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Crunchy, slightly sweet and golden, cornflakes are not just for breakfast. Crushing the flakes into crumbs gives you a secret weapon for baking. These crumbs give baked foods a crunchy coating in the oven instead of the deep fryer. There are two main ways to crush crumbs, depending on the desired texture. Opt for hand crushing for larger crumb pieces, but choose a food processor to create finely ground cornflake crumbs to replace breadcrumbs.

Hand Crushing

Put twice the amount of cornflakes as your recipe requires into a resealable freezer bag. For instance, if you need 1 cup cornflake crumbs, start with 2 cups cornflakes.

Squeeze the extra air out of the bag, and seal it.

Roll a rolling pin over the bag, or gently pound it, to coarsely crush the cornflakes into crumbs.

Use the coarse cornflake crumbs as a coating or for making pie crusts.

Using a Food Processor

Multiply the amount of cornflake crumbs needed in a recipe by three, to determine the amount of cereal to use. For instance, if the recipe requires 1/3 cup cornflake crumbs, start with 1 cup cornflakes.

Put the cereal in a food processor, close the lid and pulse several times -- until the cornflakes are finely ground to the consistency of breadcrumbs.

Use the cornflake crumbs as a coating or breadcrumb substitute.