7 Fun Recipes Using Cereal
We go beyond party mix to find the most surprisingly delicious dishes you can make with the breakfast standby.
By Lynn Andriani
The Mac 'n' Cheese with a Snappy, Crackle-y Top
A toasted, crunchy topping is the perfect contrast to ooey, gooey mac 'n' cheese. One of the easiest ways to achieve optimal crunch is to mix equal parts crisped rice cereal, like Rice Krispies, with grated cheese (use whatever kind you'd like, from Parmesan to cheddar), and sprinkle over the casserole before baking.
The Crunchy, Cinnamon-y Pie Crust
The base of a cheesecake, pudding pie or ice-cream pie can be made from graham crackers, so swapping in the mini version, using Cinnamon Toast Crunch, for instance, isn't an enormous leap—yet it yields supercrispy (and cinnamon-flecked) results. Combine 2 cups of crushed cereal (you'll probably need to start with about 4 cups) with 3 tablespoons of melted, unsalted butter and press into a pie dish; chill, then proceed with your filling recipe.
The Chicken Salad with Better-for-You Croutons
This lunchtime standby doesn't have to be a slacker in the nutrition department: Stir in a small handful of bran cereal—we prefer the stick-shaped kind, such as All-Bran, over the flakes or pellets—and
use yogurt or cottage cheese to help hold everything together. In a flash, you've got yourself a healthy and incredibly tasty meal.
The Cookies with a Surprise
Cereal in cookies is nothing new (hello, oatmeal raisin), and pastry chefs like
Momofuku Milk Bar's Christina Tosi are doing all kinds of crazy-popular things with cornflakes in baked goods. Here's one new twist to try: Add a cup of cornflakes to sugar cookie dough (the results will be extra-crispy). Or for a salty-sweet treat, stir a half-cup each of potato chips and Cocoa Puffs into chocolate chip cookie dough for a full-on flavor explosion.
Muffins That Make Brilliant Use of Soggy Cereal
You know how when you let a bowl of bran flakes sit for a few minutes, they tend to soak up so much milk that they practically become one with the liquid? That mush is actually the makings of a moist and delicious muffin that also delivers a healthy dose of fiber. Recipes abound,
some incorporating honey, and others
spiking the batter with buttermilk.
S'mores Without a Campfire
A pretzel rod is the perfect delivery system for a s'more you can make anywhere: Just thread a few large marshmallows onto a stick, dip in melted chocolate and coat with crushed Golden Grahams cereal (put them in a bag and whack it with the bottom of a pan, or blitz them quickly in a food processor). You'll want to let these treats set before eating, but the irresistible combo of toasty grahams, chocolate and fluffy marshmallows will be well worth it, we swear.
The Any Time of Day Snack Bar
These supersimple bars contain just cereal, peanut butter, peanuts and chocolate—and will fulfill any cravings you might have for salty or sweet (or, um, both). They're tailor-made for bake sales, potlucks, lunchboxes or even breakfast (hey, they contain cereal).
Get the recipe: Good Morning Sunshine Bars
Next: The one weird thing you need to make for dinner that will change your life
Published 08/16/2013
