I really shouldn’t have made these cookies. I can’t stay away from them now! These buttery cookies with crunchy bits of cornflakes are an easy, eggless treat that you can make in no time. You can even make the cookie dough ahead of time and bake it when needed.
If you’ve been reading my travel posts, you may know that I am part of the wonderful Couch Surfing community (a network that connects travelers with local hosts all over the world). Now that I’ve returned from my trip to Israel and Bethlehem, I’ve opened up my house once again for hosting travelers.
I recently hosted two French girls, who are backpacking and couchsurfing their way across America. (How cool is that!) When they arrived, I made them a big pot of farfalle pasta with lots of steamed vegetables, all tossed in garlic, olive oil and fresh basil. For dessert, I made them these addictive cornflakes cookies.
These cornflakes cookies are really easy to make, and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry right now. Plus, they are eggless! Since there are no eggs in this cookie recipe, I added baking powder as the leavening agent, and it works very well. I also like to chill my cookie dough before baking, this helps with two things:
- Chilled cookie dough will hold its shape better in the oven; the cookies it wont spread out get flat if the dough was chilled
- Chilled cookie dough also makes a flakier more buttery cookie
If you are in a hurry, you can certainly bake the cookies without chilling. Just spread out the cookies farther apart, because they will spread in the oven.
I also like to make these cookies mini sized - just about double the size of a quarter. They cook much faster in the oven.
These eggless cookies are a cross between the Indian Nan Khatai biscuit and the Chinese Cornflake cookies. The cornflakes makes these cookies delightfully crunchy. Feel free to experiment with this recipe and use other types of cereal!
Eggless Cornflakes Cookies Recipe
Makes 32 mini cookies
Ingredients
½ cup softened unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 1/2 cup cornflakes
32 cashew halves
Method
Preheat oven to 350f
Make sure the butter is soft. If you are using butter that has been refrigerated, leave it outside till it becomes soft.
Place the softened butter and sugar in a bowl, and beat with a wooden spoon till it is well mixed, about a minute. Then add vanilla and mix well.
Place a sieve over the bowl, and sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl. Stir till everything is combined and the dough comes together.
If the dough is too crumbly and dry, add 1 tablespoon of water, and gently knead. Then form a ball, cover the bowl with a lid, and refrigerate the dough for an hour (or up to 12 hours).
While the dough is in the fridge, prepare the corn flakes. Take 1 cup of cornflakes, place it in a ziplock bag, and roll a rolling pin over it to crush the cornflakes well. You’ll be using these crushed cornflakes to coat the cookies.
Remove cookie dough from the fridge, and add ½ cup cornflakes (uncrushed). Using your hands, gently knead and incorporate the cornflakes into the cookie dough. Its ok if some of the cornflakes get broken up in the process.
(If the cookie dough straight out of the fridge is too stiff, break it up into smaller pieces, add 1 tablespoon water, and knead gently. Then proceed with adding the cornflakes)
Divide the cookie dough into 2 equal halves. Roll one half into a long log. Cut the log in half. Then cut each half again. You will have 4 even sized pieces now. Cut each one into 4 equal parts. You will end up with 16 pieces.
Do the same for the other half of the dough. When you are done, you will have a total of 32 small pieces of cookie dough.
Roll each piece into a ball. Dip it in the bowl with the crushed cornflakes and roll it around to coat. If the crushed cornflakes don’t stick to the cookie dough, take 2 drops of water in your fingertips, and coat the cookie dough ball with water. Then roll in cornflakes.
Repeat for all the cookie dough balls. Then gently press a cashew half into the top of each one.
Arrange the cookies on two parchment (or silpat) lined baking sheets, making sure they are spread out (they need space to expand in the oven; otherwise they will all stick together).
Bake in the in the middle rack of the oven. Cookies are done when they start to get lightly golden, and when you can smell them. This should take about 12 minutes, but cooking time will vary depending on the oven.
If you over bake the cookies they will get too crunchy (but will still taste the same).
When they are done, remove the cookies from the oven and cool on a wire rack. They will still be soft when they come out of the oven, but will firm up once they cool.
This looks so easy and delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe. I’m so glad I stumbled across your blog, also can’t wait to make a few of the yummy recipes I’ve seen.
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This is really really awesome.. Hats off to your creation.
Following your site closely to learn things from such a nice chef !!
Regards,
Yogi.
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can you use this recipe with no vanilla and cashews?
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Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:
October 29th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Yes, but the vanilla does add great flavor to the cookies. Try adding powdered cardamom instead.
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Hi!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I remember my mother making them when I was growing. When I saw, it brought back so many childhood memories. I also remember how the vanilla smell would spread into every part of the house.
Yesterday, Anya my six years old daughter and I decided to make these cookies together. I must say, each and every step was so easy to follow and every of those little pointers were so helpful. We managed to bake 32 yummy cookies. Thank you!
Interestingly, as we went about the preparation we discovered so many fraction and division problems built into the recipe. For instance, 1/8th tsp of salt meant that we had to take half of 1/4th tsp as we didn’t have a 1/8th tsp measure OR to make individual cookie we had to roll the dough into a long cylinder then cut it into half and roll the half again and cut into two more equal halves and so on, till we got 32 pieces. It was so much fun !
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Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:
November 9th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
Great! I’m happy to hear this was also a math lesson
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Hi Sala,
I love the recipe’s you share & also the pictures.
I am gonna try making these.
Instead of unsalted butter can I use ghee? will it be same quantity?
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Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:
December 10th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Yes but ghee may change the texture of the cookies a little. I’ve never made this ghee. Start with the same quantity of ghee as the required butter. If the dough is too dry, add a little more ghee.
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Hi Sala,
Can I make these cookies with ghee instead of unsalted butter? How about coconut oil for a vegan version? Do you have any comments about the consistency of ghee or coconut oil that will make a difference in the texture of the final product?
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Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:
April 7th, 2013 at 8:40 am
I havent tried this with ghee or coconut oil. My guess is you will have to use less ghee or coconut oil than the butter amount in the recipe. Im not sure how it will affect the texture.
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Hi, Have you tried making this in the micro?
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Tried them and they turned out awesome. Thank you very much for the recipe. I ran out of cashews and hence replaced them with choc chips. Vanished in no time.!
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What sort of flour is it? I never understand when to use plain flour or when to use self raising flour? Which one did u use?
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Sala @ Veggie Belly Reply:
July 8th, 2013 at 9:25 pm
Plain flour.
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This is the first time my cookies turned out as cookies after trying so many other recipes! It was gone in no time. Thank you so much!
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