If you’ve never thought to put cereal or marshmallows into cookies, you may wish to rethink that.
I’ve made plenty of Rice Krispies Bars and Chocolate Candy Cereal Bars with with cereal and marshmallows, but have never put them into cookies.
Why not? I have no idea. But there was no time like the present to start.
Here are my candid thoughts and notes about the cookies and recipe, which is from Christina Tosi’s Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook. I am posting it as part of the Milk Bar Mondays group I’m part of and a half dozen of us all made this recipe this week. Unfortunately, many of had some baking fails, ranging from mild to severe.
I wrote Tosi’s recipe (below) as it is written in her book. However, I halved the recipe because I didn’t need 15 to 20 large bakery style cookies just layin’ around. I yielded 9 large cookies, which was plenty. These things are about the size of soccer balls.
I followed her recipe to the T. I never follow recipes exactly, but I did in this case because I know what a stickler she is for directions and implies that if you don’t follow her recipes exactly, there’s no telling if it will work or not.
As long as I was going to put the time and energy into making these cookies, and all that butter and sugar too, I wanted the recipe to work.
I didn’t use measuring cups and exclusively used my food scale, weighing each and every ingredient down to the gram. It was literally an exact science.
You must chill the dough for at least one hour, or up to one week. I chilled my dough for approximately 44 hours. Almost two days.
I slightly patted down the domed tops of my cookie dough balls before chilling them, but didn’t make them as flat as hockey pucks which was a good call as these cookies needed all the help they could get in terms of staying puffy. They spread and flattened, dramatically. This was very disappointing as I watched them splooge and spread while they were baking. I wanted to beat on the door of my oven and scream, No, Don’t You Dare Spread! But they did anyway.
She suggests baking these cookies for 18 minutes, but when I made Compost Cookies using her recipe, I thought those cookies were on the cusp of being too overdone for my liking and she suggests a similar baking time in that recipe.
With that knowledge, I decided to start watching these cookies closely at about 13 minutes and I’m glad I did. My cookies were done and crispy at 13 1/2 to 14 minutes and at 18 minutes I would have had set off the smoke alarm. Butter burns in a hurry.
I love the addition of the Cornflake Crunch (you make a batch of that before you actually make the cookies) but don’t feel it’s worth the extra step. I will use crushed Frosted Flakes straight from the box next time if I feel the need for flaky sweet cereal in cookies.
I thought the cereal and marshmallows were great in combination, especially with the chocolate chips (I used regular-sized chocolate chips, not mini). Sort of like having smores within cookies. Look at those toasty marshmallows. A perfect gooeyfest.
The dough, like all her doughs, is heavy on the butter. The cookies are very buttery and rich, but I couldn’t get over their lack of puffiness.
A puffy, chewy cookie, with less crispiness and more softness is as important to me as taste and these weren’t as puffy or soft ‘n chewy as I had hoped.
And I honestly have no idea what I could have done differently. It’s interesting because when I googled this recipe, every blog post I came across for these cookies shows paper thin cookies that are of the less-than-perfectly-photogenic variety so I know I am not alone.
I researched online to find out the causes of flat or spreading cookies and the general issues contributing to the problem include:
dough too warm (mine was chilled for two days, not my problem)
high butter content cookies spread more easily (yes, that’s these)
large cookies don’t have as good of a chance at puffing compared to smaller cookies because of their sheer mass and size (check again, these are cookies are little bowling balls at 1/3 cup of raw dough, each)
Overall, I loved the combination of crunchy cereal that stayed fairly crunchy, the gooey melty marshmallows, and it’s fun to try new cookie recipes.
However, I have my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe (that rolls chocolate chip, subtle peanut butter, and oatmeal cookies all into one) and will probably add some fun add-in’s like cereal or marshmallows to that dough base in the future because I know it gives me the puff and chewiness I want. Not that these were awful or anything.
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Cornflake-Chocolate-Chip-Marshmallow Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 225 g butter, room temperature (16 tablespoons, 2 sticks)
- 250 g granulated sugar, 1 1/4 cups
- 150 g light brown sugar, 2/3 cup tightly packed
- 1 egg
- 2 g vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon
- 240 g flour, 1 1/2 cups
- 2 g baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon
- 1.5 g baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon
- 5 g kosher salt, 1 1/4 teaspoons
- ¾ recipe Cornflake Crunch which is 270 g, 3 cups, see below
- 125 g mini chocolate chips, 2/3 cup
- 65 g mini marshmallows, 1 1/4 cups
Cornflake Crunch
- 170 g cornflakes, haf of 12-ounce box, 5 cups
- 40 g milk powder, 1/2 cup
- 40 g sugar, 3 tablespoons
- 4 g kosher salt, 1 teaspoon
- 130 g butter, melted (9 tablespoons)
Instructions
Cornflake Crunch
- Heat oven to 275F. Pour the cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. Add milk powder, sugar, salt, and toss to mix. Add butter and toss to coat; butter will act as the glue binding the dry ingredients to the cereal 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 slightly cooled 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 wil keep for 1 month.
Making the Cookies
- 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 sides of bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
- 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 mixer or overmix). Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Still on low speed, paddle in the cornflake crunch and chocolate chips until just incorporated, no more than 30 to 45 seconds. Paddle in marshmallows until just incorporated.
- Using a 2 3/4-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 dough domes flat. Wrap sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies at room temperature – they will not hold their shape.
- Heat oven to 375F. 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 enter. Leave them in the oven for an additional minute or so if they aren’t and still seem pale and doughy on the surface.
- Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Other Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook-Inspired Recipes
Cinnamon Bun Pie – I made a 10 minute cheater’s version and highly recommend it. Best way to doctor up a can of cinnamon rolls, ever.
Crack Pie – as addictive, decadent and fabulous as the name sounds. Labor-intensive, but worth it.
Buttery Toasted Cap’n Crunchies – I used her Cornflake Crunch idea as inspiration and the result is buttery, toasted cereal that tastes like one big bowl of buttered toast pieces. If you like buttered toast, this is your recipe. I prefer Cap’n Crunchies to the Cornflake Crunch as I think these have more flavor and more texture.
Compost Cookies – Potato chips in cookies, with the salty ‘n sweet combination, really is so good. Don’t knock it til you try it.
Wow, this recipe sounds amazing, so creative adding cereal! I’ve done that for savory recipes in the past and have made vegan rice crispy treats, so rice crispy’s are my fave cereal to cook with. And your cookies look perfect, not flat at all. I tend to like a variety of textures, flatter cookies have their place too.
rice krispies will ALWAYS be a fave of mine, too :)
Yesss!!! This is such a fun recipe!
Averie- what are you talking about? Your cookies look pretty perfect to me! It seems like all of ours spread a ton, but yours still look great. I didn’t weigh my ingredients and probably creamed the batter a little less than I should have- but they still are a tasty cookie.
And I have to agree with you, I think the cornflake crunch only added more sugar and butter. Next time I’ll just add crushed cornflakes and maybe a little milk powder. :)
I did everything to the letter of the law, and still am less than thrilled with them. They’re “fine”, but not the amazing-ness I was hoping for but it seems we ALL had issues..that tells me something is awry with the recipe :(
This is ALL KINDS of perfect Averie!!! Wow! I’m hopping on a plane :)
ever since you started this project I’ve had an urge to overnight ship you some momofuku milk bar treats.
I’d love to try the real thing one day so I know just how good it is AND how close I can get to what it’s supposed to taste like. One day I’ll get to NY!
I love mixing in coconut, marshmallow and chocolate.
That sucks that they didnt come out the way you wanted, but I’m sure they won’t go to waste! They are huge though ha ha!
Yes HUGE, soccer balls I called them!
Even though these didn’t turn out thick and puffy like you wanted, they sure do look good to me! Divine, actually. I really need to make these!
Please LMK if you do make them and your results!
My Mom used to make me cornflake cookies all the time when I was younger. The texture is amazing!
I’d love to hear her recipe or if you ever post about them on your site, LMK!
I have become more of a bar baking lady since reading your blog, but several years ago (when I did more actual cookie baking), I recall having thinner cookies most any time I used butter instead of shortening. My old stand by is a basic Tollhouse recipe with additions of oats, coconut, maybe some PB or different kind of chip.
bar baking is SO much easier than cookies I think :)
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/10/chocolate-chip-peanut-butter-oatmeal-cookies.html
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/10/peanut-butter-oatmeal-white-chocolate-cookies.html
Both are fabulously chewy, touch of PB, oats, and derived from the Cooks Illustrated recipe which is even softer/chewier than the Tollhouse recipe. I am all about soft ‘n chewy! You’re right about shortening cookies being puffy!
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/03/puffy-vanilla-and-peanut-butter-chip-cookies.html
The texture of yours looks much better than mine still, but they are so stinking thin. Glad they tasted good! :-)
So disappointing though…ALL that work. I just was hoping for cookies like in her book. But if we all had the same issue, to varying degrees, that tells me something is wrong with the recipe (at least for home-cooks)
Looks like the ratio of butter to flour is much too high in this recipe. I read that book, Ratio, a while back and for drop cookies, it should be closer to 1:1. How did you like using the food scale though? That’s how I always do things. No extra dishes to wash. ;)
I need to buy that book. I would love it. And would then obsess nonstop about ratios!
Food scale for this recipe was great b/c there were many things which I had to halve 3/4 of a cup. Much easier to just halve a number in grams than try to halve a strange fraction that doesn’t divide easily.
And I JUST ordered some books on Amazon. Should have put that one in my cart,too!
They do look really thin and I imagine that is because of all the butter. They still look really tasty though!
Hey Averie! I have heard that a lot of bakeries with cookbooks don’t give out exact recipes, make changes for the cookbook version or have to alter the recipe because they would normally make such huge quantities in the kitchen! Maybe that’s why the cookies didn’t work out?
I remember baking from the Babycakes cookbook that there was one version of her chocolate chip cookie recipe in the book, another on her website and another one on a video she filmed. And most of her recipes didn’t work for me at all!
Sounds like these have too much butter in them, hence the spreading. They still look good though!
Natasha
Oh I am relieved to hear your story; I have heard/read this before that some recipes in cookbooks from famous restaurants are either not the same recipe OR that due to quantity/scale issues, there is just no way to duplicate in a home kitchen what is made in mass scale in a commercial kitchen. I am sorry about your Babycakes failures..ugh. And can’t believe there are 3+ recipes for the choc chip cookies! Crazy!
I know!! I hate it when recipes fail :-( especially when they’re straight out of a book! The cookies turned out really good for vegan/gluten free ones though, only after I cut down the coconut oil waaay down to stop them spreading like pancakes!
I happened to go to a Milk Bar this weekend and I bought one of every single cookie (okay, TWO compost cookies), a slice of crack pie, slice of candy bar pie, and a couple of savory things. The cookies from the bakery are NOT as big as the cookbook claims they will be, nor are they as flat, and definitely not as crispy. They are soft and chewy (and delicious – at least the compost cookies, I froze the rest). I asked the girl working and she didn’t know the secret, but did say that she was pretty sure Tosi didn’t give up all her secrets. The flatness is definitely my biggest bummer about these recipes too, especially considering the originals don’t resemble what we come up with after cooking out of the book.
Wow, so informative, thank you! The Compost were easier to make for everyone in my cooking group. None of us really had issue with them. It’s the Cornflake cookies that just were a slippery slope, literally. I am pretty sure she didnt give up all her secrets, either. AND/Or sometimes making things at home just isnt possible compared to in huge restaurant commercial-grade kitchens. There is just a scale & equipment & batch size differential that can’t be corrected for..sad but true…
Very true. But there’s a secret to chewy cookies, and I’ve found that underbaking Tosi’s cookies doesn’t really correct the problem. It helps a bit though.Also, her ovens must burn cooler, because I always pull stuff out earlier (except for the liquid cheesecake, that took longer). Someone said don’t cream the butter and sugar for so long to help with flatness, but I haven’t tried that. Also, check out these pictures, kind of interesting! https://sweets.seriouseats.com/2012/02/are-momofuku-milk-bar-cookie-mixes-better-than-milk-bar-bakery-compost-cookies-williams-sonoma-mix.html
interesting post and product (those mixes!) – wow!
and yes, her ovens MUST run cooler..I have recently tested mine & I know mine is where it needs to be but I pull things out about 20-25% before she recommends…both for chewy factor and just not wanting to burn it!
I’ve found that underbaking Tosi’s cookies doesn’t really correct the problem. <--- agreed b/c there is still issue with the base of the dough. It's not "bad"; it's just not my preference I have come to learn, which has been fun to realize that I like certain doughs, she likes another; and hey, to each her own :)
damn thats way frustrating….especially since you really did follow it precisely. like you – i often go awol with recipes – which gives me a cause to failed results. but if i do follow something as it’s written, a highly famed author no less, i expect a damn near perfect outcome!! at least they tasted good, and you only have 9 not double that!!
yeah 99% of the time, I NEVER follow a recipe…and the one time I do, down to the letter, it wasn’t perfect. I like my wing-it approach :)
I wish I was part or Milk Bar Mondays!!!
Even though others’ cookies may not have worked out, yours look soft and delicous! Mallows are always good and I don’t know why I don’t put them in more of my cookies!
I need to do more ‘mallows in cookies, too. Not just in bars!