These Oatmeal Rice Krispie Cookies are made with oats, brown sugar, butter, and the super-secret special ingredient, Rice Krispies. They are chewy and soft with ever so slightly crisp edges and that crispy pop from the Rice Krispies.
For more cookies with Rice Krispies, try this Rice Krispie Cookies Recipe or Rice Krispie Chocolate Chip Cookies.
With chewy oats, crispy Rice Krispies, and hints of vanilla and cinnamon, these cookies have savory and sweet elements and taste like a quintessential cookie with a slight twist.
It’s an easy recipe that comes together quickly in one bowl without any refrigeration. A hand mixer or stand mixer is helpful, but not critical. See my tips below to make these cookies without any special equipment or techniques.
Variations
- Marshmallows: Toss in some mini marshmallows and make them into Rice Krispie Oatmeal Treat Cookies.
- Chocolate Chips: Add in some semi-sweet chocolate chips for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Rice Krispie Cookies.
- Oatmeal Raisin: Go with the perennially popular oatmeal raisin combo with those crispy Rice Krispies. Toss in a few raisins or dried cranberries or both!
Cookie Highlights
- Brown Sugar: Adds moisture, keeps the cookies chewy and soft.
- Rice Krispies: Adds pop and crunch. This textural twist keeps it interesting.
- Press to Flatten the Cookies: Creates chewy rather than cakey cookies.
Recipe Testing
I've tested this recipe 5 times, honing in on the exact proportion of wet ingredients to flour, oats, and Rice Krispies, the amount of leavening, and the use of maple syrup (like in my Oatmeal Cookies with Maple Syrup). These cookies balance chewiness with the right amount of flour to connect the oats and Rice Krispies with the wet ingredients. Any less flour (I've tried this with ¾ cup flour) and the cookies end up being thin and flat.
To ensure the cookies come out well, it's important to press the dough together tightly with your fingers and flatten them slightly. Flattening cookies slightly is a technique often used with chewy oatmeal cookies, such as these Oatmeal Raisin Cranberry Cookies.
Ingredients
Below are the ingredients needed to make Oatmeal Cookies with Rice Krispies.
- Butter: Ensure that your butter is softened to room temperature. I use salted butter.
- Sugar: A combination of brown sugar for that subtle caramel molasses taste, and a little bit of extra moisture and granulated sugar.
- Egg: Use a large egg, pasture-raised if possible.
- Vanilla Extract: Use real vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla. Wholesale stores like Costco sell a large bottle for a low price per unit volume.
- Cinnamon: Use a high-quality cinnamon. It’s one spice that really makes a difference. I use Ceylon cinnamon by a company called Simply Organic.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: For leavening.
- Salt: To bring out and balance flavor.
- Flour: Use all-purpose, unbleached flour. For the best results, use a kitchen scale to measure. I use a ratio of 140g of flour per cup of flour. If you do not have a kitchen scale, use America’s Test Kitchen method of dip and sweep to measure.
- Oats: Use rolled oats, not steel cut oats.
- Rice Krispies: I use Kellogg’s brand, but any brand will work. If you have leftover Rice Krispies, try these Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispie Treats.
To learn more about these cookie ingredients, see my Guide to Cookie Ingredients.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Oatmeal Rice Krispie Cookies
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Oatmeal Rice Krispie Cookies.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 1. Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Start on low speed and increase to medium for 3-4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
Tip: Beating the butter and sugar gives the cookies a more airy texture, a technique typically used in bakeries, but one that's not strictly necessary. If you do not have a beater, mix the batter by hand. Ensure that your butter is softened to room temperature.
Step 2. Remaining Wet Ingredients: Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
Step 3. Salt, Cinnamon, Leaveners: Add the salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined.
Tip: Scrape down the bowl as you go to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated evenly.
Step 4. Flour: Add the flour and use a large spoon to mix by hand just until the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients.
Tip: Incorporating the flour with a large spoon or spatula helps to prevent overmixing, which prevents gluten development, great for pizza crust, not for cookies.
Step 5. Remaining Dry Ingredients: Add the oats and stir to combine. Add the Rice Krispies and stir to combine.
Step 6. Bake: Scoop 3 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie onto a baking sheet, fitting 9-12 cookies per baking sheet. Because these cookies are chock full of oats and Rice Krispies, it's important to scrunch the dough tightly into a ball, pressing any loose oats or Rice Krispies into the dough, then flattening them slightly.
Bake for 8 minutes.
Let cool slightly, then remove to a wire rack to cool fully.
Storage and Freezing
- To Store: These cookies last for 3-5 days stored at room temperature in an airtight container with the rice krispies still staying crispy.
- To Freeze: Portion the cookies into individual balls of dough and place in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 months. The Rice Krispies will stay crispy. Or freeze the already baked cookies (with preference to freezing the dough before baking, then baking fresh). To bake from frozen, place the frozen balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet and extend the baking time by 1-2 minutes.
Tips for the Best Cookies
Softened Butter: If you haven't set your butter out in time to reach room temperature, you can soften the butter in the microwave at 20% power for 30 seconds at a time, flipping over in between until softened.
Cookie Scoop: To make portioning the cookies easier, use a 3-tablespoon cookie or ice cream scoop. Or, for the first cookie, use a tablespoon to measure out 3 tablespoons worth of dough so that you have a point of reference for the right size.
Test Cookie: When making a new recipe, it's always helpful to start with one cookie on a baking sheet first as a test cookie. This will be helpful for narrowing down the best baking time and as a check to make sure that you've measured the correct amount of flour.
Oven Temperature: Ensure that your oven is fully preheated. Many ovens need an additional 15-30 minutes to preheat beyond what is indicated. If possible, use an oven thermometer to tell you the internal temperature. Keep in mind, however, that even if you know the exact temperature of the oven, the oven temperature can change as it works to maintain a constant temperature. Watch the cookies to see that they are lightly browned on the outside to know that they are done.
For More Cookies You May Love:
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Oatmeal Rice Krispie Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup flour 140g
- 1½ cups rolled oats
- 1½ cups Rice Krispies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, cream the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and combine.
- Add the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and combine.
- Add the flour and use a large spoon or spatula to incorporate by hand. Add the rolled oats and combine, and lastly add the Rice Krispies and combine by hand.
- Scoop the dough onto a baking sheet using 3 tablespoons of dough per cookie, placing 9-12 cookies on the baking sheet. Because these cookies are chock full of oats and Rice Krispies, it's important to scrunch the dough tightly into a ball, pressing any loose oats or Rice Krispies into the dough, then flattening them slightly.Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies should be very lightly browned at the edges.Remove and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Softened Butter: If you haven't set your butter out in time to reach room temperature, you can soften the butter in the microwave at 20% power for 30 seconds at a time, flipping over in between until softened.
- Flour: Use all-purpose, unbleached flour. For the best results, use a kitchen scale to measure. I use a ratio of 140g of flour per cup of flour. If you do not have a kitchen scale, use America’s Test Kitchen method of dip and sweep to measure.
- Incorporating the flour with a large spoon or spatula helps to prevent overmixing, which prevents gluten development, great for pizza crust, not for cookies.
- Mixing: Beating the butter and sugar gives the cookies a more airy texture, a technique typically used in bakeries, but one that's not strictly necessary. If you do not have a beater, mix the batter by hand. Ensure that your butter is softened to room temperature.
- Scrape Down the Bowl: Scrape down the mixing bowl as you go to ensure that all of the ingredients are incorporated evenly.
- Cookie Scoop: To make portioning the cookies easier, use a 3-tablespoon cookie or ice cream scoop. Or, for the first cookie, use a tablespoon to measure out 3 tablespoons worth of dough so that you have a point of reference for the right size.
- Press and Flatten the Cookies: Because these cookies are chock full of oats and Rice Krispies, it's important to scrunch the dough tightly into a ball, pressing any loose oats or Rice Krispies into the dough, then flattening them slightly. This prevents the cookies from falling apart and from being cakey rather than chewy.
- Test Cookie: When making a new recipe, it's always helpful to start with one cookie on a baking sheet first as a test cookie. This will be helpful in narrowing down the best baking time and as a check to make sure that you've measured the correct amount of flour.
- Oven Temperature: Ensure that your oven is fully preheated. Many ovens need an additional 15-30 minutes to preheat beyond what is indicated. If possible, use an oven thermometer to tell you the internal temperature. Keep in mind, however, that even if you know the exact temperature of the oven, the oven temperature can change as it works to maintain a constant temperature. Watch the cookies to see that they are lightly browned on the outside to know that they are done.
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