Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal

About

Get a blast from the past with this Keto-friendly version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Originally invented in the ’80s, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is an iconic cereal that kids (and adults) still recognize today and love. You can have a Keto breakfast with little bites of freshly-baked cinnamon pieces that flavor the non-dairy milk they float in too. You may notice the prep time for this recipe is a little lengthy. The good news is most of that prep time is time spent chilling the dough in your refrigerator or freezer, so there’s no sweat you’re breaking. The other good news is that you can make batches of this Keto cereal recipe in advance and store the ready-made pieces in your freezer. Then, you simply have to pull out a serving and bake when you’re ready to eat.

Why Can’t I Use Regular Dairy Milk?

For those of us born before the year 2000, we know all-too-well what a craving for a glass of ice-cold, full-fat milk feels like. When you grow up drinking the stuff, it can be hard to kick the desire no matter how many grossed out faces the younger generations give you! As tempting as it may be to pour regular dairy milk into your cereal bowl, you might want to think of an alternative milk product. Small amounts of full-fat dairy can be very beneficial on the Keto diet. Butter and heavy cream add loads of fat in small portions. However, whole milk has about 12g carbs per 8-oz glass. So start your day off right by filling your cereal bowl with almond, coconut, or oat milk! You’re doing both your body and the environment a favor in the long run.

Fun Kid’s Cereal Fact:

Ever notice all the fun characters on children’s cereal boxes seem to share facial features? Wide eyes, that eerie side-glance, and the boxes always seem to be placed lower on the shelves. Despite the parents usually being the one buying the cereal, the cereal companies are actually marketing to the kids! It’s not just the commercials that get marketed to your kid. Companies design the characters on cereal boxes to make them appear as if they’re looking directly at the kids in your grocery cart or even following them with their eyes. Mom or dad is more likely to pass a row of colorful cereal boxes, but with the boxes at eye-level of the child, mom or dad will be more likely to succumb to the pressures of buying the cereal for their begging child. Don’t hate the player, hate the game!

Ingredients

2 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoon the ultimate icing sugar replacement by swerve
1 large raw egg
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp, ground flaxseeds or flax seeds whole or ground
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon the ultimate icing sugar replacement by swerve
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

Make the dough for the cereal at least 4 hours before you wish to bake it. You may also prepare the dough one day or multiple days in advance. To make the Keto cinnamon toast crunch cereal dough, cream the first amount of butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on high speed until you have a soft, lump-free butter. Blend the swerve into the butter, followed by the egg after the swerve and butter cream together. In a small mixing bowl, sift together the almond flour, flax, cinnamon, baking soda, and a pinch of salt. On a low speed, mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until you have a sticky dough.
Use a spatula to scrape down your bowl as you mix. You may need to stop your mixer and scrape multiple times to ensure a consistent dough. Once the dough is mixed together, transfer it to plastic wrap. Flatten the dough into a thin rectangle shape and wrap air-tight in the plastic. Chill the dough for at least 4 hours in your refrigerator or leave it there overnight. When it’s time to make the cereal pieces, check the texture of the dough. If it hardened, bring it out to soften just enough for rolling. Otherwise, the dough should be soft and chilled for rolling.
Roll out the cereal dough between two pieces of parchment paper into a ¼-inch thick rectangle. Try to keep the dough as close to a rectangle as possible. However, if the edges round out, simply use a paring knife to trim the edges. Once rolled, use a ruler and either a paring knife or pizza cutter to cut ½-inch X 1-inch pieces in the dough. Leave all the pieces on the parchment paper with the sliced lines visible. Lift the parchment paper onto a sheet tray and set the tray in your freezer for 10-15 minutes until completely hardened. At this point, you can store the frozen, raw cereal in a container in your freezer for any time you are ready to bake it. Otherwise, continue on to Step 4.
While the cereal is freezing, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the cinnamon butter topping by melting the final amount of butter and whisking in the remaining Swerve and cinnamon. If you wish to personalize your recipe, you can choose other baking spices that would complement the cinnamon flavor of the cereal. Suggestions for this are nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, or a pinch of dry ground ginger. Set this topping aside for Step 5. If the butter solidifies, simply reheat it in your microwave.
Pull the tray of frozen cereal from your freezer. Quickly use your fingers to break apart the pieces from the sliced lines you made. Arrange the cereal so all the pieces are spread out across your sheet tray. It’s okay if the corners of the pieces are gently touching, but they cannot overlap or they will bake together in the oven. Use a marinade or pastry brush to gently dab the butter topping over the frozen cereal pieces. No need to spread – just gently dap the brush over the delicate cinnamon toast crunch. If the cereal becomes soft, set the tray in your refrigerator to chill another 5 minutes.
Bake the cereal for 12-15 minutes. During the final few minutes of baking, gently toss or rearrange the cereal so the pieces on the outer edges of the tray don’t burn. Watch for the cereal to turn a darker golden brown, but don’t allow it to transition to fully burnt. The pieces will be slightly soft still when you take them out of the oven. Allow the cereal to cool completely before eating or storing for later. Serve a ½-cup cereal in your favorite Keto milk substitute. Almond milk, coconut milk, and oat milk are all delicious for Keto cinnamon toast crunch!