I have always wanted to make my own cereals.
You will learn that I love making everything from scratch, actually if I had the time to craft my own flour I would do it. So of course I had to create a recipe for healthier, tastier cereals that would be crunchy, spiced, caramelized and obviously easy to make.
Speculoos, a crunchy cinnamon cookie that is often eaten during the Christmas holidays is one of my favorite treat. It is quite popular in Europe, served with coffee, it is similar to gingerbread cookies but crispier. My goal here was to recreate a cereal version of this crunchy cookie made with brown sugar and cinnamon that I could have for breakfast.
You start with a super easy-to-make batter, fill you pastry bag with it and make bite-sized balls. Put it in your pre-heated oven for 9-12 minutes and you end up with homemade, vegan cereals that are crispy and seriously delicious.
I can already tell you that you won’t be buying cereals anytime soon. Double the batch because you will eat a lot more than you plan, trust me.
A big bowl of these cinnamon cereals + fresh homemade almond milk = breakfast in heaven. They stay super crunchy and that subtle caramelized flavor combined with the cinnamon 😍
Did I mention these cereals have a long shelf-life? Like over 1 month if kept in a airtight container. I tried once and they were just as crunchy as fresh ones.
The best part is that you can adjust the spices to your taste and make several versions. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger for “Gingerbread”, 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for “Frangipane” or 1/2 teaspoon of each, Cardamom and Ginger for “Chai” cereals.
Wouldn’t it be fun to make your own cereals? Plus they are a lot healthier, contains only 6 ingredients and less sugar than store-bought cereals.
These make a quick and filling breakfast, just fill a bowl, or two with these cereals, add almond milk and you’re ready. I particularly like these on cold mornings or simply as a snack. They make a great topping for icecream too.
Let me know in the comments how your cereals turned out!
- 1 cup light spelt flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar (can substitute with coconut sugar or muscovado)
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mix together all the dry ingredients into a bowl.
- Slowly pour milk into the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the oil and mix until combined.
- Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a ¼-inch round tip.
- Holding the bag vertically, close to the baking sheet, pipe ¼-inch balls, leaving some space between each. Use a wet knife to cut each ball. This step will take you some time.
- Depending on your baking sheets size, you will have to make between 2 and 3 batches.
- Bake for about 14 minutes, depending on the size of your cereals. Let cool for 5 minutes and remove from the baking sheet.
- Store in a airtight container. Cereals will stay fresh for easily 1 month.
I absolutely love this recipe. For some reason – I never have thought to make my own cereal…and definitely am inspired to now!
Glad you like it 🙂
I’ve only ever made my own granola before, this is such a wonderful idea! I can imagine this being so good in vanilla almond milk! YUM!
It is absolutely delicious with almond milk!
This recipe looks like a perfect weekend activity 🙂
Let me know if you try it!
Hi thomas,
I’ve followed the instructions to bake, but my cereal turned out soft inside. Is this supposed be its texture?
Hi Kit,
I’m sorry to hear your cereals didn’t turn out as expected. These cereals are supposed to be crunchy, not soft inside.
The problem could be: 1) Your cereal balls were a little bit too big, so they require more than 12 minutes in the oven or 2) The oven temperature was not high enough, all ovens are different and you might have to adjust a little bit the baking time or temperature.
What you can do is take one cereal out of the oven at 12 minutes, let it cool one minute and taste it to see if it’s crunchy on the inside.
Hope this helps!
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for helping my crisis I have one more query- does the flour play a big role in determining whether the cereal is crunchy? For instance is using spelt flour crucial to get that crunchiness?
Actually i have another question : how do you use the knife to make the top flat? I tried but the the paste seems to adhere to the knife and just result in a pointed end. Like hersheys.
Thanks!
I just made another batch using all-purpose flour this time, you will need to add 2 tbsp more flour.
I also updated the recipe with baking time, 14 minutes seems to be the perfect time to get really crunchy cereals.
To prevent the paste to adhere when cutting, I recommend using a wet knife and run it under water every once in a while to clean it. I hope it helps, let me know if you try the recipe again!
What do you mean by cutting?
As you can see in the photos, I used a wet knife to cut small balls from the pastry bag since the dough is a little bit sticky.
Hi thomas,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I will definitely try again soon ( with the help)! Failure begets success!
This looks delicious, and surprisingly easy. Can’t wait to try 😀 One thing- at which stage do you add the canola oil?
Thanks! I edited the recipe, you stir in the oil after adding the almond milk.
I just stumbled across your site, it’s beautiful! So many things I’d like to make. Thank you for this cereal recipe, I can’t wait to try it! Please keep making and posting delicious recipes, we love it. <3
Hi. Can I make them oil-free? 😉 If Yes, do I have to substite it for something else ?
Hi,
I never tried but I think you should be able to remove the oil and add one additional tablespoon of almond milk. I guess they might be a little bit less crispy though.
Wow! Thank you for this recipe!
Something you to try, yeah!
Merci Marie 🙂
edit : something NEW to try!
Can I swap the brown sugar with sweetener? It will change the consistency of the batter?
It might change the consistency a bit, but it will change the taste even more. Brown sugar gives that caramelized flavor to the cereals.
Hello
Can the cereal made with any gluten free flour that you would recommend?
Maybe try with oat flour? I always used all-purpose flour so I can’t assure you the results.
I wanted to know if I could make my own cereal since my husband and I want to quit eating eggs for breakfast…they’re disgusting, and I want to be vegan…it’s the only thing standing in my way.
This is the first thing I’ve found and I’m totally excited about it.
Thank you so much.
I’ve quit eating sugar, so will need to get around that.
I’m sure you will like them! 🙂 Maybe try using coconut sugar for a healthier alternative!
Hello Thomas!
Can rye flour be used?
I’m not sure about that, I think rye flour will change the flavor and texture of the cereals. I would go for all-purpose if you don’t have access to spelt flour.
And what about whole wheat?
I made this PKU friendly by using low protein pku flour (Platypus Foods Baking mix), apple sauce and some coconut milk instead of the sugar and almond milk. It turned out really well. I will be trying it again with other fruit purees.
Thanks for sharing your tweaks Kelly!
can I replace brown sugar with date syrup?
I’m afraid it won’t work. Replacing a dry sugar with a liquid one will change the texture, the recipe would have to be reworked.
Hi
This recipe looks great !!
Can I use buckwheat flour or coconut flour?
What would I have to do different??
Could I use rice flour?
Hi Sarvana,
I doubt buckwheat or coconut flour will work here. I plan to update the recipe to make it gluten-free in the future but it needs to be fully reworked unfortunately.
Approximately how many servings/how many cups of cereal does this recipe make?
Do you know the calories per serving ?
Can you use coconut flour or almond flour to make this keto friendly
I’m afraid it won’t work, you won’t get the same crispy/crunchy texture. I have plans to update this recipe to make it gluten-free but keto-friendly might be difficult.
Thomas this is absolutely an excellent idea. Until now I could not find any decent puffed cereal that is really healthy in the Supermarket store. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. You should be publishing a cook book, for you are an highly talented Cooking Artist and a Food Developer. All your recipies are amazing.
Thanks Anna! I’m happy you like the recipes 🙂
Genius! My kids always want cereal and I am loathe to buy it because of all the undesirable ingredients. I’m definitely trying this!
Oh wow!
I live in Belgium where they have this product called ‘speculoos schuddebuikjes’ and it’s like lotus biscoff cookies in buns like these and I was right away addicted to them when I started to use it as a cereal (because of all the unhealthy sugars)
But now I will definitely try this healthy recipe as a replacer!
My life is getting to next level because of this blog. I don’t think people realize how important healthy TASTY food is in life!
My life would be boring without honestly 😀
Hi Salina,
Thanks for the kind words 🙂 I’m glad you like the recipes here and that it helps you!
I checked the “schuddebuikjes”, the packaging is pretty funny, they are using a milk box?!
Hello! I want to make this recipe ASAP but was wondering if you had any ideas on how to make it healthier. The only consolation I get from eating sugary processed storebought cereals is that it’s like taking a minor vitamin. Whole wheat flour sounds like a good idea. Think protein powder would ruin it? Or just enjoy it as a treat and maybe serve with nuts?
Hi Brandy,
I’m afraid adding protein powder will result in soft, not crunchy cereals. Plus the flavor won’t be as good.
Oh, okay. Should these feel crispy before I pull them from the oven, or will they crisp up as they cool?
They will crisp up as they cool 😉
Hi Thomas,
Just curious, why does the recipe call for baking powder and baking soda (without an acid to activate the baking soda)?Please let me know as I’m anxious to try the recipe but don’t want to waste any expensive ingredients. I have allergies and have limited safe items to use. Thank you so much!
Hi Janine,
The baking soda is activated with the sugar. I found a combination of both yielded the best results, the baking powder makes them lighter and the baking soda crunchier + helps them caramelize.
Wow they’re amazing. I just took them out of the oven half an hour ago and I’m afraid they won’t last long lol. they don’t get soggy or fall apart in milk and taste so good. I was too lazy to squeeze out small drops so they came out more like small cookies haha but no complains here! Next time I want to try making them with cocoa powder. Thanks for the great recipe !
Thanks Julia! Glad you liked the cereals (or cookies in your case :)!