Momofuku Milk Bar: cornflake-chocolate-chip marshmallow cookies

April 29, 2014 by Chandra Leave a Comment

If you remember when I wrote about the Crack Pie there there were many, many recipes that I wanted to try from the Milk Bar. Well after trying the crack pie I decided that my next recipe would be a cookie. I happened to have all of the ingredients available for the cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookie and thought the combination sounded delicious!

Like most recipes in this cookbook, there are many steps and there is preparation in making the cookies but it’s completely worth the work! For this recipe you have to first make the cornflake crunch. This cornflake crunch does just what the name implies in the recipe-it adds crunch to the cookie!

These cookies are delicious cooked but they are also great straight from the fridge as cookie dough (I couldn’t resist–i really LOVE cookie dough and this one was no exception!) For these cookies you definitely need to chill them in the refrigerator in order for them to cook properly. These cookies bake up with a crispy exterior and slightly chewy inside. We are used to really chewy cookies so at first my kids were concerned that they wouldn’t like them. One taste of the finished cookie and my oldest cleaned her plate at dinner for a week in order to earn a cookie for desert.

So all in all, this recipe like the last in that it’s not one you are going to whip up and eat immediately but the wait is worth it. I can’t wait to try the blueberry cookies next!

One last thing…here’s the perfect thing to do with the leftover cornflake crunch (the recipe calls for 3/4 of a batch so you have some leftover–that’s a good thing!) I made a yogurt parfait and replaced the granola with the cornflake crunch! Delicious!

Here’s a like to the original recipe from Milk Bar but I’ve also included below to print nicely.

Momofuku Milk Bar: cornflake-chocolate-chip marshmallow cookies

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

18 mins

Total time

1 hour 18 mins

The perfect salty and sweet, crunchy and chewy cookie

Author: The Daily Dabble

Serves: 15-20 cookies

Ingredients

225 g (16 tbs) butter, at room temperature
250 g (1¼ cups) granulated sugar
150 g (2⁄3 cup tightly packed) light brown sugar
1 egg
2 g (1/2 tsp) vanilla extract
240 g (1½ cups) flour
2 g (1/2 tsp) baking powder
1.5 g (1/2 tsp) baking soda
5 g (1½ teaspoons) kosher salt
¾ recipe (3 cups) cornflake crunch (recipe below)
170 g (1/2 12oz box or 5 cups) cornflakes
40 g (1/2 cup) milk powder
40 g (3 tbs) sugar
4 g (1 tsp) kosher salt
130 g (9 tbs) butter, melted
125 g (2⁄3 cup) mini chocolate chips
65 g (1¼ cups) mini marshmallows

Instructions

combine the butter and sugars 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. (see page 27 for notes on this process.)
reduce the mixer 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 over mixing the dough.) scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
still on low speed, paddle in the cornflake crunch and mini chocolate chips just until they’re incorporated, no more than 30 to 45 seconds. paddle in the mini marshmallows just until incorporated.
using a 2¾ oz ice cream scoop (or a ⅓ 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 hold their shape.
heat the oven to 375°f.
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. at the 18-minute mark, the cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown toward the center. leave them in the oven for an additional minute or so if they aren’t and they still seem pale and doughy on the surface.
cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or to an airtight container for storage. at room temperature, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.
Cornflake Crunch:
heat the oven to 275°f.
pour the cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. add the milk powder, sugar, and salt and toss to mix. add the butter and toss to coat. as you toss, the butter will act as glue, binding the dry ingredients to the cereal and creating small clusters.
spread the clusters on a parchment- or silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when cooled slightly and chewed.
cool the cornflake crunch completely before storing or using in a recipe. stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for 1 week; in the fridge or freezer, it will keep for 1 month.

Friday Family Favorites: Perfect Pie Crust

April 29, 2014 by Chandra Leave a Comment

Pie Crust is a funny thing. Growing up my mom made cakes and cookies but not pie crusts. She just bought the pre-made version from the grocery store. When I started baking in knew that I wanted to figure out how to make a pie crust from scratch. I wanted a go-to version that was quick, easy and most importantly reliable…it had to turn out perfect every time I made it.

I have tried with butter, crisco, a combination of both and often use different version. However, if I want a quick version, that’s not fussy and I know is going to work for me, this is the version I use! This is adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s version and she shows you step by step if interested.

Here are a few of my tips and trick to making this crust turn out perfect every time you make it! There are many, many versions of homemade pie crust…use whatever one works for you! This recipe is not fussy. There is butter in this recipe but I pull it straight from the fridge and don’t do anything special with it.

Freeze the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling out-it will make your life easier! During that 30 minutes, prep the rest of the pie.
When I roll out dough I place it between two sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper (wax paper works better but I was out so here I’ve used plastic wrap) and roll out the dough to the desired size. Then you can remove once piece of the plastic/wax paper and place in you dish. Once placed remove the other piece of plastic/wax paper and ta-da you have a perfectly places pie crust!
Use an egg wash! A simple egg wash will do wonders for the finished product. It helps to brown the crust and to make it shiny.

I hope you have as much success with this recipe as I do!

Friday Family Favorites: Perfect Pie Crust

Prep time

45 mins

Total time

45 mins

Quick, Easy and Reliable Pie crust

Author: The Daily Dabble

Serves: 2 pie crust

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup crisco
2 eggs
1 tablespoon white vinegar
¼ + 2 tablespoons cup cold water

Instructions

Combine the flour, salt, butter and crisco into a mixing bowl.
Mix together until there are pea sized balls
Combine 1 egg, vinegar and ¼ cup cold water
Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir until dough comes together
Separate dough into 2 balls and place individually into plastic bag.
Freeze for 30 minutes before rolling out.
Roll out dough and use for any recipe where a pie crust is needed!

Easter Treat-What to do with leftover Easter candy

April 22, 2014 by Chandra Leave a Comment

Did the Easter bunny visit your house and leave WAY too much candy? If you are looking for a cute and yummy way to use up that candy try making some easter bark!

I happened to see this post by Sweetapolita where she made the most adorable easter bark. I was looking for something cute and simple to make and hand out to people for easter and knew this was what I’d be trying. As Sweetapolita mentions, you should take the time to temper the chocolate so that the finished product is pretty. It really doesn’t take much extra time and it makes the finished product ready for gifting!

Making chocolate bark couldn’t be easier:

Melt (temper) chocolate. If you want 2-toned chocolate like I did then you will melt chocolate as well as white chocolate.
If you want to color your white chocolate then make sure that you have food coloring that is meant for chocolate. I used one by Wilton and it worked great.
Pour the chocolate onto a cookie sheet that is lined with silpat. If you don’t have a silpat sheet then you can use parchment paper. You just need to make sure you have a surface that the melted chocolate isn’t going to stick to.
Next pour the colored chocolate on top of the first and swirl (a toothpick or skewer works great).
Add candies of your choice and allow to harden.
Break into pieces, package and serve!

Now go gather up that leftover candy and make some of your own!

Birthday Cake: Ordinary or Extraordinary

April 15, 2014 by Chandra Leave a Comment

Happy Birthday Abigail! Our oldest child is 7 today! I have one super excited little girl. I mean who wouldn’t be if they were getting donuts for breakfast, cookie cake for lunch at school and a birthday cake for dinner! Can I just say sugar overload!

Several months ago Abigail saw a picture of a checkerboard cake and she thought that it looked great. She asked if we could make one. I mentally flagged the idea for sometime in the future. Well just before Abigail’s birthday we taught her how to play checkers and the checkerboard idea resurfaced. When Abigail didn’t have a specific cake that she wanted for her birthday I knew I could surprise her with the inside of the cake!

So what looks like an ‘ordinary’ birthday cake on the outside turns ‘extraordinary’ once you cut into the cake!

Happy Birthday Abigail!

Momofuku Milk Bar: Crack Pie Recipe and Review

March 31, 2014 by Chandra 1 Comment

A slice of pie

My husband and I recently had a weekend away and I read Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi. I bought the cookbook thinking that I’d add it to my collection but that I’d probably never actually make one of the recipes. You see the recipes are complex, have many steps and are all time consuming. However once I started reading the cookbook I was sucked in and by the time I finished the book there were many recipes that I knew I had to try!

The first recipe that I’ve made it this one: Crack Pie. As the name implies, it’s a very addictive pie and I have to agree with Christina that it’s the corn powder that’s the secret ingredient that completes the pie.

My biggest takeaway from making this was was to never throw cookies away! They make awesome pie crust. I’m not sure why I’ve never thought of this before but the next time I have cookies past their eating prime I’m going to turn them into a crust!

If you have time to spend making this from scratch, I recommend doing so. Chances are that you’ll learn something along the way!

Momofuku Milk Bar: Crack Pie

Milk Bar Crack Pie

Author: Christina Tosi

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 2 pies; each 8-10 slices

Ingredients

CRACK PIE:
¼ cup butter
1 recipe Oat Cookie (recipe follows)
1½ tablespoons light brown sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 recipe Crack Pie Filling (recipe follows)
dusting of confectioner's sugar
OAT COOKIE:
½ cup butter
⅓ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 egg yolk
½ cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1 cup rolled oats
scant ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
pinch baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
FILLING FOR CRACK PIE:
1 cup butter
1½ cups sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk powder
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 egg yolks

Instructions

To make pie:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a microwave, gently melt your butter on a med/low setting for 15-30 seconds. Let it cool until it is not hot to the touch before proceeding.
Put the oat cookie, brown sugar and salt in the food processor and pulse it on and off until the cookie is broken down into a wet sand. (If you don't have a food processor, you can fake it till you make it and crumble the oat cookie diligently with your hands.)
Transfer the cookie crumbs to a bowl and, with your hands, knead the butter and ground cookie mixture until the contents of the bowl are moist enough to knead into a ball. If it is not moist enough to do so, gently melt and additional 15-25g of butter and knead it into the oat crust mixture. Divide the oat crust evenly over two 10" pie tins (two pies is always better than one).
Using your fingers and the palm of your hand, press the oat cookie crust firmly into both 10-inch pie shells. Make sure the bottom and the walls of the pie shells are evenly covered. Use the pie shells immediately or, wrapped well in plastic, store the pie shells at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Place both pie shells on a ½ sheet pan. Divide the crack pie filling evenly over both crusts. The filling should fill the crusts ¾ way full. And bake at 350F for 20 minutes. During this time, the crack pie will still be very jiggly, but should become golden brown on top. Know your oven, which corners bake your cookies or pies lighter or darker and take these nooks into consideration when placing your pies in the oven-use the shelf and corners that brown your baked goods best.
At 20 minutes, open the oven door and reduce the baking temperature to 325F Depending on your oven this will take 5-10 minutes-keep the pies in the oven during this process. When the oven reads 325F, close the door and finish baking the crack pie for 5 minutes.
At 5 minutes, the crack pie should still be jiggly in the bulls eye center, but not in the outer center circle. If the crack pie is still too jiggly, leave the pies in the oven an additional 5 minutes in the 325F oven.
Gently take the half sheet pan of crack pies out of the oven and transfer to a rack to cool at room temperature. You can speed up the cooling process by carefully transferring the pies to the fridge or freezer if you're in a hurry. Freeze your pie for as little as 3 hours or overnight to condense the filling for a dense final product-the signature of a perfectly executed crack pie.
Wrap the crack pies if you are not serving them right away. Decorate your pies with 10x through a fine sieve or the pinch of your fingers.
To make oat cookie:
Heat the oven to 350F.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on medium high for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
On a lower speed, add egg to incorporate. Increase the speed back up to a medium high for 1 to 2 minutes until the sugar granules fully dissolve and the mixture is a pale white color.
On a lower speed, add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix 60-75 sec until your dough comes together and all remnants of dry ingredients have incorporated. Your dough will still be a slightly fluffy, butter fatty mixture in comparison to your average cookie dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
Pam spray and line a quarter sheet pan with parchment or a Silpat. Plop the oat cookie dough in the center of the pan and with a spatula, spread it out until it is ¼" thick. The dough won't end up covering the entire pan, this is okay. Bake the oat cookie at 350F for 15 minutes.
Cool completely before using in the crack pie recipe.
To make filling:
In a microwave, gently melt the butter down in 15-second intervals. Make sure it is not hot to the touch.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed, mix together the dry ingredients until they are evenly distributed. If you try to mix the crack pie filling in on any higher than a low speed, you will incorporate too much air in the following steps and your pie will not be dense an gooey- the essence of the crack pie.
Add the melted butter to the mixer and paddle until all the dry ingredients are moist.
Add the heavy cream and vanilla and mix until the white from the cream has completely disappeared into the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Add the egg yolks to the mixer, paddling them in to the mixture just to combine. Be careful not to aerate the mixture.