Whenever I go to Starbucks for my grande latte, which isn’t very often but as often as I can, I like to check out the case of sweet stuff just to the right of the cash register.  I love the lemon cake with the layer of sweet frosting that you can peel off in one piece, the mini vanilla scones and the thick slices of marble cake, bitter chocolate and warm vanilla, the best of both worlds in one dessert.  But recently, I spied a large, round cookie, half frosted and decorated with rainbow colored sugar.  Not the usual type of choice for me but something made me ask for it. 

I got back in my car with the latte and the cookie and went somewhere to watch the ocean for a few minutes in order to take a moment to enjoy my purchases before life would inevitably come calling in the form of picking up and dropping off children, shopping, banking, getting gas, etc. I took a sip and burned my tongue (always) on the latte.  Then I unwrapped the cookie from it’s to-go paper bag.  I broke off a piece with some frosting and some without to sample both parts and compare. The cookie was oddly sweet, but in a good way and tasted like Fruity Pebbles in the creamy dough of a chocolate chip cookie, minus the chocolate chips.  Yeah, I thought.  I am going to make these at home.

Fruity Cereal Cookies

(makes about 48 small cookies)

1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened

1/2 cup Crisco

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups fruit flavored rice cereal (Fruity Pebbles)

1 cup powdered sugar

2-3 teaspoons water

rainbow non-nonpareil sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix butter, Crisco, sugar and brown sugar in a stand mixer with paddle attachment.  Blend for 2-3 minutes until mixture begins to look “fluffy”.  With mixer running on low, add eggs, vanilla, salt and baking soda.  Stop mixer and add flour.  Turn mixer back on low and mix until flour is incorporated.  Mix cereal in using a wooden spoon and some muscle.  Scoop cookie dough onto lined baking sheets (Silpat or parchment paper) using a teaspoon ( I have a scoop that holds about 1/2 tablespoon) and leaving about one 1/2 inch between each cookie.

Bake for 7-9 minutes until cookies are golden brown.  Remove from pans onto a cooling rack.  Cookies must be absolutely completely cooled (overnight is best) before adding icing!

To mix icing, place powdered sugar into a small bowl.  Slowly add water and stir until mixture is just between thick and runny.  (As you are adding water, stop when you think you don’t have enough but continue to stir icing, you will find that less water is better.) Scoop icing into a large Ziploc bag.  Snip the edge off one corner and draw a zig-zag pattern across each cookie with the icing, stopping after each one to add sprinkles on top of icing before it dries.

Allow icing to dry completely.  Store in airtight container.  Also, these cookie freeze well in Ziploc freezer bags.