Rice Chex Candy Cookie

These no-bake peanut butter cookies are more candy than cookie, and that’s exactly the point. Boil sugar and corn syrup for one minute, stir in crunchy peanut butter and vanilla, pour the hot mixture over Rice Chex and chopped pecans, and drop spoonfuls onto wax paper to set. Done.

The one-minute boil is precise for a reason. Underboil and the sugar mixture won’t set firmly enough to hold the cereal together. Overboil and it hardens too fast, making the cookies brittle and impossible to shape. One minute at a rolling boil gets you into the soft-ball candy stage where the mixture is pliable enough to coat every piece of cereal but firm enough to hold its shape once it cools.

Work quickly once you add the peanut butter and vanilla to the hot sugar. The mixture starts setting almost immediately. Pour it over the Rice Chex and nuts and toss to coat while everything is still warm and sticky. Drop them onto wax paper before the mixture stiffens.

Pro Tips

• Use crunchy peanut butter as the recipe calls for. The peanut pieces add extra texture alongside the cereal and pecans.
• Measure out all your ingredients before you start boiling. There’s no time to scramble once the sugar is ready.
• If the mixture starts hardening before you finish dropping, set the bowl over a pot of hot water to keep it workable.

Variations

• Drizzle melted chocolate over the finished cookies for a chocolate-peanut butter version.
• Swap Rice Chex for Corn Chex or a mix of both for slightly different flavor and crunch.
• Use cashew butter instead of peanut butter and swap pecans for macadamias for a tropical spin.