Momofuku Milk Bar’s Compost Cookies

I’ve blogged about my love of Momofuku Milk Bar before and their amazing cookies! On my last trip to NYC I ate 6 of their cookies. Clearly I’m into health food.

I was super bored the other day and looking for fun stuff on the internet. Of course I landed at David Lebovitz’ site and saw this post for what he calls Amnesty Cookies. Amnesty Cookies are essentially Lebovitz’ take on the Compost Cookie recipe posted by Adam on The Amateur Gourmet.

Unbeknownst to me the the pastry chef from Momofuku Milk Bar, Christina Tosi, was on Regis and Kelly recently and made Compost Cookies! Of course the recipe ended up on the site for the masses to try at home!

What’s really cool about this recipe is customizable it is.  Tosi gives guidelines in terms of quantities of mix-ins to use but leaves it up to you.  What she used on the show didn’t jive with my memories of the cookies at the restaurant.  Believe me, if my cookie had Raisinettes in there I would NOT be raving.  For my sweet mix-ins I used chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and chocolate covered caramels.  For my salty mixins I used pretzels, rice krispies and bits & bites.  My intent was to use some Lay’s potato chips but I totally forgot and didn’t want to run out to the corner store in the rain!  I had bought some bits & bites (aka Chex Mix) to snack on and figured I’d throw some in.  I also have a memory of there being something coffee flavoured in there so I added a teaspoon of instant coffee powder.

The cookie recipe itself is pretty basic.  What’s different is that you have to mix the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla together for 10 minutes.  In a stand mixer this is probably great, but when using a hand mixer (like I did) that part gets old fast.   Another case for buying a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

The cookies turned out great! Sure, they don’t look like the cookies at the restaurant but they taste at least as good.  The Rice Krispies added a unique light crunch.  The sweet ingredients were delicious and I loved the bits of pretzels.  The one thing I would do differently is omit the Bits & Bites.  It was out of desperation that I used them really.  I forgot that they have a slight spicy flavour to them which ended up being a tiny bit odd at times in the cookies.

P.S. if you think the cookies are good try the cookie dough.  I could have stopped there and been entirely content.

COMPOST COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Corn Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cups Your favorite baking ingredients!
(Kelly used mini chocolate chips, raisinettes, rollos & cocoa krispies)
1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc)
(Kelly used goldfish, ritz, & fritos)

DIRECTIONS:
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On a lower speed, add eggs and vanilla to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and start a timer for 10 minutes. During this time the sugar granules will fully dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and your creamed mixture will double in size.

When time is up, on a lower speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 45-60 sec just until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Do not walk away from your mixer during this time or you will risk over mixing the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.

On same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30-45 sec until they evenly mix into the dough. Add in your favorite snack foods last, paddling again on low speed until they are just incorporated.

Using a 6oz ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheetpan.

Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 1 week.

DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.

Heat the conventional oven to 400F. (350F in a convection oven)

When the oven reads 400F, arrange your chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat-lined sheetpan a minimum of 4″ apart in any direction.

Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.

At 9 min the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown towards the center. Leave the cookies in the oven for the additional minutes if these colors don’t match up and your cookies stills seem pale and doughy on the surface.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pan before transferring to a plate or an airtight container or tin for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh 5 days. In the freezer, cookies will keep fresh 1 month.

Yield: 15 6oz cookies

(Recipe courtesy of Regis and Kelly)