This cookie was actually the first item I ever tried at Momofuku Milk Bar (thus starting this obsession). For a place known for its eccentric Crack Pie® and Bagel Bombs, these blueberry & cream cookies look deceptively simple. Ohhh but think again! Imagine a chewy, buttery cookie dotted with blueberries and white chocolate and multiply those flavors by 1000! You’re gonna love this cookie.
The thing I really appreciate about the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook and Christina Tosi is that she’s very clear with her directions as well as the specificity of her ingredients. I’m a recipe/cookbook connoisseur and I hate when chefs leave out the specifics– Tosi keeps no secrets. She’s very direct in the intro pages about EXACTLY what brands she uses for her butter, flour, sugar, chocolate, fruits, etc. which is a tremendous help to an obsessive nit-picker like myself. I’m going to try my darnest to listen to her suggestions and adhere as closely as possible to each recipe. My new motto is: What Tosi Wants, Tosi Gets. She would probably be mortified and slightly disturbed by my cult-ish devotion but I’ve tasted her Kool-Aid (cookies) and I’m just not going back!
What makes these cookies stand out are a handful of key changes. Since this was my first Momofuku Milk Bar endeavor for y’all, I was a bit nervous. Milk crumbs? Glucose? I’ve never baked with these ingredients before. But it all makes sense. The milk crumbs (a combination of mostly butter, milk powder, and white chocolate) give the cookies an additional oomph in the creamy, milky department. And the addition of glucose (which I previously only associated with my dreaded year of organic chemistry) is now my new best friend and the secret to what keeps these cookies nice and chewy.
Most of my ingredients I procured at either Trader Joe’s, Fairway, or Whole Foods, but the glucose I actually purchased at Michael’s. The directions say that corn syrup can be substituted for the glucose but speaking from experience now, I can say that glucose is WAY stickier and less sweet than corn syrup (and thus probably produces a better chewier texture).
{milk crumbs}
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As hard as it is, resist from eating all the cookie dough before baking. Or eat half then bake half. Compromise.
{ready to eat. or scoop.}
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{momofuku milk bar exam no.1 complete!}
blueberry & cream cookies
from Momofuku Milk Bar
makes 12 to 17 cookies
- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks, 225g) butter, at room temperature [preferably Plugra, I used Whole Foods brand– sorry Tosi!]
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (150g) light brown sugar, tightly packed
- ¼ cup (100g) glucose [can substitute: 2 tablespoons (35g) light corn syrup]
- 2 [large] eggs
- 2 cups (320g) flour [preferably King Arthur bread flour]
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- Milk Crumb, recipe below
- ¾ cup (130g) dried blueberries [can be bought at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s]
(1) Combine the butter, sugars, and glucose in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
(2) 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 overmixing the dough.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
(3) Still on low speed, add the milk crumbs and mix until they’re incorporated, no more than 30 seconds. Chase the milk crumbs with the dried blueberries, mixing them in for 30 seconds.
(4) Using a 2 ¾-ounce 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 [I did overnight], or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature—they will not bake properly.
(5) Heat the oven to 350° F.
(6) Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pans. Bake for 18 minutes [Mine were done at 15-16 minutes, don’t overbake!]. 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.
(7) Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or to an airtight container for storage. At room temp, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.
Milk Crumb
- ¼ cup (20g) milk powder [non-fat dry milk]
- 2 tablespoons (20g) flour
- 1 tablespoon (6g) cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon (12.5g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (¼ stick, 27.5g) butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons (10g) milk powder
- 1 ½ ounces (45g) white chocolate, melted
(1) Heat the oven to 250° F.
(2) Combine the 20g (¼ cup) milk powder, the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Toss with your hands to mix. Add the melted buter and toss, using a spatula, until the mixture starts to come together and form small clusters.
(3) Spread the clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. The crumbs should be sandy at that point, and your kitchen should smell like buttery heaven. Cool the crumbs completely.
(4) Crumble any milk crumb clusters that are larger than ½ inch in diameter and put the crumbs in a medium bowl. Add the 10 g (2 tablespoons) milk powder and toss together until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixtures.
(5) Pour the white chocolate over the crumbs and toss until your clusters are enrobed. Then continue tossing them every 5 minutes until the white chocolate hardens and the clusters are no longer sticky. The crumbs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.
margaret in the city 