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Starting from the time my kids had them as one of their very first finger foods, Trader Joe’s O’s have remained a household favorite. Between Chloe scarfing dry fistfuls of it every morning for breakfast and Kenya slurping it down with rice milk by the bowlful, we go through a lot of O’s each week. In an effort to make food exciting for kids, I’m always trying to take ingredients they love and feature them in recipes they’ll hopefully adore even more.
This is my healthy take on the cereal bars you can buy at the grocery, but I used “O” cereal and decided to mold them into a cookie shape instead of a bar. These aren’t exactly a tough sell no matter what shape you make them into, but I find going with cookies adds to the fun visual appeal. Not to mention I sometimes feel like I could serve my kids drywall for breakfast and simply by calling it a cookie would increase its chances of being consumed tenfold.
No matter whether you decide to make cookies, bars or balls, have fun making them and be careful, they’re totally addictive. “Oh” yeah!!
Cereal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup nut butter (almond, peanut or sunflower)
- 1/2 cup rice syrup
- 4 cups O’s Cereal (you can use whatever “O”-type cereal you like: Cheerios, Trader Joe’s O’s, etc.)
Instructions
- Place the nut butter and rice syrup in a small saucepan over low to medium heat and warm for 2 minutes or until it becomes smooth and combined.
- Place the cereal in a bowl, pour the warm nut butter/rice syrup mixture into the bowl with the cereal and stir to combine.
- Shape into cookies (I used a mini ice cream scooper to scoop out each portion, but you could also use a tablespoon). You can also place the mixture into a 9 x 9 inch ungreased pan, pat down and then cut into bars. As the O’s mixture cools, it will harden.
Nutrition
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The first time I made these, I tried substituting the rice syrup with maple syrup (not one for one), but the “Os” didn’t stick together well. Today, I’m trying with rice syrup, making bars instead of cookies, and I hope it works. I’m taking them to a party tonight!
I just made these and used the “Rice Crispy Treat” method my husband used as a kid. I heated the syrup and almond butter in a large pot, stirring to combine until smooth. It reaches a stage where it sticks together, and does not spread along the bottom of the pan, as it did before it was fully heated and combined. Then I turned off the heat and added the cereal, stirring quickly to combine (it is a nice workout for your arms, if you switch off). Then I patted it into a pan sprayed with coconut oil (so it will come out when cut). I chose the pan because the mixture is quite hot to touch for long, but it could make perfect balls, too. Turned out perfect for me. Thanks for the recipe! I have a lot of “O’s” to use up.
As for other sweetener options…since I have made molasses candy, before, I think you could use it in this recipe. It might take a couple of experiments to get it right, though. You will need to heat the molasses until it thickens, maybe to thread or soft ball stage, and then stir in the nut butter, and then the cereal. I am sure it would require more molasses than rice syrup because you will be cooking it down, which would then increase your cost–not to mention the time and attention.
I made these tonight & My husband & his friends were in the kitchen bugging me, I added some dark chocolate shavings to them & they are so good!
🙂
We freeze our’s.. they work great frozen.. nice crunchy chewy effect
Yes, just watch it and stir between heating time.
Would it be okay to use a microwave to combine the nut butter and rice syrup? I’m doing it with a classroom and don’t have access to a stovetop.
I am going to try this recipe today! I finally found organic rice syrup at my local Safeway. (Canada)
Will this work with organic molasses? The only place that I found that sells rice syrup has a small jar for $9 bucks and using molasses would make it so much more inexpensive.
Yes! I used organic 🙂
We have natural peanut butter as opposed to the other kind…you think this will still work okay?
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I warmed the almond butter and brown rice syrup in a large glass bowl in the microwave, and then added 5 cups of Kashi Honey Puffs. You’re so right, they’re totally addictive! Thanks for the recipe.
I have not tried it with soy butter and I have never tasted soy butter but you can. If the soy butter is not sweet as the sunflower butter, I would put a little more honey or agave in the mixture to bring out a sweetness. Let me know how it goes!
can i use a soy butter for these. Our allergist told us not to give our daughter any nuts until she is a little older since she already has other allergies. i love your blog! thanks.
When the cool down, they firm up. You can always put them in a baking dish and let it cool and cut them into bars for a faster route! 🙂
I made them with brown rice syrup and sunflower butter but they never really firmed up. They stayed together enough to eat them and were very tasty. I’m just wondering how firm yours got?