Super Simple Honey Cornflake Cookies for All Occasions

What is it about the words cornflake and cookies together that makes the inner (and actual) child in us scream with delight? Is it because it gives us an excuse to eat this well-loved cereal for something other than breakfast? Whatever the reason, there’s no denying that any cornflake cookie is an automatic crowd puller regardless of the occasion. And with the numerous festivities taking place in Malaysia throughout the year, we’re more than happy to have them in constant supply and ourselves in an almost permanent state of cornflake cookie-induced food coma.

Perhaps one of the reasons why cornflake cookies are so popular, especially in Malaysia, is because it’s the kind of cookie that’s so simple and easy to make that it’s a fairly common sight to see kids involved in the process. Be it the school holidays or even a weekend when they’re abound with an abundance of energy and you, as a parent, are not left with much, making cornflake cookies are a great way to get them to sit down and not make a mess of the whole house for a few good minutes. Plus, a few extra hands in the cookie making process is always welcomed.

If you’ve got bigger kids, a slightly more complex recipe, like our rosewater cornflake cookies, should keep them busy for a while. But if you’ve got younger kids, a simpler more straightforward recipe, like our honey cornflake cookies, is the perfect activity for them. Just be forewarned of the potential for a sugar high after, especially if they like to sneak in a few bites while making them! Parents, adult siblings or caretakers, this recipe does involve melting some ingredients over a stove top, which you should take charge of and do. But once the ingredients have cooled down, it’s time to let the kids lose on the making of honey cornflake cookies.

Four ingredients is all you need

There’s not a lot of recipes out there that only requires four ingredients without any of them coming out of a premixed box, bottle or can. This easy honey cornflakes recipe, however, is one of them, and they’re super easy ingredients you probably already have at home anyway. All you need is sugar, honey, butter and, most importantly, cornflakes. And if you’re feeling particularly festive, do what we did and add some sprinkles to make your little cookies oh-so-cute. After all, just a dash of sprinkle will brighten anyone’s day!

As for the process, well, it comes together so easily and quickly that you might be tempted to only make honey cornflake cookies from now on. All you really need to do is melt the sugar, honey and butter down, then pour it all over a waiting bowl of cornflakes. Give it a good mix to make sure the cornflakes are evenly coated. Then spoon them into little cupcake liners, pop them into the oven for, say, 12 minutes, and you’re done! Just make sure you have lots of airtight cookie jar containers because you may be tempted to make a tonne of them. Easy is always good, right?

Now if you’re ready, let’s go make some honey cornflake cookies.

Ingredients

• 80g (3c) cornflakes
• 75g sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 90g unsalted butter
• Sprinkles, optional

Miscellaneous

• Mini cupcake liners

Preparation

1. On a baking tray (or several baking trays), prepare your mini cupcake liners. There’s no need to leave any gaps between the liners. So, just fill your tray with them until it is full.
2. Turn your oven on and preheat to 150°C.

3. Prepare a large heat-proof bowl and fill it with cornflakes, making sure there’s plenty of room to spare.

Making golden liquid

1. In a pot, melt butter over medium heat until almost melted.

2. Then, add in sugar and honey. Stir the mixture constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Do not heat the mixture for too long or it will start to thicken and caramelize.

Preparing and baking honey cornflake cookies

1. Once the honey, sugar and butter mixture has melted, immediately pour the liquid all over the cornflakes. Careful – the pot and the liquid will be hot! Do pay attention to your children if they’re helping out. You don’t want them to touch the hot liquid, no matter how delicious it looks!

2. Using a ladle, spatula or wooden spoon, give the cornflakes and liquid a good mix until it is evenly coated. Be gentle though, as you want to avoid crushing the flakes into smaller pieces. If you’re adding sprinkles, feel free to add them in here as well. They don’t make much of a difference to the flavour of the cookies unless you add a significant amount.  So, feel free to use as much as you like!

3. Using a spoon, scoop some coated and sprinkled cornflakes into the mini cupcake liners. This is when you can get your children to help out. However, they may not be able to resist popping a few of these honey flakes into their mouths as they work. And neither can you, if you’re being honest!

4. Once the tray is filled, pop it into the oven for 12 minutes. Prepare another tray of honey cornflake cookies while waiting if you have some more flakes left over.

5. Once the 12 minutes are up, remove baking tray from the oven and set it aside to cool. This will help the flakes ‘stick’ together.
6. Store honey cornflake cookies in an airtight container once it has completely cooled down. There is no need to remove the mini cupcake liners.

Extra tips

1. Don’t use regular sized cupcake liners as they are far too big and the honey cornflake cookies will fall apart when eaten.
2. We highly recommend using mini cupcake liners to keep the cookies together instead of scooping the coated flakes directly onto a baking paper-lined baking sheet. The liquid can melt during the baking process, causing the flakes to spread out instead of sticking together. You may end up with a hot mess instead! The mini cupcake liners will also ensure your cookies don’t disintegrate in your containers, especially if they are stored in less than cool temperatures.
3. Honey cornflake cookies are quite sweet, so don’t go overboard eating it, especially if you shouldn’t be taking so much sugar!
4. If you’re looking to make this recipe just marginally healthier, or at least free from artificial ingredients, use 100% honey and opt for raw organic cane sugar instead. And why not go all the way by using organic cornflakes and natural butter too?