Pillsbury Bake-Off Countdown: Cinnamon Crunch Cookies

Note: the Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming in November! Check out my coverage of the 45th and 46th Bake-Off, and follow the recipes posted so far by clicking the bakeoff tag below.

Hooray! A Bake-Off entry from my home state of New Jersey! Donna Scarano of East Hanover, New Jersey, has come up with a recipe which amazes me with its inclusion of a clever ingredient: crushed cheerios!

Cinnamon Crunch Cookies

• Prep Time: 20 Min
• Total Time: 1 Hr 10 Min
• Makes: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 3/4 cup Cheerios cereal, finely crushed
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Add remaining ingredients except powdered sugar. Mix with wooden spoon, or knead with hands until well blended. Shape dough into 24 (1 1/2-inch) balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
3. Bake 12 to 18 minutes or until tops are set. Cool 5 minutes. In small bowl, place powdered sugar; roll cookies in powdered sugar to coat. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 15 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar again. Store loosely covered.