· Modified: by Anna · This post may contain affiliate links · 50 Comments
This is an old post, if you can't tell by the reference to Regis and Kelly. It's from back before Christina Tosi was famous, and everyone was trying to figure out her Compost Cookie recipe. Well, things have changed! She's given the recipe out multiple times (along with many others). I haven't made these in a while, but lately I've been in the mood to put potato chips and coffee grounds in cookies, so I will update soon.
If you'd rather just order the cookies, here's a link to Milk Bar -- the place where it all began.
Here's another post with pictures of Milk Bar cookies I purchased at their store.
Making Compost Cookies
Years after I first posted a copycat recipe given out on The Regis & Kelly Show, The Milk Bar Bakery cookbook came out. It's a good one! I recommend it to bakers, but I also recommend it to people who just like reading cookbooks. You learn a lot about Christina Tosi and the creativity that that goes into Milk Bar's recipe. The Compost Cookies are are just one of many, many great desserts.
Anyhow, one of many things I learned from the book was that most cookies have a special "crumb" baked into them. One crumb is the graham cracker crumb, which is a mixture of graham cracker crumbs, dried milk, sugar, cream and butter. The Compost Cookie recipe calls for about 85 grams of graham cracker crumb, so I've included how to make 85 grams of crumb.
Graham Cracker Crumb Recipe
½ cup crumbled graham cracker crust. Make this first. Mix 6 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs (42 grams) with 1 tablespoon dry milk powder (5 grams), ½ tablespoon sugar and a little less than ¼ teaspoon salt. In another bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tablespoon cream. Add to the graham mixture and stir. Make sure it holds together when you squeeze it. If not, add a drop more melted butter. You want it to hold together in small clusters. Keep in the refrigerator or freezer until it's time to add to the cookie dough.
Compost Cookie Copycat
2 sticks/ 8 oz cold unsalted butter, chopped up (225 grams)
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
⅔ light brown sugar, packed (150 grams)
2 tablespoon corn syrup (Momof*cku usesglucose) (50 grams)
½ tsp vanilla
1 large egg (52 grams)
1 ⅓ cups King Arthur bread flour (225 grams)
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ teaspoon Morton brand Kosher salt or regular salt or use 1 teaspoon coarse Diamond brand
¾ cup mini chocolate chips
½ cup mini butterscotch chips (or regular size) -- caramel chips work too!
85 grams of the graham cracker crumb you made earlier (all of it)
⅓ cup oats, old fashioned type but quick works too (not instant)
2 ½ teaspoons ground coffee (5 grams) -- you can leave it out if you want
2 cups potato chips (50 grams), leave whole
1 cup mini pretzels (50 grams) or large thin pretzels (leave whole)
Instructions
In a stand mixer with the paddle attached, cream the cold butter, both sugars and corn syrup on medium high for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
Add egg and vanilla and stir to incorporate. Increase mixing speed to medium-high and run mixer for 10 full minutes (I usually stop at 6). During this time the sugar granules will dissolve, the mixture will become an almost pale white color and mixture will double in size.
Meanwhile, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
By hand or using lowest speed of mixer, stir in the flour mixture – don’t beat it in or the cookies won’t be as tender. Stir in everything else (graham crumble, etc.). When you stir in the graham crumble, make sure it's actually cold and in crumble. Leave the chips and pretzels whole and kind of break them a little as you stir or let the paddle break them up.
Divide into about 15 to 20 portions and put on a plate. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.
DO NOT BAKE your cookies from room temperature or they will not hold their shape.
Arrange on parchment lined baking sheets spacing 4 inches apart. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven, 1 sheet at a time, for about 18 minutes. They should be quite brown around the edges and still a little yellow in the middle. Let cool completely on baking sheet before transferring to a plate or an air tight container.
