Going native, maple sunflower seed butter cookies

If you grew up near Brookings, S.D., you most likely visited McCrory Gardens for an elementary school field trip. Chances are, your brown-bag sack lunch contained a soggy, white-bread bologna sandwich and a plastic baggie filled with Dakota Style chips. Fast forward twenty-five years and you can bake cookies with maple syrup straight from McCrory’s trees and sunflower seed kernels from the potato grower in Clark, just 80 miles up the road.

The inspiration for these cookies came from three things:

1. I bought a jar of sunflower seed butter from Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago and I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
2. I purchased a little jug of maple syrup from the McCrory Gardens gift shop.
3. I love peanut butter and maple syrup on my waffles.

So, I bought a bag of Dakota Style sunflower kernels and whipped up a batch of cookies quite different from my normal baking — there’s no chocolate!

Maple Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sunflower seed butter (of course you could use peanut butter if you prefer)

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 egg

1-1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

1/2 cup sunflower seed kernels

Make the cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl stir together the white sugar, brown sugar, sunflower seed butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and softened butter. Briskly stir in egg until the mixture is well combined and creamy.

Add the sunflower seed butter mixture to the dry ingredients and stir. A wooden spoon works best. Stir in the crispy rice cereal and sunflower seed kernels.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Drop the cookie dough by the teaspoonful onto the pan, leaving an inch between cookies. Gently push the cookies down slightly to make circles. Bake 10 minutes.

Remove from oven. Let cool on the cookie sheet for at least 20 minutes. These cookies are really soft so they are hard to move onto a cooling rack when they are hot. Once the cookies have cooled enough to move them without falling apart, transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Store cooled cookies in an airtight container. Makes approximately 32 soft cookies.

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Have you been to McCrory Gardens recently? They have developed the botanical gardens nicely the last few years and they recently opened the Education and Visitor Center. Here’s a picture of the cute little cottage in the winter. I have a nostalgic connection to this cottage — if I remember correctly, it used to be a little gas station in Lake Preston. For those of you who remember my best friend and our classmate, Darya, she loved this little station. There was a time after Darya died that her parents and another local family had the opportunity to donate the small building to McCrory gardens in memory of their loved ones. It makes a romantic, dreamy background for photos so bring your camera.

If you’re in the area:

McCrory Gardens

631 22nd Avenue

Brookings, SD 57006

www.mcrorygardens.com

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Special K Blueberry Krispies Bars

Special K Blueberry cereal is a new flavor for us and I’ve blasted through a couple boxes of it in the last couple weeks. I even filled a container with the fruity flakes and clusters before I ran out the door the other day. By the time I got to work, I had crumbs trailing down my shirt and in my bra. I made Special K Blueberry treats that night. The sticky marshmallows seem to keep the cereal crumbs out of my shirt.

I still love traditional Special K bars, well, as traditional as they can be since I have a special Special K bars recipe (of which I am sworn to secrecy by my sister who holds the proprietary ingredients). There are just some things best kept between sisters.

Special K Blueberry Krispies

4 tablespoons butter

6 cups mini marshmallows

6 cups Special K Blueberry cereal (or any kind of your favorite cereal)

Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave. (I’ve found that using a large plastic bowl in the microwave works best.)

Stir in the marshmallows, coating with the melted butter.

Over medium heat or in the microwave, slowly melt the marshmallows. This only takes a minute or two. Spray your spoon or spatula with cooking spray. Stir butter and marshmallows until creamy. Add cereal. Stir until all the cereal is coated with marshmallow mixture.

Spray a 10×8-inch or similar pan with cooking spray or gently grease with butter. Dump the cereal mixture into the pan. To spread evenly, spray the back of a large metal spoon with cooking spray and spread the mixture.

Cool bars completely. Cut and serve. Store in an airtight container.

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{I Can’t Bake at 350 | No-bake S’mores Bars}

No-bake goodies are a hit in the summer when we don’t want our ovens to heat up the house. Like these S’mores bars. But now it’s fall and kitchens everywhere are heating up with warm nutmeg, spicy ginger, and creamy pumpkin sweets.

Except at my house. My oven is broken. So, to prevent myself from going into a serious I-can’t-bake-depression, I’m flipping through my recipe box for recipes that will satisfy my need to preheat to 350°. Gooey, chocolatey S’mores bars do the trick.

The key to making S’mores bars taste like the real campfire deal is to use HERSHEY’S chocolate candy bars.

S’mores Bars

3/4 cup light corn syrup

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup milk chocolate chips, preferably HERSHEY’S

2 (4.4-ounce each) HERSHEY’S chocolate candy bars, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

9 cups Golden Grahams cereal (12-ounce box)

3 cups mini marshmallows, plus a handful to sprinkle over the top if desired

Line a 9 x 13-inch pan with parchment paper or non-stick foil, or grease pan lightly with butter.

Microwave the corn syrup, butter, 1 cup milk chocolate chips, and 1 HERSHEY’S candy bar in a large bowl, uncovered, on medium-high for 1-1/2 minutes. Stir until almost smooth. Microwave again, uncovered, until large bubbles form on the surface, about 2-1/2 minutes longer.

Stir in vanilla. Pour the cereal in the bowl and toss until coated with mixture. Fold in the marshmallows. Chop the other HERSHEY’S candy bar and fold into the cereal mixture. Dump into the pan and press evenly with the back of a large metal spoon sprayed with cooking spray. Toss a handful of mini marshmallows on the top and tap down so they stick. If you have a kitchen torch, lightly toast the marshmallows.

Let cool completely. Cut and share.

See more of my no-bake recipes.

What other treats could I make while I wait for my oven to get fixed? The stove top still works.

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{It’s just Chex® mix, but make it like you mean it}

As much sugar as I go through, you may be surprised to hear that it’s easier for me to hold back on sweet things than it is for me to stop eating salty snacks.

Chex^® Mix is my major downfall — not the store-bought, packaged-three-months-ago-with-trace-amounts-of-salt-and-Worcestershire-sauce Chex Mix — only the homemade stuff will do. So when I make it, I make it like I mean it. Salty, Worcestershire-y and enough cashews that the nut fighting is over.

The recipe can be found on any Chex box and on most similar store brand cereal boxes. I make mine using wheat Chex and corn Chex (a ratio of about 75:25, heavier on the wheat variety), an extra tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, an extra tablespoon of butter and a few extra dashes of each of the seasonings. I mix in twice as many cashews as mixed nuts. (When I double the recipe, I use one regular can of mixed nuts and a larger can of cashews.) I don’t usually add the pretzels or bagel chips but I have added Pepperidge Farm Goldfish^® crackers. It’s all about what fits in a handful.

If you want to look at the recipe online, here is the link. While you’re there, check out the Caramel Crispy Chex Mix recipe. It is outrageously better than caramel popcorn! I use one variety of Chex cereal and I substitute Cap’n Crunch^® cereal for the rest. Since the Chocolate Chip Crunchewy Cookies are one of the most popular recipes on my blog, I figure people must really love Cap’n Crunch.

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Time for you to share what you love – how do you make your Chex^® Mix like you mean it?

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This post has nothing really to do with General Mills or The Quaker Oats Company. It is not a paid endorsement of any of the above products. I just write what I want to write and hope it relates to what interests you.

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{New Cereal Inspires Brownie Crunch Mint Crispy Bars}

When a new chocolate cereal hits the breakfast aisle, it’s only natural for bakers to wave their magic sugar wand and turn them into a pan of sticky, gooey treats. The added bonus in these Brownie Crunch Mint Crispy Bars is the addition of Andes^® Crème de Menthe Baking Chips.

You may want to buy two boxes of the new General Mills Cocoa Puffs^® Brownie Crunch cereal because they are so good, you’ll want one box for this recipe and one for snacking.

{Brownie Crunch Mint Crispy Bars}

4 Tablespoons butter

5 cups miniature marshmallows, divided

7 cups General Mills Cocoa Puffs^® Brownie Crunch cereal

1 cup Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips, divided

Lightly butter a 9×13 pan or line with parchment paper.

On low heat, either stove top or in microwave, melt 4 Tbsp. butter and 4 cups of marshmallows together. Stir until melted and combined. Remove from heat. Add the cereal to the marshmallow mixture and stir until cereal is coated. Stir in 1 cup of marshmallows and 3/4 cup Andes chips. Spread mixture in pan and sprinkle 1/4 cup Andes chips on top. Gently press and smooth the mixture with the back of a metal spoon or a spatula sprayed with cooking spray.

Cool and cut into squares, triangles or rectangles. Any way you slice them, they will disappear quickly!

What is your favorite cereal treat? Have you tried the new Brownie Crunch cereal?

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{Charming Lucky Bites}

Cereal is never safe in my kitchen. There’s always a bag of flavored marshmallows and 1/2 a stick of butter close by. But hey, if you get the really big box of Lucky Charms^®, you’ll have plenty left for the kiddos.

The kids finished their hockey season last weekend and we brought these to the girls’ pizza party. The container was almost empty when we left so they must have been good. (Never mind that I shared them with my family first while we watched the hockey game.) Enjoy!

 

7 cups Lucky Charms^® cereal

1 (10.5 oz) package flavored marshmallows

4 Tablespoons butter

2 squares almond bark

Lightly spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

In a large microwave bowl, melt butter. Stir in marshmallows and microwave until marshmallows begin to melt into the butter and lose their shape. Stir together until sticky and creamy. Stir in cereal. Spread in pan. Cool completely. Cut into 1-inch bites.

Melt almond bark on low heat. Drizzle over cereal bites and immediately place a Lucky Charms^® marshmallow on top of each bite.

What’s one of your kids’ favorite cereals to make into special treats?

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{Marshmallow Creme Crunch Brownies}

This recipe came from my kids’ stepmom. She brought these treats to a holiday gathering and I asked her to share the recipe. Luckily she did because they have become a favorite in our family and a “food day favorite” at work. (Which helps me defend my title as “Best Food Day Chef” within the Personnel department in which I work.)

For Brownie Layer:

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

6 Tablespoons cocoa

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

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7 ounce jar marshmallow creme

1 cup creamy peanut butter

12 ounce bag chocolate chips

3 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Mix and bake first 7 ingredients and bake in 9×13 well-greased pan at 350˚ for 25-28 minutes or until done. Cool. Spread marshmallow creme on cooled brownies. Melt the peanut butter and chocolate chips together over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in cereal. Spread over marshmallow creme layer. Chill before serving. Store in refrigerator.

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Do you bake a similar version of this recipe? I’ve also seen it with marshmallows instead of the marshmallow creme.

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Corn Pops® Clusters

Cereal is king at our house. I bake with it almost as much as my kids love eating it. There are boxes that are “okay” to eat and boxes that are “for mom’s baking.” These chocolately clusters of Corn Pops® are something my mom makes almost every Christmas. You only need five ingredients and you don’t need to bake them so they are nice to make in the summer. Oh, and for you health-conscious or older folks out there, I noticed it says on the box that the cereal is “a good source of fiber”—so eat up!

Corn Pops® Clusters

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

4 cups Corn Pops cereal

3/4 cup dry roasted peanuts (or cocktail peanuts)

optional: 1 cup marshmallows

Mix cereal and nuts together (and marshmallows if using). Melt the first three ingredients together and pour over cereal & nut mixture. Put on wax paper in clusters and let cool completely. Store in a cool place or in the refrigerator.

 Melt first three ingredients together and pour over cereal and nut mixture. 

When these were cooling, Jason ate them with a shot of marshmallows on the side. I think it sounds like a great idea so next time I make these, I will stir in a cup of mini marshmallows. I added it as an optional ingredient in the recipe so let me know if you try them this way. 

I didn’t have any wax paper but the non-stick foil works just as well.

 

What kind of goodies do you make with cereal?

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Chocolate Chip Crunchewy Cookies {AKA Cap’n Crunch® Cookies}

Cap’n Crunch® cereal  in a cookie? I know, I know–it sounds strange, but back in May when C&H Sugar posted this recipe on Twitter, I knew I HAD to try it. These have some of my favorite ingredients: chocolate, toffee bits, oatmeal, peanut butter and cereal! I made a double batch for my son’s 9th birthday party and all but a few were eaten by the end of the night (the cookies, not the kids). They were a big hit with the kids and adults. This weekend I had a chance to make them again.

Full recipe and ingredient list below. Beat the first six ingredients until it’s creamy. For better mixing, bring your egg to room temperature before beating.

Mix the flour, soda and salt together before adding it to the creamy mixture. Please note: I used half the amount of salt that it calls for in the recipe. The first time I made these, I could “taste” the salt in them so this time, I used half as much. They are even better this way. And, it’s probably the only time in my life I’ve gone easy on the salt…

And now, it’s time for the Cap’n Crunch®! Add the three cereals: Cap’n Crunch®, Oatmeal (not instant) and Rice Krispies® cereal (sorry about that Krispies, I haven’t even mentioned you until now. You are the “star” in your own treats so let’s give the Cap’n the spotlight in this one, okay.)

By now the dough is getting pretty stiff so you’ll want to stir the last two ingredients–chocolate chips and toffee pieces–with a wooden spoon or spatula. The recipe calls for mini chocolate chips but I didn’t have any so I used regular. I do suggest using mini though if you can because the dough is really chunky and it’s easier to shape using mini chips.

And now the dough is ready to put on the pans. This dough is crumbly so instead of dropping the dough by spoonful, they hold together better if you roll them into a ball and then lightly flatten the tops with a spoon. You want to make sure you do that because these cookies don’t spread out at all while baking so you’ll end up with a “mound” instead of a cookie. Yep–learned that from experience.

Chocolate Chip Crunchewy Cookies

3/4 cup butter flavored vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 Tbsp. milk

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt (orignal recipe calls for 1 tsp salt)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats, not instant

1/2 cup Rice Krispies cereal

1 cup Cap’n Crunch cereal

1 (12 oz pkg) mini chocolate chips (1 1/2 to 2 cups)

1/2 cup toffee bits

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter cookie sheets or spray with nonstick cooking spray. In bowl of electric mixer, combine first six ingredients and beat on medium speed until creamy. Add flour, salt, and baking soda and combine. Add oats, Rice Krispies, and Cap’n Crunch and mix. Stir in chocolate chips and toffee bits. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Using a spoon, slightly flatten the tops of the cookies. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on the sheets for two minutes; then cool completely on cooling rack. Makes 3 or 4 dozen. I make mine a little smaller and get 4 dozen.

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