Cornflake Cookies Recipe - Chewy & Crunchy Classic

Recipe: Cornflake Cookie Recipe »

These unassuming Cornflake Cookies are an Australian classic! Chewy in the centre, crunchy on the outside and made with simple ingredients, they're the perfect balance of texture and flavour. Easy to bake and always a crowd-pleaser. Plus tips to make the best ones yet!

About This Cornflake Cookie Recipe

These humble looking cornflake cookies are an Australian classic and while they look deceptively plain, they're highly addictive (don't say I didn't warn you!) :). When I gave some to my neighbours Vic and Nicki she thought that they looked bland so she didn't expect them to be as tasty as they were but once she bit into one, it got very addictive very quickly. Vic had to put a cap on himself, no more than 4 cornflake cookies at a time!

These cornflake cookies are different from honey joys and are so delicious but really simple to make with ingredients that you probably have in your pantry already. The texture of these cookies is so wonderful - they're soft and chewy in the centre but have a crispy outer. It's the best of both worlds really! And they're also kid friendly if you want to bake these with kids.

I was inspired to add some ground up cornflakes into the actual cookie itself because they're so good (I first tried ground up cornflakes in Afghan biscuits where they give each bite a lovely texture) and I also use them here in these chocolate chip cookies in the same way you would use feuilletine. I also added some extra honey in there for flavour.

And Thermomixers, they're so easy to make in the TM and there's a recipe for you below too!

Ingredients For Cornflake Cookies

• Butter - I always use salted butter for sweets and savouries. Make sure that it is softened aka so a butter knife can slide through it easily.
• Caster sugar - or superfine sugar to sweeten the cookies.
• Honey - because we all love honey joys don't we?
• Egg - a medium sized egg will do, not too large or your dough will be too soft.
• Plain or all purpose flour - just good old flour will do. At this stage I have not tested it with alt flours but if you do plmk how it goes!
• Baking powder - make sure that your baking powder is still in date if you don't use it frequently.
• Fine salt - just to balance the sweetness. I use fine pink salt.
• Crunchy Nut Cornflakes - nothing beats the flavour of the Crunchy Nut version but regular cornflakes can be used if that is all that you have.

Tips For Making Cornflake Cookies

1 - You can add all sort of mix in into your cookie and you can use around 45g/1.7ozs of choc chips, currants, raisins, nuts, chopped up dates, chopped up dried apricots. I love these plain but really they're so versatile!

2 - You don't need to refrigerate the cookie dough before baking because once it firms up, it's difficult to roll in the cornflakes as they won't stick.

3 - Normally I use browned butter in a lot of cookies and I did try a batch of these using browned butter but I found the cookie crisper and dryer because the moisture is removed from butter when browning it. While I love crisp cookies, I know that the appeal of cornflake cookies is that lovely chewy centre and crisp outer. This is one of those rare cases where I think that it's better without browned butter.

4 - If I'm not making these in the Thermomix, I crush the cornflakes to put inside the cookies using the bottom of a rolling pin.

5 - I like making the cookie dough balls around 23g or 0.8ozs each. I think 30g or 1oz spreads a bit more and the cornflakes spread out more so it's a slightly less satisfying a bite. Do I spend too much time thinking about cookies? Yes!

6 - Love crunchy cookies? You can make these cornflake cookies a bit crunchier by baking them for another 2 minutes. Or by using the browned butter instead of regular butter.

7 - These are best on the day because I like it when the cornflakes are super crisp but they will last for 2 days in an airtight container. Some people say that they're good for 3-4 days but honestly I think they are really best within the first 2 days. You can also freeze them. Place baking paper between layers of cookies in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months.

Cornflake Cookie Recipe

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Recipe Overview

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes per tray

Makes: 20 cookies

Ingredients Needed

• 125g/4ozs butter, softened
• 110g/3.9ozs caster sugar
• 20g /0.7ozs honey
• 1 egg (50g/1.7ozs weight without shell)
• 1 cup/150g/5ozs plain all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons/10g/0.3ozs baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 20g/0.7ozs finely crushed Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (regular cornflakes will also do)
• 100g/3.5ozs Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (regular cornflakes will also do)

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1a Conventional - Preheat oven to 180C/350F conventional or 160C/320F fan forced. Line 3 trays with parchment paper. Beat the butter and sugar together for 4 minutes until pale, scraping down the sides and beater halfway through. Add honey and egg and beat for 30 seconds. Don't worry if it looks curdled. Add flour, baking powder, salt and crushed cornflakes and mix on lowest speed until just combined.

Step 1 b - Thermomix - Preheat oven to 180C/350F conventional or 160C/320F fan forced. Line 3 trays with parchment paper. Place the cornflakes in the TM bowl and set to 5 seconds, speed #8. Remove from bowl and set aside. Place the butter and sugar and set to 4 minutes, speed #3. Scrape down sides and centre halfway. Add egg and honey and set to 10 seconds, speed #3. Add in flour, baking powder, salt and crushed cornflakes and set to 10 seconds, speed #4.

Step 2 - Spread out the whole cornflakes on a tray with sides and shape some 23g/0.8oz balls of the dough. Roll in the cornflakes pressing the cornflakes gently around the outside. Place on the lined trays a couple of inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes on the tray and then place cookies on a cooling rack. These are wonderful when they're still warm and I find they are best eaten on the day to keep the cornflakes crisp.

Personal Note

Two that are huge fans of these cookies but aren't allowed to eat them are Milo and Teddy. When I was making and shooting these batches of cookies, Milo stood by my side hoping for a crumb or cornflake. Milo is a real foodie. Like most dogs, they're hungry all the time but he did something rather surprising and very sneaky the other day. He and Teddy are both protectors of our house and they both bark at the possums and answer other dogs when they bark over the fence. Teddy is also a slower and fussier eater than Milo so sometimes Teddy will eat all of his food, other days he won't.

So this night Milo saw that Teddy hadn't finished his food which he had his eye on. So he ran out the doggy door barking like crazy as if a possum had landed in the garden. Teddy ran after him barking in solidarity and within a split second Milo ran back into the house and gobbled Teddy's food! He executed the plan so flawlessly that I had completely missed it and Mr NQN sat there with his mouth wide open and had to explain to me what had happened!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like cornflake cookies? Do you use them in baked goods to give them texture?