Compost Cookies

Here’s a blast from the past, Compost Cookies! I re-did this post because it was 15 years old and referenced Regis & Kelly. So here's a new, fresh, recipe for the famous big, sweet, salty "everything but the kitchen sink" type cookies created by Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar.

What Are Compost Cookies?

Don’t let the name scare you. There’s no banana peel or coffee grounds involved (though there is ground coffee). Compost Cookies earned their name because they use up a little of this and a little of that — chocolate chips, salty snacks, graham cracker crumbs, and butterscotch morsels. They're clean-out-your-cupboard kind of cookies, but with the structure and finesse of a bakery classic.

Improvising With Add-Ins

The spirit of this type of cookie is to just make changes to your heart's content and go wild with add-ins, but these cookies are so perfectly balanced you may want to actually stick with the recipe. One change I do make is to use espresso beans instead of the ground coffee. And lately, for the pretzels I've been using a new product by Snack Factory called Pop 'Ems. The texture of the puffed pretzels works great in Compost Cookies.

Cookie Tips

• Don't skip the chill. Tosi recommends chilling the dough for at least an hour before baking. This prevents spreading and gives the mix-ins time to hydrate. From what I remember, the cookies I bought at Milk Bar many moons ago were thick and looked like the one in the first photo rather than the featured image, which is from a batch I didn't chill for long.
• Use sturdy snacks. Kettle-type potato chips and pretzel twists hold up better than thinner varieties.
• Weigh your ingredients. Especially the dry ones, too much flour or sugar and the texture will suffer. If there's a weigh next to a measurement, use that rather than the volume.
• Use a stand mixer. The original recipe calls for a whole lot of creaming. You cream the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes, then cream for 7 or 8 after adding the egg. This helps build structure.

More Ingredient Notes

• Graham Cracker Crust -- A component of the cookies is ½ cup of the special mixture Milk Bar uses for their graham cracker crusts. I've used it unbaked, and I've also tried baking and crumbling it. Crushed graham crackers may be substituted, but the cookies are better with the special crust mixture.
• Butter -- Any good butter should work. I tend to get thicker cookies when I use Plugra, so I try to make these with Plugra when it's on sale.
• Bread Flour or All Purpose -- King Arthur bread and all-purpose both have plenty of protein for structure. Gold Medal or Pillsbury bread flour also work. Cookies made with Gold Medal or Pillsbury may spread a little more. With bread flour, you'll most likely get a much thicker cookie (like the one in the first photo on this page).
• Correct Amount of Flour -- Also, the correct amount is 225 grams. There's some discrepancy in the original recipe where it calls for 1 ⅓ cups and lists the weight as 225 grams. 225 grams is really about 1 ⅔ cup.
• Corn Syrup-- The bakery uses glucose syrup, which is thicker. Corn syrup works well too.
• Coffee -- People originally thought the cookies had coffee grounds, but the correct ingredient is ground coffee. Do not use instant! It will dissolve and ruin the cookies. Or skip the ground coffee and go with the espresso beans as mentioned above.
• Potato Chips -- Cape Cod or any thick Kettle style chips work, but I use whatever type chips we have. Ranch Doritos are a real favorite. _{Just kidding. I'm not sure if anyone reads these ingredient notes.}

Don't be too put off my the long ingredient list in the recipe card. I included the Milk Bar graham cracker crust mixture, which is just a component. You'll only need a quarter of it for the recipe.

• Confetti Cookies
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• Blackstrap Molasses Cookies
  
  

Lastly, here's a link to the Milk Bar cookbook, which has tons of other good recipes and is a fun read.

Recipe

Compost Cookie Copycat

Anna

An old recipe for cookies similar to the Compost Cookies from Milk Bar in NYC.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Cooling Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15 cookies

Ingredients

 

Graham Cracker Crumble -- Optional

• 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (200 grams)
• 3-4 tablespoon dry milk powder (weight varies by brand, so use 20 grams no matter the volume) (20 grams)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (24 grams)
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoon melted unsalted butter (56 grams)
• 4 tablespoon cream (55 grams)

Cookie Dough

• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks (225 grams)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
• ⅔ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed (150 grams) -- best to weigh
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup (40 grams)
• ½ tsp vanilla (I use a teaspoon and leave out the coffee)
• 1 large egg (52 grams)
• 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose or bread flour (225 grams)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon Morton brand Kosher salt or regular salt or use 1 teaspoon coarse Diamond brand
• ½ cup graham cracker crumb mixture (¼ batch) (85 grams)
• ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
• ½ cup butterscotch chips or regular size -- caramel chips work too!
• ⅓ cup oats, old fashioned
• 2 ½ teaspoons ground coffee (any brand, not coffee grounds) or use a handful of chocolate covered espresso beans 5 grams
• 2 cups potato chips. like Cape Cod brand (50 grams) barely crush or leave whole
• 1 cup mini pretzels or puffed pretzel snacks (50 grams )

Instructions

 

Graham Cracker Crust (for crumbling)

• If you have the time, make this crumble and use it in the dough. If not, just use graham cracker crumbs.
• Mix together crumbs, milk powder, sugar and salt. In another bowl, stir together melted butter and 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.

Cookie Dough

• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup on medium-high for 2–3 minutes.
• Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla. Continue beating for 6–8 minutes until pale and glossy.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Reduce mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined. This is a very pale dough, but the cookies will brown, don't you worry.
• Stir in the graham cracker mixture, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, oats and ground coffee or chocolate covered espresso beans.
• Gently fold in the potato chips and pretzels by hand to avoid breaking them too much. They'll break naturally as you shape the cookies.
• Scoop dough into ⅓ cup mounds, pressing them tightly and slightly flattening tops. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet or dinner plate.
• Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours) before baking.
• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake chilled dough for 16–18 minutes, or until edges are golden and centers are just set. Note: Check the cookies halfway through. If they are not spreading, pull the pan out and quickly tap it gently on the counter. If they are spreading too much or in pattern that is unpleasing to you, use the edge of a spatula to push them slightly inward, gently shaping into a circle. This is tip is here because flours behave differently and with all of the add-ins, the cookies might spread more or less than the ones in the photo.
• Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. These are best once completely cool.

Notes

Dough freezes well. Freeze pre-portioned balls and bake straight from frozen (add 1–2 minutes to bake time).

Keyword Compost Cookies

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