This is an old post with a recipe for Los Angeles Unified School Rangers, also known as Flying Saucers or City School Cookies. There's an original photo which you can probably identify pretty quickly along with a re-take from when Sue made the cookies. We're due for another photo because this recipe is tried and true. I calls for butter, but my guess is the school district did not use all butter in their cookies. For an improved texture, you can consider using mix of butter and shortening. Here's the old post which I have to keep for posterity. Fuzz can now identify ravioli.
Flying Saucers or City School Cafeteria Cookies
Can you imagine your child 30 or 40 years from now writing in somewhere and requesting a recipe from their old school’s cafeteria? I can’t, so when I stumble across these types of requests I am always intrigued by how certain foods can leave lifetime taste memories. I have a few, and some happen to be from elementary school cafeterias.
Now looking over Fuzz’s school lunch menu, I can’t find anything I suspect will make an impression. She did mention liking a meat mixture with yellow stuff around it which I identified as tamales. Then one time she tried to describe what turned out to be ravioli. I don't remember her mentioning any homemade coffee cakes or cookies which is probably a good thing because kids barely have time to eat the nourishing things on their tray. But I do like that schools used to have homemade things and that you can find a lot of the school cafeteria recipes online.
Flying Saucers -- Los Angeles Unified Schools
When it comes to school cafeteria cookie recipes, Flying Saucers from the Los Angeles Unified Schools is one that is often mentioned. They’re Ranger Cookies that also go by the name Flying Saucers. And they are really good! I make Ranger type cookies all the time, but don't have a go-to recipe. This might be it. These are crunchy on the outside and kind of chewy on the inside. They're pretty sweet, but not overly so. Fuzz and her friend love them.
Recipe
Flying Saucers Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (240 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 8 oz unsalted butter, softened (230 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1 cup brown sugar (210-220 grams)
- 2 large eggs well beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2 cups cornflakes
- ½ cup coconut toasted
- 1 ½ cup chocolate chips original recipe used only ½ cup
- ½ cup chopped walnuts use more nuts for a less sweet cookie
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine pre-sifted flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a mixing bowl; set aside.
- Cream butter and both sugars with an electric mixer; Add eggs and vanilla and beat until mixed.
- Stir flour mixture into butter mixture, then stir in oats, cornflakes, coconut, chocolate chips and nuts.
- Scoop up big tablespoons of dough and shape into balls. Place on parchment lined cookies sheets, spacing 3 inches apart, and flatten lightly with palm of hand so they’ll cook evenly.
- Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes or until edges are browned and centers appear set.
Anna says
Sue, I'm glad you found this one. I forgot about it, but remember the cookies as being excellent. About the flour, I don't think you really need to sift it -- especially if you weigh the flour. Usually if I see an older recipe that says "sifted flour" it is a signal to me that they used 125 or so grams of flour rather than 140, but unless your flour is particularly lump you shouldn't really have to sift.
Sue says
I’ve made this recipe before and for some reason didn’t leave a comment. I made them again today and they turned out great. Do you really have to sift the flour? I did but wondered about that part of the instructions. I only baked a few and now have a lot of dough balls in the fridge. Some will end up in the freezer. Dough balls in the bank! Lol!!
Laura says
I went to East Bakersfield High School in Bakersfield, CA from 1954 to 1958. The Flying Saucer cookies there didn't have corn flakes, coconut or choc. chips. I loved them, so I'm going to try this recipe but leaving out those items & adding raisins. The school also made the best Peanut Butter cookies I've ever had, have not been able to find a comparable recipe though have tried many. I hope the Oatmeal cookies work out. Thanks
CookieLover says
April Rose -
I taught in the LASD in the early 60's and loved your Flying Saucer Cookies. I am thrilled that you found the recipe. Thank you!
Our cook was a Norwegian lady who also made us very flavorful and juicy stuffed cabbage and what she called Norwegian custard which, if made properly, is a cooked egg custard poured into a pyrex dish that has already been prepared with a burnt sugar lining. When baked, the blended sweetness and spices were wonderful!
Pam Mahan says
Recently at my 50th high school reunion, we were served Flying Saucer Cookies. However, each one was individually wrapped, so they didn't taste like in the old days. I'm going to make them and not wrap them, so maybe they will taste like the Flying Saucers of my memory. Or.....maybe my memory is going south on me and the old Flying Saucer days don't exist.
namora says
I remember the flying saucer cookies when I was in high school. Back then, a cookie was 5 cents. I would buy 2, one for me and the other I would take home to my mother. That was in 1963. I had 25 cents a day for lunch, and with that, I could buy a sandwich ( whole), drink, and have change left over for my cookie.
Jackie says
I just happened to pull out this receipe and googled it. I got it from a guy I used to work with about 25yrs ago,we were talking about school lunches and he had it. I made them a few times and they tasted just like they did in school except my recipe does not call for nuts and there weren't any in the ones at school. My youngest son wanted the recipe after talking about them at Thanksgiving, so I had to fish it out. My favorite menu at elementary school was the mashed potatoes and gravy and the green beans - go figure. Now I just have to find the pastries they served at LA High - those were to die for.
aprilrose45 says
Back in the 60's my mother-in-law managed an elementary school cafeteria in Compton, California and made dozens of the Flying Saucer cookies for our family get togethers. we all loved them and the kids loved helping her make them. I was awed to discover this site. thanks. cant wait to try the recipe and i'm sure to use less sugar.
Anna says
Brenbren, thanks for the tip! I didn't think to look at the USDA site, but I'm going to check it out. You job sounds fun, btw.
brenbren says
peanut butter bar recipe schools use are at USDA recipe site. They almost taste like reeces cup if you put chocolate frosting on them. Oh by the way I manage a school cafeteria.
Have fun! I went to a school that served us tv dinners! ugh
Molly says
Funny, I just made Buffalo Chip Cookies this morning with almost the same ingredients as the Flying Saucers/Ranger Cookies except I used Rice Krispies and pecans. I only put coconut in 1/3 of the dough as some people don't like coconut. 1/3 had M&M's and 1/3 had no coconut at all. Lots of raves. My favorite lunch in high school was a tuna sandwich that had butter on each slice of bread. Yum!
TJ says
THOSE "RANGER" COOKIES WERE DEFINITELY THE "FLYING SAUCER" COOKIES FROM THE 50'S AT
MY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY IN CALIF. MY MOTHER MADE THEM FOR MANY YEARS. THEY WERE SERVED WITH THE SCHOOL LUNCH ABOUT 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER.
Louise says
Katrina, those pb brownies with pb fudge frosting from Southern Plate look absolutely incredible. I'm always in for chocolate, but I gotta say those brownies look like a real winner. Looks like they were topped with more peanuts which aren't listed in the ingredients. 🙂
secret name says
Why did you steal my lunch menu
Brenda says
two things I remember from my school days are snicker-doodles and lemon bars. I need to look for a good recipe for both.
Randi says
When I first joined Chowhound, I started a topic requesting a peanut butter cake w/ pb frosting that I had in middle school. I still remember it today. I also remember them serving salad dressing in clean dishwashing liquid containers. That always freaked me out, but the cake was yummy.
Katrina says
C L--don't know if these are similar to what you described, but I just found these yesterday and can't wait to try them sometime.
http://www.southernplate.com/2009/02/peanut-butter-brownies-with-peanut-butter-fudge-icing.html
There's no chocolate in them.
Louise says
Anna, Miracle Whip or mayonnaise is the only food I absolutely hate. Otherwise I'm known to eat anything that doesn't eat me first. (I'll eat mayo in tuna salad or potato salad.) Your Mom's grilled cheese sounds awful. But, several years ago I learned to spread a little mayo on the outside of the bread before grilling the sandwich. It adds a nice crunch and taste. I think it's the egg and oil chemistry of the mayo. 😉
Jane says
I imagine they taste like the ingredients in them.
Alexandra says
Oh man, these look way, way too good. I've never had ranger cookies before, or made them, but I'm very much tempted to.
Elyse says
I'm pretty sure I won't ever be requesting recipes from my elementary school, but if I had had Ranger Cookies that looked like these, well, that would've been a different story. These look delicious and excellent--and I'm quite jealous of the kids who got to eat these with their lunches!
Pearl says
Quick question: what do ranger cookies taste like?
C L says
My favorite school lunch treat was the peanut butter bar...it was like a peanut butter brownie/blondie (no chocolate) and it had a powdered sugar glaze. I have never found a recipe for it. 🙁 These Flying Saucers sound absolutely yummy, and I am going to make these to take to work next week. Will let you know how they like them. 🙂
DessertObsessed says
yea i'm one of those...i was so addicted to the curly fries in middle school, but now i can't find them anywhere! maybe i should write in and ask for the recipe..
CindyD says
Interesting. Is it the butter and cornflakes that make it different from the recipe of mine you made, or do the smaller amounts of baking powder and baking soda matter? You should try these with Spectrum.
Kelli says
Anna,
Thanks so much for making me think about my beloved cheese zombies again. I went to school in northern California where they were everyone's favorite school food. I did a search and was happy to find that many people have requested the recipe. The recipe can be found here:
http://materialmama.typepad.com/blog/2008/12/old-school-cheese-zombies.html
Barbara says
Haha, the mystery of school lunch... The first thing I thought of that was meaty and yellow was the school burrito that they served elementary through high school in my area, here is a pic:http://isite.lps.org/mhaun/entree_photos/Burrito.jpg it doesn't show the inside, but it was some poor excuse for meat and beans.
They actually sold cookies in the cafeteria at my school, they were the Otis Spunkmeyer brand. Sometimes they were good, other times, not so much.
Lisa Ernst says
I remember a giant shortbread type cookie with chocolate frosting on it from school. They were great to me then, but I'll bet they would taste too sweet now. My grandmother used to butter everything when making sandwiches, and she buttered peanut butter and honey sandwiches too. I remember wondering why the butter was there.
bakingblonde says
My gosh those look absolutely perfect. These are so going to be made very very soon! MMMMM
Veronica says
These sound like wonderful cookies! I can't believe your school cafeteria had homemade baked goods...the only treat we had were called "Grandma's Cookies" they were hard chocolate chip cookies three to a pack and they were definitely not homemade!
Shelley says
Our school in California in the 60's made little peanut butter balls, which were sweet, probably had powdered sugar in them, and were uncooked. They were so great and I have never seen a recipe for them.
unconfidentialcook.com says
I'm with Fuzz...because they have chocolate chips and not the usual suspect: raisins.
Jess says
Silly original recipe, with only 1/2 cup choc. chips. Glad you fixed it.
Rachel @ springpad says
Those sound awesome - my school cafeteria used to have amazing cookies... until they decided to go healthy and cut them out. But I'm definitely going to try this recipe out - and I added to my favorite recipes springpad... you should check it out - it's a great place to store all of your favorite recipes and everything else - I really think you'd like it!
Anna says
I hated grilled cheese sandwiches as a child and you know why? Because my mom put Miracle Whip on them. I thought all grilled cheese sandwiches were made with Miracle Whip and never bothered to try one anywhere else. Then one summer I went to camp and was so hungry I had to eat a grilled cheese sandwich. It had no Miracle Whip and was delicious!
I liked Miracle Whip on regular cheese sandwiches, though.
HeartofGlass says
I haven't had it, but I've heard of peanut butter and butter many times--also grilled pb like grilled cheese, with butter to grease the pan.
snooky doodle says
I d like to try these, thesy look like favourite cookie. yummy
Louise says
I think the "food triangle" was different when I was a kid and they wanted to make sure you got a certain amount of whatever in the school lunch. We were encouraged to get our parents to build home bomb shelters too. 🙂
Katrina says
My gram would butter one slice of bread with pb and one slice with butter, then put the honey on, I think it WAS to help the honey not soak into the bread and become that crunchy stuff. It's good though, try it sometime.
Anna says
Dana, I've never heard of that. We had cinnamnon swirl bread with icing poured over it, but never anything with streusel.
Kathy, you might want to look around for different Ranger Cookies. I think most Ranger cookies have these proportions. One thing you could do is to increase the nuts. The unsweetened nuts offset the sugar. Anyway, I said these were sweet but they aren't cloying are "bad" sweet. Oh, and using unsweetened coconut might help too. I used sweetened.
Louise, that is crazy! I've seen old recipes with butter on them and just figured the butter was to protect the bread from meat/vegetable moisture seeing through. But I've never heard of butter mixed with peanut butter. Maybe it was to cut the sweetness?
Katrina just mentioned the pb sandwiches with honey. Butter does go well with honey so that makes more sense.
Kelli, where did you go to school? That sounds about as wild as the peanut butter sandwich with butter. I think I'd quite like the zombie.
Kelli says
These look delish. My favorite school food was something called a cheese zombie. It was basically a big ball of warm bread with melted cheese in the middle. I still crave them!
Katrina says
Yum! Love the corn flake crunch.
Louise, it may just be because it reminds me of my grandma, but she always made pb/honey sandwiches with butter on them. Loved it! Loved everything she made. My dad still makes his pb/honey with the extra butter. Mmmm. (I don't because of the added fat factor.)
Louise says
Fifty some years later, I remember that PB&J sandwiches also had butter on them. Yuck! 🙁
Kathy says
Do you think the sugar could be reduced without affecting the texture?
Dana says
I remember something like these! My favorite was Cowboy Bread--a very sweet snack-cake like thing with some sort of streusel on top. I'll have to look for a recipe! Thanks for the flashback!