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Some recipes are worth keeping simply because they remind you of the people who made them. These old-fashioned Crunchy Jumble Cookies are one of those recipes for me.
My grandmother—Nana—made these simple cookies for years, and they’re every bit as good today as I remember. Lightly crisp around the edges with plenty of crunch from Rice Krispies and little bursts of sweetness from raisins, they’re a fun change from the usual oatmeal or chocolate chip cookie.
Made with everyday pantry ingredients, they’re easy to mix together and perfect with a cup of coffee, tea, or a cold glass of milk.
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- A treasured vintage family recipe
- Crisp, light texture with plenty of crunch
- Made with simple pantry ingredients
- No fancy equipment required
- Great for lunchboxes, cookie tins, and holiday baking
- Freezes beautifully
Ingredients & Notes
- All-purpose flour – Gives the cookies structure.
- Baking soda – Helps create their light, crisp texture.
- Salt – Balances the sweetness.
- Butter – Adds rich flavor.
- Granulated sugar – Sweetens while helping create the cookies’ signature crispness.
- Egg – Binds everything together.
- Vanilla extract – Adds warm flavor.
- Rice Krispies cereal – The secret ingredient that gives these cookies their delightful crunch.
- Raisins – Add chewy little bites of sweetness throughout the cookies.
How to Make these Crunchy Jumble Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350F. 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 (affiliate link) combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer (affiliate link) until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- Blend in the flour mixture.
- Stir in the rice crispies and raisins.
- Drop by teaspoons onto the prepared pans.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes and then transfer them with a spatula to a rack to cool completely. (Or enjoy warm)
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overbake. The cookies continue to crisp as they cool.
- Parchment paper makes cleanup easy and helps the cookies bake evenly.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before storing so they stay crisp.
- For evenly sized cookies, use a small cookie scoop (affiliate link).
Recipe Variations
These old-fashioned cookies are easy to adapt based on what you have in the pantry.
- No Rice Krispies? Substitute slightly crushed Special K cereal for a similar light, crisp texture.
- Swap the dried fruit. Replace the raisins with dried cranberries, chopped dried cherries, or golden raisins.
- Add nuts. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts for extra crunch and flavor.
- Make them chocolatey. Fold in a handful of mini chocolate chips for a fun twist.
- Add warm spice. Mix 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon into the dry ingredients or sprinkle the tops with a little cinnamon sugar before baking.
- Try a holiday version. Use dried cranberries and chopped pecans for a festive cookie that’s perfect for cookie trays and gift tins.
How Many Calories and WW Points?
You should get about 48 crunchy jumbles from a batch. Each 2-cookie serving has about 120 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
3 PointsPlus (Old plan)
If you’ve made these Old-Fashioned Crispy Jumble Cookies, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Nana’s Crunchy Jumble Cookies Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cups 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 crispies
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. 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 (affiliate link) combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer (affiliate link) until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.
- Blend in the flour mixture.
- Stir in the rice crispies and raisins.
- Drop by teaspoons onto the prepared pans.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes and then transfer them with a spatula to a rack to cool completely. (Or enjoy warm)
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 3 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Recipe Variations
These old-fashioned cookies are easy to adapt based on what you have in the pantry.- No Rice Krispies? Substitute slightly crushed Special K cereal for a similar light, crisp texture.
- Swap the dried fruit. Replace the raisins with dried cranberries, chopped dried cherries, or golden raisins.
- Add nuts. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts for extra crunch and flavor.
- Make them chocolatey. Fold in a handful of mini chocolate chips for a fun twist.
- Add warm spice. Mix 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon into the dry ingredients or sprinkle the tops with a little cinnamon sugar before baking.
- Try a holiday version. Use dried cranberries and chopped pecans for a festive cookie that’s perfect for cookie trays and gift tins.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was on the back of a 6 ounce bag of Nestle’s semisweet chocolate chips in the 1950’s. It was one of my favorites and ironically I found a bag with the recipe on it when cleaning out my mother’s hutch. Rice Krispies now has it on their website.
HELLO MARTHA,
IT’S SUNDAY, WE’VE JUST GOTTEN IN FROM CHURCH. PETE INSTRUCTED ME LAST NIGHT ON HOW TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO ‘FIND’ THINGS ON THE WEB; SO TODAY, WE HAVE DONE SO! JUST ENJOYED A SLIDESHOW OF 20+ PICS OF HIS NEW PALM SPRNGS RETREAT — IT’S BEAUTIFUL!! THEN, WE MOVED RIGHT ON TO YOUR WEBSITE AND FOUND AUNT ESTHER’S COOKIES! WE READ THE WHOLE THING; AND WE’RE PROUD OF YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!
HAVE DINNER IN THE OVER; AND HOPE TO TALK TO YOU LATER.
LOVE YA,
MOM & NANA