Lucky Charms Cookies

Cookies, made to taste like lucky charms cereal!

Comin’ in hot just in time for st patrick’s day. I do already have an ice cream and some cookie bars, but I couldn’t resist creating a rainbow colored, chewy and crispy edged cookie. Those kind of recipes are my calling! 

“Hearts, stars and horseshoes

Clovers and blue moons 

Unicorns, rainbows and 

tasty red balloons!” 

I recognize I could’ve gone with the usual – just use regular cookie dough and add the mallows but I really wanted to double down on that signature ‘lucky charm’ flavor. 

For these I do, of course, add the marbits  (they get gooey and leave such colorful marks on the cookies as they melt) and I am also using the brown rice cereal bits as well. We’ll use quite a bit of it, grind it up and add some in the dough then roll the cookie dough in the rest of the crumbs and some of the marbit dust for a little more flavor. 

One thing you might be surprised at is the use of powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar. I’ve done this to aid in getting the thin and crispy edges while keeping the centers soft and gooey – just like those globs of colorful mallow goo! 

As far as texture, this recipe has roots in my bakery style chocolate chip cookies. 

Recipe Ingredients 

Lucky Charms: You’ll want a 10 oz box (not family size) and err, don’t be made at me, but you’ll have to separate the mallow bits from the brown cereal. 

Sugars: We’ll do a mix of brown sugar (light or dark is fine – but don’t use organic which is not as moist) and powdered. While unconventional for cookies, I like using the powdered sugar here because it makes the centers more tender and chewy. 

Flour: Any all purpose flour will do, I used King Arthur’s AP which has a protein content of 11.7%, so I’m betting a lower protein will cause more spread. If you are using something that has 11 or less, add another 2 tablespoons of flour. 

Milk powder: This is a flavor enhancer, I like a malted milk powder because it gives more of that ‘cereal’ taste but a regular non fat dry milk powder will work too. This is optional. 

How to Make Lucky Charms Cookies

Start by melting the butter, careful not to let any sputter out less you lose some fat necessary for the cookies

Important: Don’t leave the marbits (marshmallows) out for too long or they will hydrate and start to stick together.

Grind the rice cereal into a fine powder

Whisk the butter and sugar together, then warm the mix in the microwave for 30 seconds

Whisk until it’s thick and shiny.

Add the egg and yolk and whisk to combine.

Sift in the powdered sugar and whisk until you have a smooth mixture:

Add the flour, leavening, and the ground rice cereal

Once it’s mostly combined, add the marbits and stir until mixed

Cover the dough and set in the fridge for two hours, or more, to hydrate and firm up.

When ready to bake line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (a little grease helps the paper stick).

Scoop the dough into about 2-2.5 tablespoons per cookie, leaving space for them to spread.

Bake until the edges are set and golden and the middles are matte, about 12 minutes.

Tip: sometimes when there’s a concentration of marbits they will all melt together and make the cookie spread quite a bit in that one area. You can fix this by scooting the cookies, while still hot, back into place using an upside down bowl.

FAQ

I don’t want to chill the lucky charm cookie dough, how can I make these? 

Instead of melting the butter, have it softened instead. You’ll want to use either the stand mixer or a hand mixer to cream the sugar and butter together for at least 3-5 minutes. Proceed as directed. They will be a little less chewy in the center and have a little less flavor but otherwise be fine. 

Make ahead and store for later 

The dough itself will keep in the fridge overnight but don’t leave it any longer or it may dry out. If you want to make them days ahead of time, make them up to the point of scooping and dipping in the crumbs, then place them on an open plate or cookie sheet and freeze them for 15 minutes until solid. 

Then transfer them to a ziplock bag and freeze until you want to bake. If baking from frozen the cookies will need another couple of minutes in the oven. 

Lucky Charms Cookies Recipe

Lucky Charms Cookies

Big, thin crispy edges chewy middled lucky charms cookies made with ground up bits of rice cereal and colorful gooey lucky charms marshmallows. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 14 minutes mins

Chill Time: 2 hours hrs

Yields: 12 large cookies

5 from 11 votes

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Ingredients

• 1 box lucky charm cereal
• 150 g unsalted butter about ⅔ cup
• 200 g brown sugar about 1 cup
• 40 g cup powdered sugar about ⅓ cup
• ¾ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 large egg 1 yolk
• 200 g ap flour about 1 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 tablespoons malted milk powder or milk powder, optional (for flavor)
• 60 g ground cereal bits from about 1 ½ cups cereal
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or imitation vanilla for a more ‘birthday cake’ like flavor
• 2 cups marshmallow bits

Method

Do ahead, separate a box of cereal so you have:

• 2 cups brown cereal bits
• 2 cups marshmallow bits
• Grind the brown cereal bits in a food processor and separate them so you have 60g (this will go into the dough). Place the remaining crumbs into a bowl and set aside. You can crush up some of the colorful marshmallows with your fingers to create more 'rainbow dust' for the topping.

Make the cookie dough

• In a large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave until it’s almost but not fully melted. Add in the brown sugar and whisk, very well. The butter will be separated from the sugar, whisk it until it’s fully combined.
• Crack in the egg and the egg yolk and whisk until the batter is smooth and light colored.
• Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, milk powder, baking powder and soda and whisk well.
• Add the flour, ground cereal and marshmallow bits and switch to a rubber spatula to mix until fully combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 greased cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Use a cookie scoop to divide the dough, I made big cookies that were about 3 tablespoons each but you can make smaller ones if you like.
• With each cookie dough ball, dip face down into the bowl of leftover ground cereal bits pressing to get them to adhere.
• These cookies spread so ensure you have enough space between them, at least 1.5 inches between each dough ball. If you are making bigger cookies don’t do more than 5 on a sheet.
• Bake for about 12 minutes, until the edges are golden. If you like a bit more crunch on the sides you can bake for another 2 minutes. If you’ve scooped the smaller cookies, check them at the 10 minute mark. Sprinkle on some more cereal/rainbow dust when they come out of the oven.
• Store in an airtight container.

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