This is the easiest copycat star crunch cookies recipe! Combine melted chocolate, caramel, butter, marshmallows, and Rice Krispies cereal into the most delicious no-bake cookies! Soft, chewy, and tastes like the real childhood treat from Little Debbie!
You might also like our Hostess cupcake COOKIES, our Samoas Rice Krispies treats, or our scotcheroos recipe.
Watch our step by step video!
Star crunch cookies are a classic treat that have been around for decades. I love finding ways to recreate our favorite treats and desserts at home (like our copycat Hostess cupcakes, It’s It ice cream sandwiches, and Auntie Anne’s pretzels) and these were a lot of fun to make for my family.
Copycat Star Crunch Cookies
Star crunch cookies are chewy and sturdy, and the flavor and texture are just as good on day 2. You can enjoy them at room temperature or chilled. Perfectly coated in chocolate, caramel, and marshmallow sauce—perfection.
What people are saying about these cookies
“These are SO GOOD. Took maybe 30 minutes total and are amazing. Better than the store bought.”—on Pinterest.
“I tried it! It came out great. kiddos live them.”— Pinterest
“Absolutely delicious and turned out perfect!! Novice baker and they are great!”
The cookies will be gooey at first but will set up as they cool making them easier to pick up and store.
Homemade Star Crunch Cookies Ingredients
This recipe makes 20 large cookies, plenty to share. You can easily make a half recipe without altering the process.
Here’s what you’ll need!
- Butter: you’ll need 1 stick of room temperature butter.
- Kraft caramel bits: you can also use individually wrapped caramels, but I like the bits because they are always in stock and located right next to the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. You’ll need the entire 11-ounce bag.
- Chocolate chips: I like using milk chocolate chips, but you can use semisweet if that’s what you prefer. 1 regular-sized bag (11 ounces) is enough for this recipe.
- Milk
- Marshmallows: a 10-ounce bag of mini marshmallows or 10 ounces of jumbo marshmallows. Mini marshmallows melt faster so that’s what I generally use for recipes.
- Rice Krispies cereal: you’ll need about 6 cups.
How To Make Copycat Little Debbie Star Crunch Cookies
Heat butter, caramel bits, chocolate chips, and milk in a large pot or saucepan on low-medium heat. The key is heating these ingredients low and slow. Stir continually with a wooden spoon as the mixture begins to melt. The caramel bits take the longest to melt. You can mash them as they begin to soften, with the back of the spoon, to speed it up a bit. It will take about 5 minutes to melt everything.
Add marshmallows and continue to stir until melted and mixture is smooth.
Remove the pan from heat and stir in cereal. Stir until the cereal is evenly coated.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or place parchment paper onto your work surface).
Scoop 1/4 cup of cookie mixture onto the parchment paper. You can do this with a measuring cup or medium cookie scoop (it will take 2 scoops if using a cookie scoop).
Gently press each cookie down with the back of a plastic cup to flatten into discs. Cool 5 minutes then use your fingers to smooth edges and form cookies into perfectly round shapes (it won’t be as sticky on your fingers after they’ve had a chance to sit for a few minutes).
The tops of the cookies will set as they cool. If the bottoms of the cookies are sticky, simply turn them over and expose the bottoms to the air for 15 minutes or so. Allowing the cookies to set up completely will make them easier to pick up and store.
Copycat Little Debbie Star Crunch Cookies
Copycat Star Crunch Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 2 cups Kraft caramel bits (11 ounce bag)
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips (11 ounce bag)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 5 1/2 cups mini marshmallows (10 ounce bag)
- 6 cups rice krispies cereal (crispy rice cereal)
Instructions
- Heat butter, caramel bits, chocolate chips and milk in a large sauce pan or stock pan on LOW heat.
- Mash caramel bits as they heat with the back of the wooden spoon to speed up the melting process. Continually stir until smooth and creamy. This will take about 5 minutes. Go low and slow to prevent burning.
- Add marshmallows and stir until melted and smooth. Remove mixture from heat.
- Stir in cereal. Stir until evenly coated.
- Cover a cookie sheet or work surface with parchment paper. Add 1/4 cup scoops of cookie mixture onto parchment paper (can also use 2 scoops using a cookie scoop for each cookie).Press down with a plastic measuring cup or cup to flatten cookies (you can spray the back of the cup with nonstick spray to prevent the cookie mixture from sticking to it).Let cookies cool for 5 minutes, then use your hands to press edges smooth and round.
Notes
Nutrition
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
I’ve been waiting all week to make these and just when I was getting my ingredients out….realized the kids must have ate the caramels. So I made some homemade….and now going to try and make them using homemade caramel. **I’m four weeks away from my due date and I’ve had a craving so strong for crunch cookies.
How long do you think these can be stored? I would like to make them for my granddaughter’s wedding cookie table. I’m freezing most cookies as I make them, but I don’t think these will freeze well.
Yeah, I haven’t tried freezing them and am not sure they’d thaw well afterwards. I think these could make a couple of days in advance.
Absolutely delicious and turned out perfect!! Novice baker and they are great!
So glad to hear!
They turned out really tasty but they are really sticky, what did I do wrong?
Hi Dona! I’m not sure why they didn’t set up like mine. I’m sorry!
Where video
Hi Dee! The video automatically plays under the first image in the post. If it isn’t playing for you, make sure that you don’t have any pop up blockers in your browser. 🙂
Totally amazing! And so easy. Thank you for the awesome recipe
So glad to hear!
While these don’t taste like Star Crunch at all to us, 4 of us in this household, 2 of which are Star Crunch addicts….The oatmeal cookie in the center of Star Crunch lends its own flavors of molasses, cinnamon and oats… These are really good… But not Star Crunch…. Guess I will continue my search, or give up and make my own copycat that uses the same components. Baking up oatmeal cookies is simple, not sure why all these recipes are designated to the no bake area….
A. Wilson…Star crunch doesnt have oatmeal… I think you might be confusing it with something else
We just made these last night and they are AMAZING. The key is the quality of the chocolate. I used Guittard milk chocolate chips and they turned out so rich and delicious, my family likes these better than regular rice crispy treats or the original Star Crunch. And they’re perfect for me because I have celiac and I can make them with gluten free rice cereal. Thank you!
Jen, I’m so glad that they turned out perfect for you! Especially since you used the good chocolate—-Guittard is the best!!
These cookies turned out perfectly. So delicious! Thanks for the recipe. I’m pretty sure I saved money making these myself.
Yay! Glad you loved them!
There is no oatmeal cookie in a star crunch.
Mine aren’t made of oatmeal cookies.
Just wanted to say thanks for the recipe they are delicious and freeze just fine 🙂
Glad to hear!!