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Cornflake Cookies

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Get out the butta and pecans. It’s that time of year, y’all. Bake, bake, bake. Without a doubt, this is when everyone pulls out their favorite sweet treats to make for their friends and family. These cookies are a favorite of mine, possibly my all-time #1, having grown up eating them like it was my job. Cornflake Cookies — buttery, shortbread-like sugar cookies finished with pecans and crunchy cornflakes.

Note: I have TWO versions of this recipe. One with only butter (this recipe), and another (the original) with butter or margarine and shortening.

I can remember traveling for houuuurs and hours from Kentucky to visit family in Georgia. It seemed like an eternity, really. My parents tried everything to keep my sister and I from going crazy (read: fighting). We had games, Walkmans (ya… you remember those?), rolls of quarters that my mom would use as a bribe which slowly diminished away 25 cents at a time for each poke or yell at my sister. Nothing really worked, but I guess it helped to pass the time.

That entire 10+ hour journey seemed totally worth it when we would pull down the pine tree lined driveway and run into the house to find the cornflake cookies. These things are legendary. Seriously. They couldn’t be any easier, but just have this comforting, sweet taste.

Maybe it’s the unique addition of cornflakes. Maybe the rich pecans. It could be that the pecans were usually shelled by yours truly. That was the deal. When you visited, you shelled pecans. If you were old enough to eat ’em, you could prep ’em. We would sit and watch Jeopardy and the National news. I would get yelled at for eating more than I was putting into the bags. I’m pretty sure they had me working the pecan line before I was old enough to walk.

I never latched onto cornflakes like I did pecans. With that said, somehow the addition of butter and sugar and more butter really seems to make them delicious. Why isn’t that a cereal?! The crunch from this unusual mix-in provides a one-of-a-kind texture for the cookies.

These are the cookies that I ask for every single time I visit my parents. I would get boxes sent to my room in college. They’re just that good. They hit home with this comforting, crunchy, buttery deliciousness that you wouldn’t believe.

I’ve learned from a ton of what became ice cream topping cookies that these can be a bit finicky at times. Once you cream the butter and sugar well, lightly stir in the flour just until mixed. Too much and they may be tough. It’s best to go old school and carefully mix in the rest by hand. The cornflakes need to stay mostly uncrushed and crunchy.

Ta daaa! I hope y’all enjoy these as much as I have for the past couple decades.

Cornflake Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen

Cornflake Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Unique, sweet cornflake cookies. Southern sweets at their best-- Buttery cookies with crunchy cornflakes and nutty pecans. Recipe from SouthernFATTY.com. All butter recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup butter, unsalted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour, AP
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoons cream of tartar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups cornflake cereal
  • 3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Instructions

    1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
    2. Note: This is an all-butter version of the original recipe that also uses shortening. Find the other recipe here.
    3. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until well-combined, light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes on medium speed.
    4. Sift together flour, baking soda, cream of tartar.
    5. Add to butter mixture and combine just until mixed.
    6. Mix in cornflakes and pecans very carefully, preferably by hand or with short mix on low.
    7. Bake by spoonful or cookie scoop on lined baking sheet for ~ 12 minutes until just barely golden around bottoms.
    8. Cool completely and enjoy!
    9. More on SouthernFATTY.com

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© Phillip, SouthernFatty.com
Cuisine: American / Category: Confections / Sweets 
This is a re-worked all-butter version of my previous Cornflake Cookies post. For a version with shortening, visit that recipe here.

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  2. So…. Today I broke one of my cardinal rules which leaves me feeling a little guilty and a little anxious…. I am not familiar with cornflake cookies (life-long Pennsylvanian here) but was very curious when I heard about them so I went searching for a recipe. (I am also a life-long cookie lover!). Found this recipe and totally wanted to try them! The idea of the crunch from the cornflakes seemed like a great idea! Here’s the rule breaking part – I always try a recipe as written before making adaptations. In this case i could not help myself. I added mini peanut butter m&ms to the mix.

    Reply

  4. These cookies are yummacious! I used softened butter, increased the amount of chopped pecans to 1 cup, and scooped the batter with a smallish (2 teaspoons) cookie scoop. I baked the cookies on parchment-lined cookie sheets and had no issues with crumbling. The cookies lifted off easily and behaved well. My yield was 48 cookies. Thanks so much for posting the recipe!

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  5. When I made these, they were super crumbly and would hardly hold together when I shaped them. They fell apart while eating the first day but held together better in subsequent days. I used the total shortening version. Any idea where I might have gone wrong? I thought may be it was too much flour because I am used to baking with weight measure, not volume. But maybe it was the total shortening. What do you think? They tasted FREAKING AWESOME anyway.

    Reply

  8. Hey! I made these cookies and they remind me of sandies. I’m hoping I made them right because I expected them to be chewy and they’re very dry and crumbly. The flavor was great and not a bad cookie. Just wondering what the texture should be like so I know if I made them correctly or not. I used the recipe from paulas page.

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  9. Haven’t made these yet!, but I will this weekend. My question is – is there a difference in flavor or texture of you use the crisco? Which way is better? I’m not interested in health when it comes to a cookie. Just taste!

    Reply

    • There is a slight difference. The shortening version is more stable, I think. The original recipe from my grandmother uses margarine and shortening. She specified the “cheapest margarine you can get”. Imperial was her go-to for these. I love that version and think it holds a better shape and doesn’t risk flattening out as much as all-butter. The all-butter version is a bit more rich, I think. Hope that helps!

      -Phillip
      Have a photo to share? Tag us on social using @southernfatty / #southernfatty!

      Reply

  10. These cookies are delicious! The only problem i had was they crumbled, with each sheet i added baking time, is there a way i can keep them from being too soft ?

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  11. The recipe steps don’t say when to add the vanilla. Paula added it after the flour mixture, but it seems it would be better added to the butter/sugar mixture first. Maybe you can update the recipe with how your Mom does it? Thanks!

    Reply

  13. Watched this recipe getting made on Paula Deen’s YouTube Channel (looked great!) and then stopped by here to subscribe and look around!

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