Chocolate Chip Jumbles

This is a recipe that my mom found in the Chicago Tribune, as part of their annual Good Eating Holiday Cookie Contest, in 2007. Shockingly enough, this wasn’t the winner, or even the runner up. These cookies, the “Crispy Chocolate Jumbles”, were created by Michael Reinhart in 2003 as a tribute to his late mother. As soon as my mom tried this recipe, she clipped the newspaper article and kept it carefully pressed in a binder sleeve, though it’s mostly symbolic now since the whole family mostly has it memorized.

This is one of few recipes that has never disappointed anyone who has ever tried it, as far as I know. These are incredibly simple and still delicious; the rice krispies are such a small but impactful addition to the otherwise traditional chocolate chip cookies. I hope you have fun making them (if you wish) and find them as awesome as I do.

It makes around 18 cookies but that number is pretty variable depending on your ideal cookie size.

Ingredients

• 1 stick (0.5 cup) of salted butter
• 1 cup of white granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1.25 cups of all-purpose flour
• 0.5 teaspoon of baking soda
• 0.125 teaspoon of salt
• 2 cups of rice krispies
• 2 cups of chocolate chips (maximum)
• cranberries, M&Ms, peanuts, or other add-ins can also be incorporated if you like

These amounts can we tweaked based on your preference (ex. if you like cookies more spread out and like a more caramelized effect on the sugar, add more baking soda). Additionally, 2 cups of chocolate chips is a lot and the dough doesn’t come together super easily when using this much.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Soften the butter (about room temperature) and break it up.
3. Add in the sugar and mix it to make it homogeneous.
4. Add the egg and the vanilla simultaneously and then mix them in.
5. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt simultaneous, and then mix it.
6. Add 1 cup of rice krispies and combine, but gently so as to not crush the cereal.
7. Add the second cup of rice krispies and mix.
8. Add your desired amount of chocolate chips (and other ingredients if applicable).
9. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
10. Use a spoon or a cookie scoop and place the dough balls on the sheet, around 2 inches apart.
11. Bake the cookies for 11 minutes, then check on them. If the centers are still semi liquid, then put them in for another 3 minutes.
12. Cool on a baking rack. Enjoy!

Final product

back to index