Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookies

After the success of the Momofuku Milk Bar's Crack Pie, how can I not make their Compost Cookies?

The fun part in making these Compost Cookies is that you can choose your favourite snack food and baking ingredients! How cool is that?

I let Miss C pick her favourites - Smiths Crinkle Cut and Pretzel Twists:

and Reeses Peanut Butter Pieces and Chocolate Chips:

I managed to sneak in my favourite - Tim Tam (both Milk and Dark):

How is the result? The cookies are chewy and give a salty and sweet flavour which is quite moreish, but it didn't give me the same sort of craving and addiction that the crack pie produced.

I was a little disappointed with the shape as the cookies are as flat as a cookie can be, but after seeing Steph from momofukufor2 obtaining a similar result with the adapted recipe, I have to accept that these cookies are probably meant to look like this.

This is the first time I made these cookies and I decided to use the original recipe from Regis & Kelly website given by Christina Tosi without any changes. It didn't come out as a salty gooey mess. If I were to bake them again, I would probably reduce the amount of salt by half. It also depends on the saltiness of the snack food you use. The sweetness of the crushed Tim Tam has probably balanced out some of the saltiness. Choosing the right combination of ingredients, finding and achieving the sweet and saltiness balance is also very important in making these cookies a success.

Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookies Recipe

(Adapted from Live! with Regis & Kelly: Christina Tosi's Compost Cookies)
Yield: 15 6oz 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 all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups Your favorite baking ingredients (I used Reeses peanut butter pieces, chocolate chips and crushed Tim Tam biscuits)

1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (I used crushed Smiths chips and pretzels)

Method

1. 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.

   

2. 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.

   

3. 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.



4. 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.

   

5. Using a 6 oz ice cream scoop, portion cookie dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan.

   

6. Wrap scooped cookie dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 1 week.
7. DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.
8. Heat the conventional oven to 400F.
9. When the oven reads 400F, arrange your chilled cookie dough balls on a parchment or silpat-lined sheet pan a minimum of 4" apart in any direction.
10. Bake 9-11 min. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.
11. 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.
12. 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.