I know I've said it before. But my baking (or selection of recipes, most likely) must be getting better, because these are the best {homemade} cookies I've ever eaten. I bought the Milk Bar recipe book with birthday money I received in January... and although I had combed through it several...no, dozens of times, I found the recipes somewhat daunting. Especially because I knew how Milk Bar products were supposed to taste, thanks to my friend Laura in New York who introduced me to their coma-inducing birthday cake truffles.
So I started small. While I was in New York, we stopped by a Milk Bar and I bought a box mix for the blueberry & cream cookies. This week, while I had a night off with no plans, I decided to give it a shot. When you think of a box of cookie mix I'm sure you think "Cool! I'll just add eggs and oil and voila! Amazing cookies!" ...right? Momofuku clearly has higher hopes for their baking fans. The box contained the components- save for the butter and eggs, but you still had to basically go through the same lengthy process as if you had decided to make them from scratch. Four hours later and my night had flown by in as little as a "mix this in" then "bake that" then "melt this" and "stir that". What a process! However, just when I was about to write the cookies off as "too much effort for junk food," I tried a cookie. And then another. And possibly a third. Someone I work with told me they were the best cookies they had ever had...
"That's it!" I thought. "I'm making them from scratch this Saturday and no one can stop me."
Well. I've shopped, I've mixed, melted, coated, cooled, crumbled, mixed again, beat, folded, and baked.
I started this process when I got home from shopping at about 1:00. It is now 4:30 and I have a couple dozen cookies to show for it.
I highly highly highly suggest making these. You will not be disappointed.
Milk Crumb Ingredients
1/2 cup milk powder
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 stick melted butter
1/4 cup milk powder- (yes, again)
3 ounces white chocolate, melted
1. Heat the oven to 250*F
2. Combine 1/2 cup milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Toss until mixed well. Add melted butter and toss again, using a spatula until mixture forms small clusters.
3. Spread out clusters on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes (however my oven is very hot- I only needed to bake them for about 12- do NOT let them get any more than a little brown. Please watch them closely-this happens fast). Cool completely.
4. Crumble any large clumps a bit smaller and add to a small bowl. Add the remaining milk powder. Melt the white chocolate and pour onto cooled crumbs in a bowl and coat the crumbs.
5. Place the crumbs back on the baking sheet in a single layer and put in the fridge until hardened, break apart pieces if needed and crumble a bit more.
2 sticks butter, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white corn syrup
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk crumb (previous recipe)
3/4 cup dried blueberries
1. Combine butter, sugars and glucose in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down sides, add eggs, and beat for 8 minutes on medium-high (this is important- the mixture should be very pale and fluffy in the end)
3. Add the milk crumbs and mix for no longer than 30 seconds, then add the blueberries and again-do not mix for more than 30 seconds.
4. Portion out dough onto parchment-lined pan. Milk Bar makes giant cookies (1/3 cup of dough each, spaced 4 inches apart), however feel free to make slightly smaller ones. Refrigerate the unbaked cookies for a minimum of an hour (also extremely important-don't skip this)
5. Preheat the oven to 350*F.
6. Put the cold cookies into the oven, and bake for 18 minutes (again, about 10-12 for me!) or until edges just start to brown but centre still looks pretty uncooked- that's ok! You want that. Remove them and let them cool completely on the cookie sheet.
CONSUME!... Cookies will keep fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container, or you can freeze them :)
