Tiktok, like all other social media before it, is creating new trends not just daily but by the hour. And one of the latest trends? Cookie cereal.
You may think it’s ridiculous and we won’t argue with you. You may also note that it’s unhealthy but it can be made better with keto cookies.
Quickly overshadowing last week’s pancake cereal trend, chocolate chip cookie cereal seems even more intuitive. After all, are all cereal bits not just unsung cookies?
The new trend was popularized on the new social media by people like Justin Schuble and others after him. The cookie cereal craze was also helped by the fact that most people already had the necessary ingredients for them anyway.
“Most of my recipes are simple, easy to replicate, and use ingredients that you probably have in your pantry because I want to provide my audience with ideas for what they can make at home,” Schuble said. “Most people either have cookie dough in their fridge or have the ingredients necessary to make it.”
For his first attempt at cookie cereal, Schuble used Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough and simply cut it first in strips and then – in bites. After that, he just rolled the little bites into balls and baked them on a cookie sheet.
His second attempt was much more thorough, however, as he explained on Instagram. There, he shared some more tips he picked up on his second try:
- The cookie dough should be cut in even pieces so that they are all evenly baked.
- Instead of rolling each piece into a ball, flatten them a bit and round their edges before you bake them. This will give them the signature cookie look.
- If you’re using another dough that doesn’t have chocolate chips or other treats in it, you can add some niceties to the pre-baked cookies yourself.
- Bake the dough at 350°F for ~7 minutes. The cookies will still be soft after that so just let them sit and harden at room temperature on the counter for a little while.
- Don’t add all the cookies to the milk all at once as they will get a bit soggy. Instead, only add a few bites at a time. That also has the side benefit of helping you eat fewer cookies at a time which is awesome since they’re not the most healthy treat after all.
- The cookie cereal also goes well with ice cream, according to Schuble.
This isn’t even the first attempt at cookie cereal
Schuble may have started the recent trends but others have ventured in that direction before him as well. Food blogger Valentina Mussi did her own cookie cereal variant back in March only she used prepackaged miniature chocolate chip cookies instead.
After Mussi saw Schuble’s video, however, she was re-inspired to give the idea a new spin. Cue the miniature snickerdoodle cookies! The benefit of these cookies is that their dough doesn’t need to be chilled.
Mussi just rolled the dough into tiny balls with cinnamon sugar and baked them at 375°F for 5 minutes. Mussi also agreed with Schuble that adding too many cookies in the milk (or to much milk on the cookies) can make them soggy so a balance must be struck.
The full ingredients list for Mussi’s cookie cereal variant goes like this:
- 1 1/2 cup of flour
- 1 tbsp of cinnamon
- 1 tbsp of baking powder
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1 cup 3 tbsp of sugar
- 1/2 egg
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- Cinnamon sugar to your liking
Both Schuble and Mussi shared that they vastly prefer the cookie cereal to the pancake cereal idea that came before them.
“They’re much easier to make!” Mussi said. “The mini pancakes involve such a tedious process.”
Schuble didn’t necessarily hate the pancake cereals and even had his own version of them as well.
“It’s a lot lighter, especially if you make my healthy version,” he said. “But the cookie cereal makes a great dessert or sweet treat! Or you can leave the mini cookies without milk and enjoy them throughout the day.”
Another reason to love the cookie cereal, for Schuble is that they are very easy to make and require only common household ingredients.
“I see this homemade cookie cereal as a new and improved version that you can make without going shopping,” he said. “It’s definitely more time-consuming than opening a box of cereal, but a lot of us have some extra time on our hands these days. And nothing beats warm cookies and milk, in my opinion.”
Will cookie cereal be the next big long-term food trend? Both Mussi and Schuble seem to think so.
“There is something so cute and Insta-worthy about mini cookies,” Schuble said. “And baking them is a great way to pass the time at home. There are certain ingredients that we all have at home — like eggs and flour — and I think a lot of the trends are coming from people adding their own twist to what they can find in their kitchen.”
Or, maybe, cookie cereal will be overshadowed in a week by something new, who knows? Miniature waffles have already started taking over Instagram and mini Pop-Tarts are making the rounds as well.
“I am now obsessed with mini versions of things and eating them in cereal form,” Mussi said. “I’m already brainstorming what to make next!”
Love it or hate it, social media like TikTok and Instagram are the birthing places of countless such trends. Some may be silly, others may be even pointless. But a lot of them seem to be fun. And who doesn’t need something fun and delicious right now?