Cheetos cookies are sweet and savory butter shortbread style cookie. These tasty treats are a cheese doodle lover’s dream come true!
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Cheetos are a favorite snack in our house.
The sons love em.
Heck, I love em.
Something about that cheesy orange dust just satisfies all my snack cravings.
So why not combine them with sweet butter cookies?
A little sweet and savory snack action.
Don’t let it weird you out or be put off by the orange color of these cookies.
I promise you the result is a playful sweet and savory buttery shortbread that you will love.
Ingredients
To make these you’ll need:
- Cheetos– The puffy kind, not the crunchy thin kind. Crush them.
- Flour– All purpose
- Cream of tartar– For leavening and to keep the sugar from crystalizing
- Baking soda– For more leavening
- Salt– To balance the sweetness
- Butter– Unsalted butter at room temperature.
- Sugar– Granulated
- Egg– Room temperature
- Food coloring– Optional but you can use a drop of orange food coloring to really make the cookie color pop.
How to Make
To make these Cheetos cookies, start by crushing the Cheetos with a rolling pin in a large ziplocking bag until they all are finely ground.
Set them aside.
Whisk the flour, half of the ground Cheetos, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
Then cream the softened butter and sugar together in a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment until the mixture’s whipped and fluffy.
Next mix in the egg and the food coloring until smooth and creamy.
Mix the dry ingredients, a little at a time, into the wet ingredients until they’ve all been incorporated and the dough is smooth.
Set it aside.
Pour the remaining ground Cheetos out onto a large, shallow plate.
Scoop a tablespoon of dough out of the mixing bowl and roll it into a ball.
Then roll the cookie dough ball in the Cheetos crumbs until evenly coated.
Transfer the Cheeto coated cookie to a waiting plate.
Repeat until you used all the cookie dough.
Lightly cover the plate with cling wrap and refrigerate the unbaked cookies for 2-8 hours.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, transfer the balls to a parchment paper lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
Bake the cookies at 350° for 8-10 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and allow them to rest for 5-10 minutes.
Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
You can enjoy them warm, or wait until cooled completely to transfer them to an airtight container.
Storing
Store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.
Can I make the cookie dough ahead of time?
Yes!
You can roll the cookie dough into balls and freeze them in a ziplocking bag for up to 3 months, but don’t coat them with Cheetos dust until ready to bake.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t use the crunchy Cheetos and make sure you are using the Puffs.
- I don’t recommend crushing them in a food processor. They will get too finely ground too quickly.
- Make sure you are working with room temperature butter and eggs. It helps them cream together more evenly.
- Don’t overcrowd your cookie sheet. You can always bake the cookies in batches!
Other Cookie Recipes
Cheetos cookies are a delightful sweet and savory butter cookie we love. Make them and enjoy!
Looking for other cookie recipes? Try these:
- Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
- Kool Aid Meringue Cookies
- Belgian Waffle Cookies
- Nestle Buncha Crunch Cookies
- Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies
If you’ve tried this CHEETOS COOKIES, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Cheetos Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 cups Cheetos puffs crushed & divided
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tbsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 drop orange food coloring optional
Instructions
- Add the cheetos to a large ziplocking bag. Using a rolling pin, crush them until all are finely ground. Set aside.
- To a mixing bowl add the flour, half the ground cheetos, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until evenly combined.
- Add the softened butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixture fitted with the beater attachment. Cream together until and the mixture's whipped and fluffy.
- Crack the egg into the bowl, and add the drop of orange food coloring (if using). Mix together until smooth & creamy.
- Add the dry ingredients, a little at a time, mixing together until they've all been incorporated and the batter's smooth. Set aside.
- Pour the remaining ground cheetos out onto a large, shallow plate.
- Scoop about a tablespoon's worth of dough out of the mixing bowl, and roll it into a ball. Roll the ball in the cheetos crumbs until evenly coated, then transfer to a waiting plate. Repeat until all the cookie dough's been used.
- Lightly cover the plate with cling wrap (don't squish the dough balls!), and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
- When ready to make, transfer the balls to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and arrange them on the pan about 2 inches apart. You can bake in more than one batch, so don't overcrowd the pan.
- Bake the cookies at 350° for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow them to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- You can enjoy them warm, or wait until cooled completely to transfer them to an airtight container.
Notes
- Don't use the crunchy Cheetos and make sure you are using the Puffs.
- I don't recommend crushing them in a food processor. They will get too finely ground too quickly.
- Make sure you are working with room temperature butter and eggs. It helps them cream together more evenly.
- Don't overcrowd your cookie sheet. You can always bake the cookies in batches!
Nutrition
recipe adapted from The Spiffy Cookie
This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details.
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