Tiger Cookies

These Tiger Cookies are a fun addition to our December cookie lineup. They have been around since about 1964. They’re made with crushed Frosted Flakes, or corn flakes if you need them gluten free or lower sugar.  Kellogg’s printed the recipe on the Frosted Flakes cereal box in 1968, and the recipe also pops up in various cookbooks printed in the 1960 and 70s. Our version is quite a bit different. They’re lower in sugar and all around easier to make.

In the original version, you melt the chocolate chips and “swirl” the melted chocolate through the cookie dough. We decided, instead melting all of the chocolate, to just add the chocolate chips/chunks to the cookies. We saved about 1/4 of the chocolate to make chocolate drizzle and give the cookies “tiger stripes” once they’ve cooled. But if you can’t be fussed with melting chocolate, the cookies are still really good without stripes.

We talk you through this recipe for Tiger Cookies in Episode 212 of our podcast. If you like those cookies, you may also like our recipes for Chocolate Snickerdoodles and Hot Chocolate Cookies.

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Tiger Cookies

This is a fun, vintage recipe that has been around since the 1960s. The surprise ingredient is crushed frosted flakes, so the cookies were named after Tony the Tiger. At one point, Kellogg's printed the recipe on cereal boxes and were selling Tony the Tiger cookie jars. We've updated the recipe so that it's much easier and has less sugar.

Pretty much all cornflakes and frosted flakes contain gluten in the form of barley malt. Nature’s Path is one of the few brands that makes them gluten free, but the flakes are also thicker and a bit more textured. You'll need to make sure you crush them finely or else you'll end up with big pieces that become unpleasantly hard. We've included our directions for making a chocolate drizzle to create tiger stripes on the cooled cookies. This is optional. These cookies are still delicious without the stripes!

This recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies. 3 dozen if you make them really big.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter or plant based butter at room temperature
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs room temp (frozen beaten eggs are great for cookies if you preserved any)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 cups of flour or GF 1-1
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• A pinch of sea salt
• 3 cups of cornflakes frosted flakes, or gluten free cornflakes, crushed
• ¾ of a bag or chocolate chunks or chips reserve the last ¼ for chocolate stripes
• A splash of cream half and half, or dairy free creamer (for stripes)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line cookie sheets with silpats or parchment paper.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and eggs and beat together until fully combined.
• Using a wooden spoon or wide spatula, mix the flour and the crushed flakes into the butter mixture. When it’s just about blended, add the chocolate chunks or chips and stir until all ingredients are combined.
• Drop by generous tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until starting to turn golden brown on the edges and bottom. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely before adding chocolate drizzle.

Notes

To make the drizzle for stripes, melt the remaining chocolate chips or chunks in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Heat them 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval. You usually don’t need to heat them more than 2 times. As soon as they are mostly melted, add a splash of cream, half and half, or dairy free creamer. Stir it until the chocolate and creamer are combined, the chocolate is shiny, and liquidy enough to drizzle. Using a fork, dip it into the chocolate and let it drizzle off the tines while you move your hand up and down the rows of cookies, making stripes of melted chocolate. Add as many chocolate stripes as you would like. Let the chocolate firm up before you put the cookies away.