Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal

Oat flour – the main grain used in the base of the dough. This oat flour from Bob’s Red Mill has been tested for gluten by an ELISA assay, for those who are extremely allergic to gluten. Or you can always make your own by grinding whole oats in the blender at home!

Flax meal – ground flaxseeds will gel when they combine with water, behaving similarly to egg whites. These are important for creating a structured dough. They’re also a great vegan source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Almond meal – this adds both depth to the flavor and interest to the texture of the cereal dough. It’s the only lipid in this recipe – we don’t need much fat because we’re aiming for a dry, crunchy texture.

Coconut sugar – to avoid using too much refined sugar and to bring out a more complex, nutty flavor in the cereal dough. Here’s a link to order my favorite brand of coconut sugar!

Aquafaba – we’ll use this ingredient twice. First, to help bind the cereal dough together and second, to brush the top of the dough to help the cinnamon sugar topping stick.

Cinnamon – we can’t make cinnamon crunch cereal without cinnamon!

White sugar – we’ll use white sugar for the cinnamon sugar topping. I love Anthony’s Organic because it’s 100% vegan, gluten free and organic!

Salt – to bring out the sweetness and nutty flavors

Water – to moisten and seal the dough together

1. Cinnamon – in the US, there are two main varieties of cinnamon: saigon and ceylon. If possible, opt for saigon in this recipe. Use this link to get my favorite organic saigon cinnamon from Amazon. There’s a nuance to the fragrance that makes it discernable from ceylon. Most of the time you’ll only see the word cinnamon on the label. Check the ingredients label on the back, sometimes the manufacturer will specify the variety there.
2. Fresh ground flax – the longer ground flax seeds are left to sit, the faster the nutrient content deteriorates. the best option is to grind them fresh at home, if you have the time. I find that a coffee grinder works best with flax seeds and small batches of oats to achieve a fine, consistent flour. Here’s a link to my go-to coffee grinder.
3. Aquafaba – make sure to use aquafaba from a can of no salt added chickpeas to save yourself a ton of unnecessary sodium.
4. Order of operations – brush and coat the dough in cinnamon sugar before slicing into small squares – this will make the process much easier, promise!
5. Rolling the dough – use parchment paper beneath the dough as you roll it out! This step will make it much easier to transfer the cereal squares to the baking sheet. Although it might be tempting, I do not recommend cutting the dough into cereal squares directly on the baking tray – the pieces need to be spread out as much as possible in order to achieve the ideal crunchy texture. If you cut them directly on the sheet, they won’t have enough breathing room to crisp up, and you risk having a giant, chewy slab of cereal dough. I love my rolling pin with measuring attachments – it’s been such a game changer! Get it online here.