Compost Cookies

May 31, 2017  //  67 Comments »
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These famous Compost Cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar are loaded with everything but the kitchen sink… perfect for those who love the sweet and salty combo!

A stack of the famous compost cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar.

If you’ve heard about Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC, then you’ve likely heard about some of their staple recipes, like crack pie, their birthday layer cake, and these compost cookies.

These cookies are in the vein of “everything but the kitchen sink” type of recipe. It’s the perfect cookie for using up leftover ingredients that are hanging around your pantry. I’m talking oats, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coffee, pretzels and even potato chips! I know it sounds absolutely crazy, and I was totally skeptical before I made them, but they just work.

All of the mix-ins for compost cookies.

A few years ago, I would have never entertained the notion of chocolate being combined with potato chips. Then, my husband and I went on a tour of the UTZ potato chip factory and, after a visit to their store, came home with chocolate-covered potato chips. I was surprised that I actually liked them; I truly thought that they would be repulsive, but it’s that whole sweet/salty combination that kills me each and every time.

(Since then I made my own chocolate-covered potato chips, which are obviously to-die-for!)

The cookie dough all mixed up for compost cookies.

As with most Milk Bar recipes, this one requires following the mixing technique precisely and also includes some very specific ingredients, which I’ve linked to below. Christina Tosi uses glucose in many of her recipes, and you can find it on Amazon, but light corn syrup can be used as a substitute.

You can certainly adapt these cookies based on what mix-ins you have in your pantry and your personal taste preferences. What would you throw in a “kitchen sink” cookie?

If you’ve been to Momofuku Milk Bar, what are some of your favorite things on the menu?

(You know that graham crumb mixture used in these cookies? It inspired me to whip up a fantastic summer-themed Milk Bar layer cake that I’ll be sharing tomorrow!)

A stack of Compost Cookies ready to be eaten!

One year ago: Chocolate Chip Crumb Cake
Five years ago: Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Sandwiches
Six years ago: Blueberry Muffins

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Compost Cookies

Yield: 15 to 20 cookies

Prep:1 hour 30 minutes

Cook:18 minutes

Total:2 hours

The famous Compost Cookie recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar.

Ingredients:

For the Graham Crumb Mixture

  • ⅓ cup (48 grams) graham cracker crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon milk powder
  • 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon heavy cream

For the Cookies

  • 1⅓ cups (225 grams) bread flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup (225 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
  • ⅔ cup (150 grams) light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (50 grams) glucose
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (150 grams) mini chocolate chips
  • ½ cup (100 grams) mini butterscotch chips
  • Prepared graham mixture
  • ⅓ cup (40 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 2½ teaspoons ground coffee
  • 2 cups (50 grams) potato chips
  • 1 cup (50 grams) mini pretzels

Directions:

  1. Prepare Graham Mixture: In a small bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, milk powder, sugar and salt. Whisk together the butter and heavy cream, then add to the dry ingredients. Toss with a fork until the mixture is evenly moistened; set aside.
  2. Prepare the Cookie Dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. Combine the butter, both sugars and glucose in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and continue to beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
  4. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  5. Still on low speed, add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, graham mixture, oats and coffee, and mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the potato chips and pretzels and again, mix only until barely incorporated, 15 to 20 seconds.
  6. Using a 2¾-ounce ice cream scoop (or a ⅓-cup measuring cup), portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. 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.
  7. Bake the Cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pans (should be about 6 cookies per sheet).
  8. 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’s not the case.
  9. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before serving or storing. The cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 1 month.

Recipe Notes:

  • You can substitute 1 tablespoon light corn syrup for the glucose.
  • Do not use instant coffee or espresso powder in place of the ground coffee, as it will dissolve into the cookies, which it is not intended to do.
  • Pretzel recommendation: Snyders mini pretzels.
  • Potato chips recommendation: Cape Cod potato chips.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!

(Recipe from Momofuku Milk Bar)

All images and text ©

A compost cookie broken in half.

This recipe was originally published on October 22, 2013.

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