Bonnie Donaldson's Ranger Cookies

Bonnie Donaldson's Ranger Cookies is an old recipe from Gourmet. It originally appeared in their Letters to Gourmet section. What's interesting about Bonnie's Rangers is they are made with Special K rather than Rice Krispies. At least I thought that was interesting 15 years ago when I found this recipe. Since then I've posted so many recipes for Ranger Cookies that I made need to go back and curate the collection a bit.

As you can see, Bonnie Donaldson's Ranger Cookies recipe needs a new photo! I'll update it as soon as I get a box of Special K. The reality is I probably made Rangers to use up some Special K. If you have a great picture of Bonnie Donaldson's Rangers and want to share it, let me know.

Shortening in Ranger Cookies

One thing to note about this recipe is that it calls for a cup of vegetable shortening instead of butter. If you are opposed to shortening you can use any number of substitutes. If you're okay with shortening, you might want to try the recipe as written or use half shortening and half butter.

Special K and Teeth

This recipe needs a new photo and I still haven't added one because I've had some unpleasant experiences with Special K. There are little hardened chunks that get stuck in teeth. Even when the cereal softens, the chunks stay hard. I'm not sure how to get around the issue other than using a different cereal, but the Special K is what makes these Rangers unique.

New Photo

Well, I gave in and bought more Special K just to make these again and take some new photos. The cereal didn't bother me too much in the cookies (no teeth sticking) so I'm glad I tried them again with the Special K. I also used 100% shortening, but the "healthier" kind called Spectrum which seems to work as well as Crisco.

• Bonnie's Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
• Butterscotch Rangers
• Scratch Neapolitan Layer Cake
• Corn Chex Ranger Cookies
• Special K Cookies

Recipe

Bonnie Donaldson's Rangers

Anna

Special K makes these Rangers unique.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Cooling Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 42 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 48

Ingredients

 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 270 grams
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable shortening 190 grams
• 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar 200 grams
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 2 cups Special K cereal
• 12 ounce bag milk-chocolate chips
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Sift or just thoroughly stir together flour, baking soda and powder, and salt.
• With an electric mixer, beat together shortening, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Add the flour mixture and stir until blended, then stir in oats, cereal, chips, and coconut.
• Drop rounded tablespoons of batter 2 ½ inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.
• Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 1 minute, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Keyword Bonnie Donaldson, Rangers

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