We made cereal! The Kidlet got a school project to design a cereal box. Making the actual cereal wasn't part of the project, but I thought it would be a fun add-on. And I gotta say, it's been pretty cool and satisfying to see it come together. Exhausting, but fun!

The cereal as designed is meant to be in the shape of various Pokémon and cats, but we didn't have the necessary skills, tools, or patience to do that. We just made Os and balls instead.

Getting the moisture content just right is a bit tricky, but I'm pretty pleased with our results as a first pass. Our strawberry mixture ended up slightly on the dry side, so I've specified one extra strawberry in the recipe below. The apple mixture was slightly wet, so I've specified slightly less applesauce. I think using a mix of applesauce and apple cider would provide even better apple flavour, but I'd want to do a bit more experimentation before committing to that path.

One final note: I had intended to make these with ground up freeze-dried fruit. However, I couldn't find freeze-dried apples or strawberries on the Bulk Barn website (even though I've bought both there in the past). Rather than abandonning the project, I decided to try cooking down non-dried forms of the fruit instead. I figured this would serve to both concentrate the flavour and reduce the moister and prevent the dough from being too wet. As noted, getting this just right is a bit difficult, but I think it worked out pretty well overall!

Meowth Munchies

Adapted from Appliances Reviewed

Ingredients

Chocolate

• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. brown rice flour
• 1/4 c. Dutched cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. honey (or brown rice syrup)
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 large egg white

Strawberry

• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. cornmeal
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 8 whole strawberries, hulled
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 large egg white

Apple

• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. oat flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 5/8 c. unsweetened applesauce¹
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2 large egg white

Assembly

• 1/4 batch Cereal Marshmallows

Directions

Chocolate

1. Combine flours, cocoa, and salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate container, combine butter, honey, milk, vanilla, and egg white.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix well to form a fairly dry dough.
4. Form dough into desired shapes. (Balls or Os² work well.)
5. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20-30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 15-20 minutes.

Strawberry

1. Combine flours and salt in a bowl.
2. Place strawberries, butter, and sugar in a pot over medium-low heat.
3. Cook until strawberries soften.
4. Mash strawberries and continue cooking until a thick, jam-like consistency is achieved.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
6. Stir in vanilla and egg white.
7. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine and form a fairly dry dough.
8. Form into desired shapes.
9. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20-30 minutes.

Apple

1. Combine flours, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.
2. Place applesauce, butter, and sugar in a pot over medium-low heat.
3. Cook until mixture thickens and seems less wet and more sticky.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
5. Stir in egg white.
6. Add apple mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine and form a fairly dry dough.
7. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20-30 minutes.

Assembly

1. Combine all three batches of cereal with the marshmallows and toss to mix.
2. Serve with milk.

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¹ Consider replacing this with 1/2 c. applesauce + 1/2 c. apple cider next time. It will need to be cooked for longer but may offer better apple flavour. ^Back
2 You can make Os by flattening balls and then poking a chopstick through the centre to make the hole. ^Back