I love to bake, so a few years back, my thoughtful husband bought me the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook which I was excited to dive into. However, I was immediately intimidated. The measurements were in grams, it included ingredients like glucose and freeze-dried corn powder, and there were multiple recipes within recipes (often a turn off for me). Christina Tosi is a baking genius. I am no Christina Tosi. So there the book sat, collecting dust.
But this weekend I conquered my fear and opened the book again and decided to tackle my first recipe from this very cool book. I landed on Compost Cookies which are sometimes referred to as Garbage Cookies. What I liked about this recipe is that I was able to make some subtle swaps (like corn syrup for glucose) as well as add in other fun treats (like M&M’s).
I’m so glad I set my fears aside, because I learned a few new techniques that I look forward to putting into practice with other cookie recipes. Plus, they were delicious.
COMPOST COOKIES
Ingredients
2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup candy-coated chocolate candies
1/3 old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 teaspoons ground coffee
2 cups kettle-style potato chips
1 cup mini pretzels
Directions
Combine the butter, sugars and corn syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Still on low speed, add the chocolate chips, candies, oats, and coffee and mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the potato chips and pretzels and mix until just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix or break too many pretzels or potato chips.
Using an ice cream scoop, portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature – they will not bake properly.
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18 minutes, they should be very faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center. Give them an extra minute or so if that is not the case.
Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temperature, cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer they will keep for 1 month.
Recipe adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar, Christina Tosi, Clarkson Potter, 2011
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