Compost Cookies Recipe

Recipe created by Christina Tosi
Oprah.com | November 08, 2011

Compost cookies always turn out great in my mother's kitchen because she infamously has a hodgepodge of mix-ins, none in great enough quantity to make an actual single-flavored cookie on its own. My brother-in-law calls them "garbage cookies"; others call them "kitchen sink cookies." Call them what you want and make them as we make them at Milk Bar or add your own favorite snacks to the cookie base in place of ours.

Makes 15–20 cookies

Ingredients

In a pinch, substitute 18 grams (1 tablespoon) corn syrup for the glucose. For the coffee grounds in this cookie, we tested the recipe with freshly roasted and ground artisanal coffee from Stumptown as well as with craptastic coffee grounds that you can find just about anywhere. We discovered that it doesn't make a difference what kind you use; the cookie is delicious every time. Just make sure you don't use instant coffee; it will dissolve in the baking process and ruin the cookies. And, above all else, never use wet, sogalicious grounds that have already brewed a pot of coffee. We use Cape Cod potato chips because they aren't paper thin, so they don't break down too much in the mixing process.

225 grams (16 Tbsp. or 2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
150 grams (2⁄3 cup, tightly packed) light brown sugar
50 grams (2 Tbsp.) glucose
1 egg
2 grams (1/2 tsp.) vanilla extract
225 grams (1 1/3 cups) flour
2 grams (1/2 tsp.) baking powder
1 1/2 grams (1/4 tsp.) baking soda
4 grams (1 tsp.) kosher salt
150 grams (3/4 cup) mini chocolate chips
100 grams (1/2 cup) mini butterscotch chips
1/4 recipe Graham Crust (85 grams or 1/2 cup; see separate recipe)
40 grams (1/3 cup) old-fashioned rolled oats
5 grams (2 1/2 tsp.) ground coffee
50 grams (2 cups) potato chips
50 grams (1 cup) mini pretzels

Directions

Combine the butter, sugars and glucose in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. (Do not walk away from the machine during this step, or you will risk overmixing the dough.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Still on low speed, add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, graham crust, oats and coffee, and mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the potato chips and pretzels, and paddle, still on low speed, until just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix or break too many of the pretzels or potato chips. (You deserve a pat on the back if one of your cookies bakes off with a whole pretzel standing up in the center.)

Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop (or a 1⁄3-cup measure), portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. 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. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature—they will not bake properly.

Heat the oven to 375°.

Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pans. 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.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temp, cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.

Printed from Oprah.com on Friday, May 24, 2013