We want it as fine as possible because the larger pieces of cereal turns into a weird chewy texture when baked.
FAQ
The culprit is usually adding too much flour. Always measure with a kitchen scale and use the gram measurements that I've included in the recipe card.
Although I highly recommend it, you can skip it if you'd like. You'll need to reduce the butter to 7 tablespoons (98 grams).
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📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies
Equipment
- kitchen scale
- Grinder or Food Processor
- Small Pan
- Electric Mixer
- bowls
- Rubber Spatula
- Cookie Scoop
- baking sheet
INGREDIENTS
- ½ Cup (113g) Unsalted Butter browned
- 1 Cup + 2 Tablespoon (134g) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup (41g) Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal finely ground
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Fine Salt
- ⅛ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ⅓ Cup + 1 Tablespoon (80g) Brown Sugar packed
- ⅓ Cup (67g) White Sugar
- 1 Whole Large Egg room temp
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Ounces (56g) White Chocolate Bar + A Pinch of Cinnamon melted
- A small handful of crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Make Brown Butter - In a light colored saucepan and over medium heat, add unsalted butter. Swirl the pan and keep the butter moving around constantly. As the butter melts, it will foam and sizzle and gradually start to brown and deepen in color. You'll notice a nutty aroma and tiny brown specks at the bottom of the pan. The whole process should take about 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful not to burn it. ½ Cup (113g) Unsalted Butter
- Cool - Immediately transfer brown butter to a large mixing bowl, making sure to scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool slightly.
- Combine Dry Ingredients - Finely pulse or grind your cinnamon toast crunch cereal in a food processor or grinder. In a medium bowl, combine together the pulverized cinnamon toast crunch cereal, all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and baking powder. Set aside.1 Cup (41g) Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal1 Cup + 2 Tablespoon (134g) All-Purpose Flour½ Teaspoon Baking Soda¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon¼ Teaspoon Fine Salt⅛ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- Combine Wet Ingredients - Remove slightly cooled (ok if it's still a little warm) brown butter from the fridge and whisk together with the brown sugar and white sugar until well combined. Then add an egg and vanilla extract and whisk until thick and pale in color. If you're using an electric mixer, whisk on medium high speed for 2 minutes. If whisking by hand, whisk for 3 minutes.⅓ Cup + 1 Tablespoon (80g) Brown Sugar⅓ Cup (67g) White Sugar1 Whole Large Egg1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients - Sift flour mixture into the wet ingredients and gently stir until combined. Discard any larger pieces of cereal. At this point, you can also fold in ⅓ cup or a scant ½ cup of white chocolate chips into the cookie batter if you'd like.
- Chill - Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes. This will make it easier to scoop and roll.
- Scoop, Roll & Chill Again - Using a large cookie scoop (#20 scoop, which holds 3 tablespoons), scoop cookie dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. You should have 9 cookies. Cover and chill for an additional 20 minutes.
- Preheat Oven + Prep Pan - Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 350ºF (180ºC). Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake - Place 4 to 5 dough balls onto the prepared pan and bake for 10 to 11 minutes.
- Cool Cookies - Let cookies sit on the baking tray for 1 minute and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Garnish & Serve - Transfer finely chop white chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt over a pot of simmering water or in the microwave in 20 second intervals. If you'd like, stir in a pinch of cinnamon. Drizzle chocolate over the tops of the cookies and then top with some crushed cinnamon toast crunch cereal. Serve and Enjoy!2 Ounces (56g) White Chocolate Bar + A Pinch of Cinnamon
Notes
Francesca says
These were fun and easy to make and they made me feel like a legitimate baker because they came out so professional-looking! If you want to impress and give your sweet tooth an absolute GIFT, make these.
Lisa says
Aww, thank you so much for trying the recipe and for your review! Happy baking! 😊
Bryne says
The kids loved it - a definite keeper!
Lisa Flinn says
Yay, thanks so much for trying the recipe! 😊