Crunchy Jumble Cookies

Nana's Crunchy Jumbles are a long standing family favorite cookie. This recipe for simple old-fashioned cookies made chewy, crunchy, and sweet with crisp rice cereal and raisins comes from my 92-year-old grandmother, Nana.

Nana got the recipe for Crunchy Jumble Cookies from her sister-in-law, my great-aunt Esther, decades ago and still makes them every now and again. How I hope I'm still baking homemade cookies when I am in my 90s!

Nana passed this cookie recipe written in Aunt Esther's distinctive hand on a spattered recipe card to me the last time we were together. So much more than a great cookie recipe, it's a cherished piece of my family's cookie baking history.

There is something so sweet and satisfying about baking cookies and sharing old family recipes, I hope to continue doing it forever.

You can use whatever kind of crisp rice cereal you like best. I like Special K, but Rice Crispies work well and I've even made Crunchy Jumble Cookies with organic crisp brown rice cereal when that was all that was available in the pantry.

Nana's Crunchy Jumble Cookies Recipe

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups Rice Krispies or Special K
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets or line them with parchment. (My cookies turn out better since I switched to parchment years ago.)
In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt until well blended and then set aside.
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium high until light and creamy, several minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until creamy.
Add the flour mixture and beat with the mixer on slow speed just until blended.
Stir in the Rice Crispies and raisins with a wooden spoon until distributed throughout the cookie dough.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden and set around the edges.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 1 to 2 minutes and then transfer them with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely. (Or enjoy warm)

This recipe yields about 48 Crunchy Jumble Cookies.