So I'm just going to put this out there right now... I have a big foodie crush on Christina Tosi. She's talented, innovative, and she comes up with the most amazing baked goods, like ever. Uh, Milk Crumbs? Liquid Cheesecake? Cereal Milk? Cornflake Crunch? The list goes on and on, and let us not forget, her extraordinary layer cakes. It's no surprise she is the James Beard Awards Outstanding Pastry Chef of 2015. Girl got it goin' on. 
 

I have heard of the Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies and that they aren't the easiest to make. A little research showed that a few other bakers had issues with the cookie. With the cookbook in my hand, it was my turn to see what all the fuss was about. I made the cornflake crunch, made the cookie dough, and after freezing the dough balls, baked them off. These cookies are now my favorite. Seriously, I don't think I will ever be able to make just a regular chocolate chip cookie again. The sweet, the salty, the butteryness, the chewiness, oh my goodness, it's cookie nirvana. I've made these cookies at least once a week since I got the cookbook about a month ago. These cookies are everything I never knew I wanted in a cookie, and so much more.

  -cookie add-ins-
There are two components to this cookie. First you make the cornflake crunch, which is like cornflakes on crack, then you add that to the cookie dough. It seems like a lot, but the work goes quickly and you can cool the cornflake crunch while you prepare the dough. It's definitely worth it to purchase a digital kitchen scale for Milk Bar recipes. It ensures that you'll get as close to the real thing as possible and I sometimes find that the weighted measurements differ from the cups, teaspoons, and tablespoon measurements. And you should follow Tosi's directions and stick to the "10 minute creaming process". I can't stress enough how important this is!

  -cornflake crunch-   Here few tips that may be useful with this cookie recipe:

• Use bread flour. The recipe says all purpose, but if you read in the cookbook and on the Milk Bar website it specifically states that Milk Bar uses King Arthur Bread Flour as their house all purpose flour. 
• I have found a good substitute for Plugra butter and it's Kerry Gold Unsalted Butter. It's Irish butter, made from grass-fed cows. It's delicious. 
• If you don't use a kitchen scale (though you really should), the amount of mini-chocolate chips is more like 3/4 cup instead of 2/3 cup. 
• For the cornflake crunch, the original recipe says 130g of butter, or 9 tablespoons. I just make it easy and use one stick (113g or 8 tablespoons). 
• Sometimes marshmallow meltage will occur around the edges and make the cookie look like a blob, a little trick I learned was when you remove the cookies from the oven you can use a spatula to sort of coax the meltage back into the cookie edge.
• I froze my dough for about 30 minutes then baked them from the freezer.
• The original recipe says to use a specific 2 3/4 oz. ice-cream scoop, I used my 1/4 cup cookie scoop. 
• I baked the cookies at 375F for 10 minutes. When the edges are golden brown remove them from the oven. The cookies will continue to cook while they cool on the cookie sheet.

Follow the recipe and these tips and you will have the most amazing cookie to gobble down. I'm just warning you, you won't be able to stop, they are seriously so good!
 

Momofuku Milk Bar Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies 
Slightly adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook by Christina Tosi
Makes 15-30 cookies, depending on size
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Ingredients: 

• 225 g (16 tbs) butter, at room temperature
• 250 g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar
• 150 g (2/3 cup tightly packed) light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 g (2 tsp) vanilla extract
• 260 g (1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons) bread flour
• 2 g (1/2 tsp) baking powder
• 1.5 g (1/2 tsp) baking soda
• 5 g (1 1/2 teaspoons) kosher salt
• 3/4 recipe (3 cups) cornflake crunch (recipe below)
• 125 g (3/4 cup) mini chocolate chips
• 65 g (1 1/4 cups) mini marshmallows

Directions: 

• Make the Cornflake Crunch, set aside.
• In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugars, and vanilla. Cream for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the egg and slowly incorporate, then turn up the mixer to medium high and cream for 8 minutes.
• While that creams, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Once the butter mixture finishes creaming scrape down the sides of the bowl and slowly add the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. 
• On low speed, paddle in the cornflake crunch and mini chocolate chips until just combined, then paddle in the mini marshmallows until incorporated. 
• Portion out the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Pat the domes of the dough flat and cover with plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour before baking, or 30 minutes in the freezer. (I did 1/4 cup dough balls with my scoop. What ever size you decide to make the cookies, just adjust cooking time accordingly!!)
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. 
• Place the chilled dough at least 4 inches apart on parchment bake for 10 minutes. The edges will be golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool cookies on sheet pan. 

Cornflake Crunch 
makes about 360 g (4 cups)

Ingredients:

• 170 g (1/2 12oz box or 5 cups) cornflakes
• 40 g (1/2 cup) milk powder
• 40 g (3 tablespoons) sugar
• 4 g (1 tsp) kosher salt
• 113 g (8 tablespoons) butter, melted

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 275F.  
• In a large bowl, add the cornflakes and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. Add the milk powder, sugar, and salt and mix together. Drizzle in the melted butter and stir to coat.
• Spread evenly onto a sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. 

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are literally hundreds of recipes for chocolate chip cookies out there. Everyone has a favorite, and everyone has different qualities that they look for in a cookie. For me, chocolate chip cookies should be crispy on the outside, chewy and gooey in the center. This recipe fits the bill when it comes to what I want in a chocolate chip cookie. I call these 'bakery style' chocolate chip cookies because they're a little bigger than the typical cookies that I make. They're completely shareable, like a bakery cookie should be.

I scoop these out with a 1/4 cup ice-cream scoop (pictured below). I also have a smaller scoop, about 2-3 tablespoons, I use for regular sized cookies. You can purchase these at your local 'big blue W' store, or here for the 1/4 cup size scoop and here for the smaller scoop.


This recipe calls specifically for bread flour. Don't worry, it's not just for making bread. All it means is that the flour has a higher protein content compared to regular all purpose flour. I find that it adds a sort of chewiness to cookies that all purpose flour does not. There are at least three brands of bread flour out there, feel free look around and choose the one to your liking. It's also important that you cream the butter, sugars, and egg for the specified amount of time. This creaming process is crucial to forming the dough. I cannot say how the cookies will turn out if these steps are skipped. Also, it's important that the dough chills in the fridge/freezer. This allows the butter in the dough to firm up again before baking, otherwise you will end up with puddles of baked cookie dough. This recipe is a little more work, but the end result is (in my opinion) a better tastier cookie.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 10-12 large cookies
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Ingredients: 

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips, of your choice (I use semi-sweet)

Directions:

• In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla extract on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
• Add the egg, and on low speed mix until the egg is incorporated, then turn the speed up to medium and mix for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix just until absorbed. Paddle in the chocolate chips until combined. *It should not take more than 30 seconds to add the flour and chocolate chips. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and with a spatula, scrape down around the sides of the bowl to combine any remnants of flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
• Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or 1 hour in the freezer if you're in a hurry. 
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F. 
• Scoop cookie dough with a 1/4 cup ice-cream scoop or measuring cup. Place 6 cookies on a half sheet pan and bake for 14-16 minutes. Start checking around 14 minutes. The edges should be golden brown and the center should be cooked through. Remove pan from oven and let cookies cool on pan for 2-3 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack. They may be a little soft, but will crisp up as the cool.

 
 

Peach Crisp with Sour Cream Topping

It's summer. It's hot, it's humid, and all I want is something fruity. I've been craving some sort of fruit crisp for a while, so when I was at the grocery store and I came upon these peaches, I knew that they were destined for more than just mere consumption.



 
Butter, brown sugar, and oats? The makings of one delicious and heavenly dessert. These were so perfect for a sunny summer afternoon.



pre-baking

Peach Crisp with Sour Cream Topping
generously serves two
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Ingredients:

• 2 large peaches, peeled or unpeeled, about 2 cups diced
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375F.
• Wash peaches and peel, if desired. Dice into 1 inch cubes and place equally into ramekins.
• In a bowl combine the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and salt, mix with a wooden spoon.
• Add the 4 tablespoons of melted butter and stir to moisten. Crumble over the peaches and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Cool on baking rack for about 15 minutes.
• Combine sour cream and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Dollop as much topping as desired onto warm peach crisps and enjoy.