Blueberry and Cream Cookies

We recently had the thrill of experiencing Christina Tosi's incredibly original desserts at Momofuku Milk Bar in the East Village. Bucking today's trend of shopping on the outside isles of the grocery store, Tosi and her distinguished staff's inspiration points them straight to the interior. Using things such as non-fat milk powder, coffee grounds, packaged white bread, potato chips, and the kitchen sink, you find yourself wanting one of everything in the dessert case.

I tried one of the Blueberry and Cream cookies (along with compost cookie, the malted marshmallow cake, and salty pistachio caramel soft serve), and could have easily devoured three more on the spot. I thought chewiness of this cookie was awesome, but was particularly intrigued by the concept of milk crumbs, not to mention blueberries, in cookies.

This is actually one of the more mainstream desserts sold at MMB that won't scare the less adventurous eater. You can watch the video here of Christina making the cookies on Martha Stewart.

If you haven't seen David Chang's book Momofuku you have got to take a look. There are a few more recipes from Tosi in the book that are featured on the Momofuku Ko's menu.

Blueberry + Cream Cookies

Blueberry + Cream Cookies (a two part recipe)
by Christina Tosi

Milk Crumbs

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon nonfat milk powder
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup white chocolate, melted

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Stir in melted butter until well combined. Spread mixture on prepared baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake until dried and crumbly, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove milk crumble from oven and let cool completely.
3. Transfer milk crumble to a large bowl and fold in remaining 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons milk powder and white chocolate. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Blueberry and Cream Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) Plugra European-style unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup glucose
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup Milk Crumbs

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix together butter, sugars, and glucose until well combined. Add egg and mix until well combined.
3. Add flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add blueberries and milk crumbs and mix until well combined. Using an ice cream scoop about 2 1/8 inches in diameter, scoop dough into balls and place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer baking sheets to refrigerator until dough is chilled, about 15 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until cookies are golden brown and tops begin to crackle, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Chewy Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies

I first made these cookies about 3 years ago. Since then they have become a part of the list of "go to" recipes when looking for something people are going to devour. If done right (1/4 cup of dough rolled into a ball and then pressed to a thickness of a 1/2") these cookies come out looking like something from a bakery. As a matter of fact, I took them to a picnic one time and no one was eating them. I asked my sister, "Did you try one of these? There awesome." My sister said she didn't want to eat something someone bought a bakery when there was so much homemade food to eat. I told her they were homemade. By me! By the end of the picnic they were gone. Happiness is taking home an empty container.

Jumbo Cranberry Oatmeal Jumbles
Recipe by Nicole Rees, co-author of Understanding Baking

Yields 16 to 18 big, chewy cookies

• 6 ounces (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 tpsn pure vanilla extract
• 6 ¾ ounces (1 ½ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 ounce (1/4 cup) cake flour
• 1 tspn baking soda
• ½ tspn table salt
• ½ cup sweetened dried-cranberries
• ½ cup rolled oats (old-fashioned, not quick cooking)
• ½ cup pecan pieces (or coarsely chopped pecan halves), lightly toasted
• ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes, lightly toasted
• 3.5 ounces good-quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Position two racks near the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F. Line three baking sheets with parchment.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl. Add the egg, corn syrup, and vanilla; beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Mix in half the all-purpose flour on low speed until thoroughly combined, 30 seconds to a minute. Scrape the bowl. Briefly mix in the remaining half of the all-purpose flour. Sprinkle the cake flour, baking soda, and salt into the bowl and beat on low speed until well blended, 30 seconds to 1 minute. With a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries, oats, pecans, coconut, and white chocolate.

Using your fingertips, shape 2-ounce pieces of dough (about a scant ¼ cup) into 2-inch diameter disks that are a ½ inch thick. Space them at least 2 inches aparton the parchment-lined sheets. Bake until the cookies’ edges and bottoms are golden and the centers feel dry on the surface but still soft inside, 15 to 16 minutes. When baking two pans at once, switch the position of the pans after 8 minutes for even browning. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for at least 1 minute before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. These cookies will keep for three or four days at room temperature or for several weeks in the freezer.