Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookie

A really delicious cookie is more than food . . . . After all, a mere bite inspired Proust to write volumes.

And this cookie is an experience.

I saw this recipe for the Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookie on the Amateur Gourmet, and I just had to try it.  I've been dying to get to the Momofuku Milk Bar ever since I read the New York Times review (and the review was rather tepid).  Banana cake with hazelnut crunch?  Yes, please.

Since I've been too busy and lazy to drive to NY, I figured I'd have to make do with what I got here.  And literally, what I got are potato chips, pretzels, chocolate chunks (left over from my Thomas Keller cookie experiment).  Turns out you can throw all of these things together into a cookie, and the result's pretty darn delicious: an unexpected swirl of salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy goodness.

Momofuku pastry chef Christina Tosi's cookie recipe is unique not only for the sundry snack foods you can crumble and embed in the cookie, but also for the dough -- the mixture is beaten for much longer than one would usually do for a cookie dough, and the resulting mixture is much airier (probably necessary to offset the chewiness or heaviness of the snack ingredients).

Was the cookie as good as the banana cake is in my mind?  No.  The Thomas Keller cookie might actually have tasted better.  But it certainly has a whimsical, unexpected quality that I love.  Plus you know how I feel about sugar and salt!

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Regis and Kelly and Christina Tosi:

Ingredients:

1 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Corn Syrup (like the Amateur Gourmet, I skipped the corn syrup because I didn't have any)
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! (I used chocolate chunks)
1 1/2 cups Your favorite snack foods (I used classic Lays Potato Chips and Rold Gold Pretzels)

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