special k cereal cookies.

Back in February, one of my suitemates did the Special K challenge. For two weeks, she consumed mainly Special K products & tried to eat well on the one free meal she had. She was determined, despite the remaining four of us who, like terrible people, tried to sway her from her diet. She was strong and stuck through with it, ignoring us. However, at the end of the two weeks, she could not bear to look at, nonetheless eat, another Special K product again.

And that was how I came to find this beauty on my desk at the end of school.

When she said I could have it, I immediately thought of recipes for Cornflake Cookies and Potato Chip cookies that I had seen in the past. And I told her that one day I would make her cookies or cake, and they would have crushed Special K in it, and she would eat it without even realizing what I had put in it. I think she'll probably be wary of things I bake from now on. Anyway, I actually made cookies with this cereal a few days ago!

The cookie recipe was based loosely off an accumulation of hundreds of cookie recipes I have reviewed and made for years, so I am calling this as my own recipe. I made it up on a whim (I have been uninspired lately, it's unusual.) and they actually came out not bad at all!

The cookie, due to the higher than usual water content of some of the things I added, are soft, how I wanted them to be. There is a crispness from the pretzels & the cereal though. You don't really taste the added cinnamon, but it complements the heartiness of the cereal well. All in all, even I liked them. I tend to not like soft cookies, but I didn't mind these. Probably because I knew the cereal alone lent about 1.5 grams protein to each cookie. Which is actually pretty impressive (I think).

Unfortunately, my friend never got to eat them, because she lives far away. My brother also (unknowing of their healthiness) devoured them all one night. He's like a vacuum, he ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's the other day before dinner along with a sandwich and who knows what else ... and STILL HAD A FULL DINNER. Guys. I envy their capacity to consume.

Special K Cookies

recipe by yours truly - makes 20 cookies.

(You can use any cereal you like, really. If anything, adjust the sugar measurements; this cereal has very low sugar, and this cookie was still fine.)

• 1 1/4 cups flour (I used almost all whole wheat flour; all-purpose, or a combination of both would definitely work)
• 1 tspn baking powder
• 1 scant tspn cinnamon
• 1/8 tspn salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 tspn vanilla extract
• 2 Tb (or 1/8 cup) yogurt (skim or full-fat, either will work)
• 2 Tb (or 1/8 cup) smooth applesauce
• 2 cups Special K Protein Cereal, lightly crushed
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• up to 1/4 cup chocolate covered pretzels, optional

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt well. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together. This can be done as an arm workout with a wooden spoon and large bowl. Or you can take the easier route and use a mixer. Beat until fluffy and lighter in color.

3. Beat in the egg, vanilla, yogurt, and applesauce.

4. Gently mix the dry mixture into the wet mixture, until mostly but not completely mixed.

5. Add chocolate chips, cereal, and pretzels, if using. Combine the add-ins into the dough until just incorporated.

6. Begin preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Refrigerate the dough for as long as it takes the oven to preheat.
7. Scoop balls of dough onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Flatten the balls a little bit; the cookies don't really spread. The cookies take about 8-13 minutes to bake; keep an eye on them, because you don't want them to dry out.
8. Immediately transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely before devouring.

It's funny, because I remember strongly disliking this protein version of the cereal. It has 2 grams of sugar in a serving size and essentially, I remember it tasting very much like cardboard. Yet now, I actually really enjoy it and have been eating it for the past few days. Who woulda thunk it.