Turn your favorite cereal into a salty and sweet treat with these Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies. Made with only 6 simple ingredients and ready to eat (even after cooling) in under 45 minutes!
Your favorite cereal, turned into a dessert
What's your favorite cereal? While some may say Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, or Reese's Puffs, one of my favorites is actually plain ol' cornflakes! I love the crunchiness and the fact that they're not overly sweet like Frosted Flakes.
In a quest to turn the crunchy cereal classic into something bigger and better, I decide to use a few cups to create some delicious cookies! When mixed with butter and marshmallows, the cookies take on a sort of toffee texture.
These cornflake peanut butter cookies are very easy to make and require only 6 different ingredients. In the end, you'll have 20 delicious cookies!
Ingredients in peanut butter cornflake cookies
This peanut butter cornflake dessert is made using only 6 ingredients. The magic comes together when we complete the cookies with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. That salty and sweet combination is incredible!
- Butter: First, you will need 6 tablespoon of butter. That's ¾ of a stick.
- Peanut butter: Include the peanut butter portion of the recipe by adding ⅔ cup. It needs to be creamy, not crunchy!
- Marshmallows: Help ingredients bind together and taste delish with 10oz of mini marshmallows.
- Cornflakes: Finally, the cornflakes! These will add a crunch while also contributing to the flavor. Use 7 cups.
- Peanut butter chips: Sneak in some more peanut butter with 1 cup of peanut butter chips. Set some aside to use later as a drizzle!
- Flaky sea salt: Last but not least, finish off the cookies with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Kitchen tools you'll need to make this dessert
This dessert requires a number of tools in addition to three measuring cup sizes. Below is a full list to help you prepare:
- Skillet
- Whisk
- Stirring utensil
- Cookie scoop
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Measuring cups: 1 tbsp, ⅔ cup, 1 cup
How to make peanut butter and cornflake cookies
Cornflake cookies are a quick and simple treat that come together quicker than your favorite brownies!
To begin, use a large skillet to heat the butter over medium heat. Let it melt down, and whisk continuously and often while it browns. Browning should take about 5-7 minutes. Once the butter turns amber brown like maple syrup, add the peanut butter and ⅔ of the mini marshmallows.
Turn off the heat and mix everything until the marshmallows are melted.
Next, add the cornflakes and stir until they are well-mixed. Add the rest of the mini marshmallows and peanut butter chips, and stir until everything is combined.
Using a greased cookie scoop, scoop the batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat until all of the cookies are scooped. Press the tops down to make them slightly flatter.
Optionally, drizzle with melted peanut butter chips and top with flakey sea salt.
Let cool for 30 minutes at room temperature, and enjoy!
Optional mix-ins
Though you'll undoubtedly find these cookies to be delicious as-is, here are some optional mix-ins that you can include if you want to shake things up a bit! Simply add to the batter after the peanut butter chips and marshmallows.
- Crushed pretzels
- Peanuts
- Chopped glazed pecans
- Mini M&Ms
- Crushed Twix
- Crumbled Reese's Cups
Recipe Tips
What if I have a peanut allergy?
Don't worry, you can still enjoy these treats! Simply swap the peanut butter with any other nut butter or sunflower seed butter. They all taste different, but one thing remains: they make some delicious cookies!
How can I add chocolate?
If you want to enjoy your favorite chocolate peanut butter flavor in these cookies, try adding chocolate chips in place of the peanut butter chips! You could also add extra chocolate flavor by using some melted chocolate chips as the drizzle.
Storing cornflake cookies
These cookies do best when stored at room temperature. I love when that's the case, as it makes storing as easy as it could be! Simply transfer to an airtight container to lock in freshness and keep them in the pantry or on the counter.
If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!
Check out some more of these delicious recipes for healthier spins on your favorite desserts!
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut Ice Cream
- Healthy Peach Crisp
- Pumpkin Oat Bars
- Apple Crumble Cake Recipe
Photos by Moriah Sawtelle and recipe by Erin Antoniak.
Peanut Butter Cornflake Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a large skillet, heat butter over medium. Let melt down. Once melted, whisk continuously and often during the browning period. Browning takes about 5-7 minutes. Once it is amber brown like maple syrup, add peanut butter and ⅔ of the mini marshmallows.
- Turn off heat and mix until marshmallows are melted.
- Add in cornflakes and stir until well combined. Then add in rest of mini marshmallows and peanut butter chips. Stir until all combined.
- Using a greased cookie scoop, scoop onto parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until all cookies are scooped. Press down tops to make them slightly flatter.
- Optionally, drizzle with melted peanut butter chips and top with flakey sea salt.
- Let cool 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Store at room temperature.
Darci says
These are delicious and so simple to make. I decided to use butterscotch chips because that’s what I had on hand. The flavor of the peanut butter and butterscotch together is great. Thanks for yet another great recipe!
Erin says
Hi Darci, so happy you loved them and made them your own!!
HGoleski says
Just made these. Unfortunately they didn’t come out as expected. And the flavor was interesting - and not in a good way. I actually threw them away 🙁
Erin says
Hi, I'm sorry that you did not like the recipe! I've heard tons of good things about this one and bummed it didn't work out for you. Did you make them to a T?
Anna says
I made these today, and they are dangerously good! I ended up microwaving my butter and PB together because I was too lazy to brown the butter, but they turned out great. I also swapped the PB chips for white chocolate chips, which I highly recommend!
Erin says
Hi Anna, so glad you loved them and made them your own!!