Take a moment to remember Saturday cartoons
Do you remember being a kid and waking up super early on Saturday mornings to sneak watching Saturday cartoons before anyone else woke up? (Mom, don’t read this, I never did anything before you were awake). These cartoons were always different than the ones that played during the week.
Maybe it was because I didn’t have to go to school after eating my breakfast, maybe it was because I could play games while my mom was still sleeping. I can still remember slowly pouring out lego bricks onto the floor thinking that I was being quiet. It was not quiet at all. Once I heard my name being called and told to be quiet, I would just dump them all at once, which was way louder, whoops.
We all have some form of early childhood memories related to sugary cereals and the surprising amount of commercials associated with them. And because we were children, we would do fun things like mix all different flavors together.
Kind of like when we found out that we could mix the sodas at the soda fountain. My personal favorite was sprite, orange soda, and HI-C if you can remember that last one. Sorry, getting distracted again.
The Childish Idea
So thinking about these old memories, I decided to mix up some cereals in my favorite cookies! There were a few versions before this one. I tried Apple Jacks and Cocoa Crispies, Fruit Loops and Cocoa Crispies, and then I tried just Trix alone. They were all good, but didn’t quite give that feeling I was searching for. So I finally tried Cocoa Puffs and Trix because of a box deal at Costco. And It was a great match!
There it was, that flashback to Lego building and cartoon watching on a Saturday morning. Being up as early as possible so as not to miss the first ones. This usually meant that I was watching the end of the Andy Dick show, but that just gave me time to set up my new creations.
When I shared these cookies with impartial members (aka the people Kelly and I work with) they all immediate looked back at me and said “How the F*** did you just take me back 20 years to Saturday mornings eating a bowl of sugary goodness watching Saturday Morning Cartoons.” This is my gift to you.
The New Saturday Cartoons Cookie
And so I give to you, the final version (for now, because I am always modifying) of Saturday morning cartoon cookies! I hope that they do for you what they did for me. Everyone deserves a little nostalgia in their lives to bring back an easier time in life before all of the bills and all the responsibilities on a Saturday morning and “Adulting.”
So I implore you to make these and curl up in front of some good old cartoons or anything that just creates joy in your life, and maybe buy a small Lego set to enjoy them with. Also, share that joy with others. We all need something to smile about!
A Note on Baking
Baking has an odd stigma around it that I think is continued through people that cook. Many think that baking is scientific and specific. Well, it is scientific, but it is almost exactly as loose as cooking too. You just need the basics and from there you just have fun. From this, you need to be exact in your temperature when baking. Use an oven thermometer every time you use your oven. Not all ovens are exact. Especially as it gets older.
On to the Cookies!
Now first, you need some equipment. A Kitchen Aid stand mixer is the best mixer in my opinion because they are reliable and last a very long time. You will also need a rubber spatula, a baking tray, a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, and a cookie scoop is very useful.
Ingredients
Time to set up our mis en place! That means we need to have everything set up and ready to go into our bake. Learn more about it here. Let’s start with our wet ingredients.
In baking, wet ingredients are often separated mixed and then joined back together. We will follow the same procedure for this recipe! You will need unsalted butter, white sugar, light brown sugar, 1 Large Egg, orange extract. Yes, I know these are not all wet, but they get mixed together and make a wet mixture.
Next, the dry ingredients. You need All purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, milk powder, salt, and the best part: fruit loops and coco puffs.
Time to Bake
First, start by moving your baking rack to the middle of the oven and preheating your oven to 375°F. Next, line your sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper (Never use wax paper!).
In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the 16 tbsp. of unsalted butter, 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of white sugar. With the paddle attachment on, cream ingredients together on medium-high for 4 minutes. Yes I know that there is a lot of butter, but ooh they are so good!
Back to business, after the sugar and butter are creamed together, scrape down the sides of your bowl, to ensure full mixture.
Now, add the egg, and orange extract. Mix for 4 more minutes on medium-high.
The Dry Ingredients
While this is mixing, in a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp. milk powder, 1 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 baking soda, and 1/2 baking powder. This helps break down possible clumps in the flour and makes sure that all dry ingredients are distributed evenly.
Now that the “wet” ingredients have been thorough combined, add a small portion of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl. I recommend the mixer be off when you do this, otherwise the flour will go everywhere. Turn back on to a low speed and when combine, repeat the process until all ingredients are just combined. Should take about 20 to 30 seconds.
Slowly add the cereals and mix on low speed until just combined. This will take maybe about 10 seconds.
Using your cookie scoop (or a 1/4 cup measuring cup), scoop the dough onto the prepared baking pan 2 to 3 inches apart. Flatten the domed tops with your hand.
Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Once finished, let the cookies cool off on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
Enjoy with some real Saturday cartoons!
Sit back and enjoy alone or with others! I won’t judge you if you eat the whole batch watching Tom & Jerry, but it is really fun to share them with friends and see their reactions.
Saturday morning cartoons
Equipment
- 1 Baking sheet tray
- 1 Silicone baking mat Parchment paper works well too (not wax paper!)
- 1 Cookie scoop optional
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 16 Tbsp Unsalted butter 226g
- 1/2 cup White sugar 110g
- 1/2 cup Light brown sugar 130g
- 1 Large Egg
- 1/2 tsp Orange extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups All purpose flour 310g
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 2 Tbsp Milk powder
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup Fruit loops 35g
- 1 cup Cocoa puffs 35g
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°f and move your baking rack to the middle of the oven. Line your sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment on, cream together your butter, light brown sugar, and white sugar on medium-high for 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of your bowl, add the egg, and orange extract and mix for 4 more minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, milk powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. This helps break down possible clumps in the flour and makes sure that all dry ingredients are distributed evenly. Add the flour mixture a little at a time while on low speed until all ingredients are just combined. About 20 seconds.
- Now slowly add the cereal as a mix on low speed until just combined. about 10 seconds.
- Using your cookie scoop (or a 1/4 cup measuring cup), scoop the dough onto the prepared baking pan 2 to 3 inches apart. Flatten the domed tops with your hand.
- Bake at 375°f for 10 minutes or until lightly brown.
- Once finished, let the cookies cool off on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
- Enjoy alone or with others!
A Note on Presentation
I will also add, these cookies are not designed to look perfect. They are not meant to be the most photogenic thing that you have ever seen. They are meant to be like something that your grandma or mom may have made. Loaded with butter so they lay out flatter and have the health benefits that sugary cereal does. Their purpose is solely for that flashback wow moment.