With this easy Star Crunch Cookies recipe, you can prepare a delicious batch of no bake cookies with just seven ingredients and 20 minutes of your time. And since they are prepared fresh at home, they taste so much better than the store-bought version!
The classic Little Debbie snacks are made with a combination of crispy rice cereal, caramel and chocolate to create a sweet and crunchy cookie that is so much fun to eat. And the good news about this copycat recipe is that you only need a handful of ingredients to prepare it!
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Out of all the Little Debbie snack cakes, the Star Crunch was my favorite! They had the perfect texture and flavor and were always in our pantry for a quick snack. And a favorite homemade snack that my mom always made us were these Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.
This copycat Star Crunch recipe is great because it uses simple ingredients that are easy to find at your local grocery store. It's an easy treat that takes about 10 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cook time. That's it! No fancy ingredients or kitchen appliances needed.
If you are nostalgic for the flavors of the classic Star Crunch cookies we've got the best recipe for you below so that you can make them at home!
Ingredients
See printable recipe card below for all ingredients, specific measurements, and complete instructions.
To make your own Star Crunch cookies at home, you’ll need:
- Unsalted Butter - For best results use real butter and not margarine.
- Heavy Whipping Cream - Helps to thicken and provides creaminess to cookies.
- Caramel Bits - Kraft Baking Caramel Bits work great for easy melting.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - Provides the perfect amount of chocolate flavor for these cookies.
- Mini Marshmallows - Use mini marshmallows so they will melt and blend easier. The marshmallows give the cookies a gooey texture and helps keep them together.
- Crispy Rice Cereal - You can use the Rice Krispies brand, a generic version or Nature's Path Crispy Rice cereal.
Since there’s no baking involved in this recipe, it’s a quick and easy dessert that is so simple to prepare! All you need is a large pot and a few minutes of your time to make your own copycat cookies at home in a matter of minutes. Just follow these simple instructions to prepare your own cookies from scratch.
How To Make Star Crunch Cookies
Heat a large stock pot over medium low heat on the stovetop and add the butter.
Allow the butter to melt, then stir in the heavy whipping cream, caramel bits, and chocolate chips. Continue stirring until the chocolate and caramel are fully melted and well mixed.
Next, pour the mini marshmallows into the pot and stir to mix them with the chocolate and caramel. Continue cooking the mixture over low heat, stirring often, until the mini marshmallows are fully melted. Keep stirring until the marshmallows are mixed into the chocolate.
After that, add the salt and cereal to the pan and slowly fold the cereal pieces into the melted chocolate. Make sure to stir carefully to keep from crushing the cereal as you stir!
Once all the cereal is mixed into the melted chocolate and fully coated, use a ¼ cup to scoop the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Stir the mixture occasionally between scoops to keep the chocolate from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
Continue scooping until all the mixture has been formed into cookie shapes. Allow the cookies to cool and set for at least two hours at room temperature or transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for one hour before serving.
Recipe Tips
These no bake cookies are simple to make, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use a little bit of help as your baking! These tips and tricks will ensure your Little Debbie copycat cookies come out amazing the first time you bake them.
- Grease your measuring cup. The cookie mixture can get sticky since it’s made with caramel and marshmallows. So, if you’re having trouble keeping the cookies from sticking to your measuring cup as you are scooping, simply spray the cup with nonstick cooking spray. The spray will help the melted chocolate slide out of the cup quickly and easily.
- Grease the parchment paper. To keep the cookies from sticking to the parchment paper after they set and harden, it’s also a good idea to spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray. While you can skip this step and still have great results, the bottoms of the cookies are sometimes sticky, making it difficult to remove them from the baking sheet after the chocolate on top has hardened.
- Use a large cookie scoop. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup will result in fairly large cookies. If you want smaller cookies, simply use a large cookie scoop instead. The cookies will be smaller and will set faster than the larger cookies described in the recipe.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly before shaping. Your cookies should settle into a round shape on their own. But if they’re too lumpy, you can easily shape them with your fingers. For best results, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for around five minutes, then use your fingers to flatten and shape the cookies into a more uniform circle.
- Store them in the fridge. Depending on how humid your kitchen is, you may need to transfer the cookies to the refrigerator to fully set. If your chocolate is still soft and sticky after sitting at room temperature for two hours, place the cookies in the fridge to finish setting. Once the chocolate has hardened, the cookies are ready to eat.
How To Store
The chocolate and caramel in these cookies can soften easily if your home is on the warm side. So for best results, I recommend storing the cookies in the refrigerator.
Keep the cookies in an airtight container, placing a piece of parchment paper between layers to keep the cookies from sticking together. When stored in the refrigerator, the cookies will stay good for up 4 days.
Star Crunch Frequently Asked Questions
Once the top of the cookies have chilled and set you can flip the cookies over and allow the bottoms to firm up.
Gently press the top of the cookies down to flatten. Allow cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes, then if cookies are lumpy you can smooth and shape them with your fingers.
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I hope you enjoy these Star Crunch Cookies! If you try this recipe, please come back and rate it and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from you!
Star Crunch Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup caramel bits
- 10 ounce package mini marshmallows
- 6 cups crispy rice cereal
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large stock pot and heat over medium low heat.
- Allow the butter to melt, then stir in the heavy whipping cream, caramel bits, and chocolate chips. Continue stirring until the chocolate and caramel are fully melted and well mixed.
- Next, add the mini marshmallows into the pot and stir to mix them with the chocolate and caramel. Continue cooking the mixture over low heat, stirring often, until the mini marshmallows are fully melted and mixed into the chocolate.
- Add the salt and crispy rice cereal to the pan and slowly fold the cereal pieces into the melted chocolate.
- Use a ¼ measuring cup to scoop the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then lightly press the top of the cookies down to flatten. (Spray the measuring cup with nonstick cooking spray to prevent cookie mixture from sticking.)
- Transfer the pan to the refrigerator to chill and set for at least one hour before serving.