Momofuku compost cookies

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Posted by Kirbie / 8 comments » / Cookies, Recipes

I have this list I’ve made of all the places I want to eat at in New York City. Hopefully, I’ll be able to take some days off to go visit soon and fulfill that list, but it doesn’t look like I’ll be making it to the big city any time soon.

One of the places on my list when I eventually go is Momofuku Milk Bar. Momofuku has produced some pretty interesting desserts such as their crack pies and compost cookies. Since I can’t go to NY anytime soon, I thought I’d try making my own compost cookies.

You can throw whatever snacks you like to eat inside these cookies. I tried to be conservative and throw things in that I thought would taste good and work well together. I threw in some Kettle potato chips, Kit Kat bars, chocolate chips (what’s a cookie without chocolate chips?) and my one sort of “out there” ingredient: japanese rice crackers. (Pretend there’s a picture here of all of my ingredients. I forgot to take one.)

I was a little bit confused by the instructions given for the recipe. Since I’ve never had the real thing, I didn’t really have much of a reference point. For instance, you’re supposed to refrigerate the dough, but the instructions tell you to scoop out the dough first, then wrap it in plastic wrap and then put it in the fridge. Was I supposed to make dough balls and stick individual dough balls in the fridge? I ended up just putting plastic wrap over my cookie sheet and sticking the entire cookie sheet into the fridge.

I think the cookies came out looking right. They were big, sugary, a little on the flat/thin side. The added ingredients was interesting. I enjoyed the crunchy textures the chips provided. The kit kats seemed to get lost. The japanese rice crackers got a little soggy and lost some of their crunchiness. I used spicy ones so they did add a little spicy kick to the cookie.

These cookies were an interesting experience, but probably not a recipe I’d make often. It was fun to try out though. When I go to NY, I’ll have to try one at the store to find out how they are supposed to taste.

As a reminder, there’s still time left to enter my Restaurant.com giveaway. Three lucky winners will be given $25 to restaurant.com to spend at any of the participating restaurants nationwide. Contest runs until midnight PST on Monday May 30, 2011.

: Momofuku’s Compost Cookies

: recipe found on The Amateur Gourmet

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
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups your favorite baking ingredients (I used chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups your favorite snack foods (chips, pretzels, etc. I used chips, japanese rice crackers and kit kat bars)

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugars and corn syrup on medium high for two to three minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides 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 seconds 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 the same low speed, add in the hodgepodge of your favorite baking ingredients and mix for 30 – 45 seconds 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 6 oz. 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 one hour or up to 1 week. (I put plastic wrap over my baking sheet and stuck the whole thing in the fridge for an hour.)
DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.
Heat the oven to 400 F. Take the plastic off your cookies and bake 9 to 11 minutes. While in the oven, the cookies will puff, crackle and spread.
At 9 minutes, 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 still 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, they’ll keep five days.

Number of servings (yield): 12 large cookies

Posted by Kirbie on May 26, 2011

8 Comments »

tags: compost, cookies, momofuku

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8 Responses to “Momofuku compost cookies”

1

Faye — May 27, 2011 @ 9:48 am

The cookies look amazing! My fave cookies are the thin, crispy edges kind!

This would be a fun cookie to make b/c the ‘out there’ item can be so fun to choose.

Is there a reason for baking soda in cookies – my grams always made me nervous saying it’s bad for your health? Is it to preserve the freshness of the cookie?

Nice post!
- Kirbie replied: — May 27th, 2011 @ 10:17 am
  
  Yes, the baking soda is the leavening agent so that the cookies rise and spread. Very important if the recipe calls for baking soda to add the baking soda!
2

Rosie — May 27, 2011 @ 11:20 am

I’ve made Cookie Madness’ version of Momofuku’s Compost Cookies a couple of times, and they’re one of my favourites (next to NY Times chocolate chip cookies). I use mixings that will give me something similar to Momofuku’s. I’ve tried their compost cookies, and they’re not bad. But I like mine better Momofuku’s stuff is good but a little overrated, IMHO.
- Kirbie replied: — May 27th, 2011 @ 2:15 pm
  
  Cookie Madness’ version? I’ll have to look into it! I have some friend who live in NY who don’t really like Momofuku either.
3

Lauren at Keep It Sweet — May 27, 2011 @ 1:06 pm

I love Momofuko but I’ve actually never gotten their compost cookies. I’m a huge fan of the cakes they have, though! Hope you make a trip to NY to try them:-)
- Kirbie replied: — May 27th, 2011 @ 2:16 pm
  
  I have such a long list, I think I’ll be eating non-stop for a week if I go!
4

Kung Food Panda — May 27, 2011 @ 9:35 pm

I always make sure to stop by the Milk Bar to pick up those cookies, though my favorite are the blueberry cream and the marshmallow corn flake. I like the compost, but I don’t like the coffee flavors within the batter. I hope you get to check it out soon.
- Kirbie replied: — May 28th, 2011 @ 1:44 am
  
  Ooh blueberry cream and marshmallow corn flake both sound interesting. I wish I had as much vacay time as you..you always seem to be taking a trip somewhere. My one big trip this year is going to be Taiwan in the Fall.