Momofuku Milk Bar’s Compost Cookie

As many parents out there know, the last few weeks of school for your kids (and you!) is super busy. I’m the co-chair of the 8th grade dance committee (the dance is this weekend), there are t-ball games, practices, field trips to remember, gifts for teachers etc… I have about a million things going on right now and then I get an e-mail at work yesterday…

“Don’t forget you volunteered to make dessert for the teacher appreciation luncheon on Thursday!”

My heart sank. What? How can I possibly add one more thing to my list! But then again, I know why I volunteered way back then is because it involved baking!! And I love to bake!

So what is Momofuku Milk Bar’s Compost Cookie?

Momofuku is a noodle bar in New York, it’s really popular and now they have 2 restaurants that serve desserts called Momofuku’s Milk Bar. I had never heard of Momofuku in my life until a few weeks ago, I heard it on the Food TV channel. Then I read about it in Restaurant News and then I read a little blurb in Bon Appetit magazine where the magazine asked people what their favorite food was and one person said “The compost cookie from Momofuku’s milk bar is the best cookie I’ve ever eaten!”

Huh!! I had to google it to get more information. I found a recipe that another blogger wrote about it at Amateur Gourmet. Apparently on the Regis and Kelly show they posted the recipe on their site for all to see!

This is the version I made. It’s basically your chocolate chip cookie recipe except you can add multiple kinds of candy/chocolate/pretzels, potato chips, cocoa krispies, etc…

Another version I read about (but never found a recipe for) also added the above but also added ground coffee and oatmeal and butterscotch chips to the mix as well.

Since I was baking for the teachers, I threw all healthy ideas out of my head and decided to make these to see what all the rage was. I won’t lie, I did try one and the combo of the saltiness from the pretzels and the chocolate was pretty awesome.

The Amateur Gourmet had 77 comments and I read all of them. As with any baking, there are a lot of variables involved, some people’s cookies turned out great, some became one flat cookie.

I did follow 2 really important rules. You mix the sugars and butter for a whole 10 minutes AND you definitely have to chill the batter for at least an hour.

So, with out further ado, here is the recipe!

The Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie
recipe by Christina Tosi
(Courtesy of Regis & Kelly’s website)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (that’s two sticks, unsalted)
1 cup granulated 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 ( I made it 2 cups of flour)
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups your favorite baking ingredients (options: chocolate chips, Raisenettes, Rollos, Cocoa Krispies)( I used chocolate chips, butter scotch chips, heath chips)
1 1/2 cups your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc.) ( I used pretzels and rice Krispies).

In a stand mixer place the butter, sugars, and corn syrup and blend for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a spatula.

On a lower speed, add the eggs and vanilla extract

Increase the mixing speed to medium-high (I had it on number 4) for 10 minutes. I’ve never beaten the beginning of cookies that long before in my life. What you end up with is fluffy white batter that looks like a cloud!

After the 10 minutes is over on a lower speed add the flour and baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Mix for only about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides again with a spatula.

Next add whatever your favorite baking ingredients are (I used butterscotch chips, a few heath chips, chocolate chips).

Mix only for about 20 seconds or so.

Then add your favorite snack foods (it could be potato chips, fritos, pretzels, etc.) Mix again only for about 20 seconds.

Now after reading all the comments, I did a few things. The person who posted the recipe made 6 oz. cookies. I used my melon baller and it turned out to be only 1 oz. These cookies spread, so make sure you leave space between cookies. I added another 1/4 cup of flour to the recipe, because some people reported that their cookies turned out really flat.

Bake at 375 for about 9 minutes. Set your timer for 7 minutes and when it starts to brown evenly on the cookies, take them out. There is a fine line between perfect and burnt.

You also have to let these cool on the cookie sheet for several minutes so they set. If you try to take them off too early, they will break.

So, the good news is, I tried one and the rest are leaving my house tomorrow morning headed to school!

Have any of you tried these cookies?

There are 2 Momofuku’s Milk Bar locations, one in midtown, and the other one is in the East Village, so if you are lucky enough to live in New York, maybe you’ve had the real thing!