These Chocolate-Covered Crisp Rice Cookies are as simple as they are delicious and are sure to serve up a healthy dose of nostalgia. A childhood favorite of our editor-in-chief, Brian Hart Hoffman, these soft, chewy cookies are full of nutty, sweet caramel and toasted crisp rice cereal, all of which is then covered by a fudgy layer of melted milk chocolate. These crisp rice cookies are truly out of this world!
Chocolate-Covered Crisp Rice Cookies
Makes about 18 cookies
Ingredients
- 5 cups (150 grams) crisp rice cereal
- ¼ cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ cup (110 grams) firmly packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (170 grams) light corn syrup
- ½ cup (120 grams) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon (7 grams) unsulphured molasses
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 ounces (170 grams) milk chocolate melting wafers*, melted according to package directions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On prepared pan, spread cereal.
- Bake until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. Let cool completely on pan. Transfer cooled cereal to a large bowl.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar; cook, stirring occasionally, until melted, 3 to 4 minutes. Add corn syrup, condensed milk, and molasses. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally, and cook, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer registers 235°F (112°C). Remove from heat, and immediately pour over toasted cereal. Add vanilla and salt; fold until cereal is evenly coated.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 3-tablespoon spring-loaded scoop, scoop cereal mixture (about 30 grams each), and place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Place a 2¾-inch round cutter around a scoop, and gently press into a disk; repeat with remaining scoops. (This helps with uniformity; see Note.) Let cool completely, about 20 minutes.
- Using a gloved hand, dip disks, one at a time, into melted chocolate, coating completely and wiping off excess as needed. Return to pan, and let stand until chocolate is fully set, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Notes
*We used Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate Flavored Melting Wafers.
Note: For the most classic shape, make sure to gently press on the edges of the disks after shaping with a cutter so they’re slightly rounded.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This recipe tastes really good, but 5OZ was no where near enough chocolate to even very thinly coat these cookies. I cooked the caramel mixture to exactly 235F and the resulting cookies are hard inside. More like a toffee than the softer chewy insides in the cookie being imitated. Still delicious, but have to be careful biting them.
I had the same problem with them being difficult to bite. I thought it was my fault for pushing the mixture together so tightly. If I made them again, I would not push so hard to condense the cereal.
After reading the comments, I decided to cook the sugar mixture to just under 230 instead of 225. I wondered if there was a lot of carry over heat which is why the sugar mixture got so hard. I made the cookies using the weights and mine came out great! They were chewy and not hard at all and they held their shape while dipping in the chocolate. So I suggest cooking it to 230 (or a hair under). As for the chocolate, there is not enough to dip these cookies in. I scraped the chocolate off as best I could, but I needed twice as much chocolate. I also sprinkled heath bits on half of them, and they were a very welcome addition, but still good without.
I made these and did not have a problem with them being hard. I love the soft chewy texture. My husband loves them.