Fruity Pebble Cookies
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Fruity Pebble Cookies taste like childhood in cookie form! Just one bite immediately brings you back to memories as a kid.
After I made these Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cookies I knew I had to explore making more cereal cookies. ?
Nostalgia alert! Growing up, Fruity Pebbles cereal was reserved for weekend cereal in our house so I always looked forward to Saturday and Sunday. My brothers were always fans of cocoa pebbles (which I also love) but fruity pebbles have a special place in my heart.
It’s crunchy, colorful and a delicious cereal that made any morning a great morning and now you can enjoy it for dessert. #HeckYes
This recipe is made from the base of one of my most popular cookies: Funfetti Cookies. It’s essentially a downright delicious sugar cookie with vanilla pudding mix and fruity pebbles candy bar. You literally won’t be able to just take one bite!
- Studded with tons fruity pebble cereal, because how fun is that?!
- No chill cookies, because well…we ain’t got time for that!
- Gooey, soft and best slightly under baked.
- Easy to make
- Fun for parties
- Begging for you to make them!
Ingredient Notes:
You can scroll down to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
In addition to flour, baking soda and vanilla extract, this recipe has some of stand out ingredients:
- Vanilla Pudding Mix: I’ve been adding pudding mix to my cookie recipes lately and it makes them so soft and yummy!
- Cake flour: Cake flour is finer, softer and lighter than All-Purpose Flour and I find using a mix of both cake flour and All-Purpose results in the perfect cookie. You can find cake flour in most grocery stores, usually on the top shelf. If you don’t have cake flour you can still make these cookies, just replace it with All-Purpose flour.
- Fruity Pebbles Candy Bar: you can find these at Walmart or larger supermarket stores or online. If you can’t find them, using white chocolate chips is a great substitution. They taste like a cereal and milk cookie when adding the white chocolate!
- Corn Starch: Cornstarch is key to giving cookies that delectably soft center that’s just to die for. It also helps to keep the cookies thick and GIANT!
- Adding extra egg yolks: Another way to promise a super chewy cookie is to use extra egg yolks! The extra egg yolks add richness, soft tenderness, and binds the dough.
- Unsalted butter: I use cold, unsalted butter in my recipes. No need to let it soften to room temperature.
Step by Step Directions:
The process is very similar to my famous chocolate chip cookie and snickerdoodle cookie recipe. So if you have that down, you’ll be a pro at these. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe instructions.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: All-Purpose flour, cake flour, pudding mix, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar.
- Then add egg and vanilla. Scrape sides of the large bowl as needed.
- Gradually add in the dry ingredients, followed by the fruity pebbles and chopped up candy bars.
- Shape dough into ~7-8 large dough balls, roll in extra fruity pebble cereal, place on prepared baking sheet and bake for ~9-11 minutes or until the edges look slightly golden.
- Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Tips and Tricks:
- A lot of people think the cookies aren’t fully cooked or done. My tip is to let the cookies rest. If your cookies are turning out too gooey, let them rest longer. I recommend at least 15 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. They are even better if you let them sit and enjoy the next day. Your cookies aren’t ruined, just let them rest!
- Spoon and Level: Make sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife instead of scooping the flour with your measuring cup.
- You can make the cookies smaller. Adjust baking time as needed.
- You can make homemade cake flour if you can’t find it in stores. Homemade cake flour: 14 Tbsp. All-purpose flour and 2 Tbsp. corn starch. Mix these together and sift them twice to get them fully mixed and aerated. This will make ~1 cup flour. You only need 3/4 cup for this recipe.
- Gluten free option: Replace both the All-Purpose flour and Cake flour with: Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
FAQ
What if I don’t have a stand mixer?
Using a hand mixer will work just fine!
Your cookies may need a little more flour. Try adding in a few extra tablespoons to see if that fixes the issue. Also, are you baking your cookies on a greased cookie sheet? Sometimes that causes cookies to spread. Try using a Silpat mat or parchment paper instead.
Yes, freeze them once they have cooled in a Ziplock baggie, Stasher bag, or freezer friendly container. They will freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, I like to leave them out on the counter for 30-60 minutes.
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Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 (3.4 oz.) box Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed, cold (16 Tbsp.)
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cup fruity pebbles, divided
- 4, (2.75 oz. candy bars) Fruity Pebble Candy Bars, King Size*
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat and set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: All-Purpose flour, cake flour, pudding mix, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups cake flour, 1 (3.4 oz.) box Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix, 2 tsp. cornstarch, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt
- Chop up the fruity pebble candy bars into chunks. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Then add in the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Scrape sides of the large bowl as needed.1 cup unsalted butter, cubed, cold (16 Tbsp.), 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 large egg yolks, 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- Turn the mixer to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients, followed by 1 cup of fruity pebbles and chopped up candy bars. Mix just until ingredients are combined.2 1/2 cup fruity pebbles, divided, 4, (2.75 oz. candy bars) Fruity Pebble Candy Bars, King Size*
- Shape dough into ~8 large dough balls. Pour remaining fruity pebble cereal in a shallow bowl or dish and roll cookies in the cereal, slightly pressing cereal into the dough.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for ~10-12 minutes or until the edges look slightly golden.
- Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- If you can’t find the fruity pebble candy bars, add 2 cups white chocolate chips.
- These cookies stay soft for several days when properly stored in an airtight container or baggie.
- You can make cookies smaller. Adjust baking time as needed.
- You can also freeze them in a freezer safe baggie. Let them cool completely before freezing.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
I know you give gluten friendly options on a lot of your cookies. Which I really appreciate!!! Do you think this would work with the 1:1 flour? Thank you so very much!
I am sure it will! 🙂 I haven’t personally tested but it’s usually a reliable swap!
Do you think these would be good with brown sugar also. I love all of your other large cookies that use a mix of both.
Thank you Sarah! You could try 🙂 I based this recipe off of: https://krollskorner.com/recipes/desserts/funfetti-cookie-recipe/ so that’s why it has all granulated sugar.
Thank you! I can’t wait to try them! How many ounces would recommend to weigh out the dough?
Excited to hear what you think! 🙂 Try 4-5 oz.
Should I let the cookie dough cool in the fridge first?
It’s not necessary for the dough to be chilled 🙂
Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted and just skip the 1tsp of salt in recipe?
Also, Recipe notes says if no cake flour to use regular flour but then you explain how to make cake flour. Can I use regular flour or should I make my own cake flour?
Dying to make these but don’t have unsalted butter or cake flour ?
Great questions!! You can use salted butter and skip the salt, yes 🙂 and you can use all purpose flour and they’ll turn out fine. In most of my big, thick, giant cookie recipes i call for cake flour because it lends to a (you guessed it) cakier texture. But using all all purpose is totally fine too 🙂 cant wait to hear what you think!!
Will the fruity pebbles stay crunchy after couple days in an air tight container?
Hi Celeste! I think these are best the day of/next day. They do start to get a little soft chewy after a few days but nothing terrible!
Hello, greetings from Chile! Your recipes are excellent, here I can’t get the vanilla pudding mixture. I can’t add it and make the recipe.?
Hi! Thank you so much. You can leave it and it might be fine, but I haven’t tested it that way. Flavor will be a little different but I think they should still turn out! – Tawnie
I love all your recipes but I have a lot of friends that want flatter, but still soft cookies. Can I do less flour or less cornstarch and maybe they would spread a little bit better and not be as dense?
Hi Shellie! Totally understand. My husband loves a thin soft cookie too so I’ve actually been planning on making new recipes that are thin/chewy. You could try that, yes or even try flattening them out with your hand a bit? I’m not sure it will work 100%, since I tested the recipe to be thick! So sorry. xo, Tawnie
I actually tried half the corn starch last night and they turned out wonderfully!
Oh, perfect! I’m so glad 🙂
My husband and I were shocked by this one! We wouldn’t normally eat Fruity Pebbles, and we are not huge on white chocolate, but in this cookie, it all works! This has become one of our favorite Kroll’s cookies! (I was going to order the fruity pebble bars from Walmart, but found them at Cracker Barrel of all places. Both were cheaper than Amazon.)
EMILY! Thank you so much for all of these wonderful cookie reviews. It truly means a lot to me. So glad you enjoy these cookies and good to know about the fruity pebbles bar!! 🙂 xo, Tawnie
Can can these cookies be made omitting all chocolate? I would just like the cookies without chocolate. Would anything else need to be added to supplement?
Hi Crystal! I haven’t made these without the chocolate so I can’t 100% confirm if it would work. I’m trying to think of something else to add in but nuts or something I don’t think would be tasty haha. Ah, I’m sorry! If you make them without please let me know how they turn out 🙂 xo, Tawnie
Can these
How did you get yours so perfectly shaped????
Amazing!!! I used white chocolate chips because I couldn’t find the bars but they turned out delicious. Even got my roommate who doesn’t like desserts to give it a try and got two thumbs up!
Oh my gooodnesss YAY! Thank you so much Megan! So glad you enjoyed <3 xo, Tawnie
This is such a fun and delicious cookie to make! The kids couldn’t get enough!