Special K Cookies
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These peanut butter no-bake cereal cookies make with Special K are absolutely addictive and ready in under 15 minutes. The perfect addition to any holiday party!
Special K Cookies Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup (Karo brand)
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 4 cups Special K Cereal
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions:
Combine sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly so that the mixture does not burn. (I think my grandma used a double boiler for this).
Add vanilla (some recipes also call for baking soda and salt here but I don’t use it.) Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.
Now that the mixture is melted, pour it over the dry ingredients in a large non-stick bowl. Next, add in cereal, vanilla, and salt if desired, mixing until everything is combined. Form the cereal mixture into discs using your hands or a spoon and place onto a sheet of wax paper to cool.
Once the cookies have cooled, they’re ready to eat!
About This Special K Bars Recipe
These cookies were a staple in our household growing up. My mom’s oldest sister had written the recipe out on a card in cursive using a fine blue Bic ballpoint pen.
Whenever we made them we would think about my mom’s family and remember fun times we had at my grandma’s at Christmas.
Now that I’m older, I have a copy of this recipe written in fine blue Bic ballpoint pen- except by my mother, in a recipe book she gave me one year for Christmas.
I generally make these cookies around Christmas time, although they are delicious any time of the year.
Over the years I’ve experimented with making them with corn flakes instead of Special K (which is similar to a popular Costa Rican cornflake ball recipe) and with natural peanut butter.
I keep coming back to the original recipe.
A couple of notes:
- Do not overboil the sauce. Stir it constantly until it’s just boiled and then remove from the heat. Otherwise, when they cool they get too had.
- Store these cookies in a bowl that is NOT airtight. The airtight bowls seem to make them crumble and weird. Honestly, our cookies almost never last long enough to have to store them, but in case you do, that’s the ticket.
Related Recipes You’ll Love:
- Finnish Christmas Cookies
- Soft and Gooey Valentine’s Day Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
- Raisin Bran Cookies
Substitutions
You’re welcome to swap in other crunchy corn-based cereals for the Special K– Rice Krispies (rice cereal), Corn Flakes, or Corn Pops.
I’ve been using all-natural peanut butter for these cookies for years and I like how they’re just a tiny bit less sweet.
Variations
Instead of dropping these by rounded spoonful onto waxed paper, you can pour them into a 9×13 inch baking dish and make them into bars.
There is a gluten-free brand of Special K cereal, so that can be used to make a gluten-free version of this recipe.
If you’d like to make a frosting for your Special K cookies, combine and melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and then dip your cookies in the resulting mixture. (I mean, what goes better together than peanut butter and chocolate?)
Mini-marshmallows, M&M’s, and butterscotch chips make for great mix-ins if you’re looking to upgrade your cookies!
Serving Suggestions
Once they’ve cooled and hardened, your Special K cookies are ready to go. They’re great when drizzled with melted chocolate… or just on their own! (A toasty mug of hot chocolate doesn’t hurt either!)
FAQ
- Are Special K bars vegan? – Technically, no. Some varieties of special K cereal are made with honey and whey, so they might not fully accommodate a vegan diet. Barbara’s Organic Corn Flakes is an excellent vegan-friendly cereal substitute.
- How long do Special K bars keep for? – When sealed in an airtight container, Special K cookies will last for up to a week on the counter.
Printable Recipe
Special K Cookies
These 5- ingredient no-bake cookies are absolutely addictive and ready in under 15 minutes. The perfect addition to any holiday party!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 4 cups Special K Cereal
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly so that the mixture does not burn.
- Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.
- Next, add in cereal and vanilla, mixing until everything is combined.
- Form the cookies into discs using your hands or a spoon and place onto a sheet of wax paper to cool. Once the cookies have hardened, they're ready to eat!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 312Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 1gSugar: 41gProtein: 7g
Please double-check this information with your favorite nutrition calculator.
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Christa Jimenez
Welcome! I’m Christa, a Spanish teacher married to a handsome Costa Rican and mother of two bilingual daughters. We’ve spent over 25 years living in and traveling to Costa Rica with our daughters, and this website is my love letter to all things Costa Rica- and to bilingual parenting too. You can read my full story here. Thanks for stopping by!
