Copycat Milk Bar Compost Cookies
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Crispy, buttery cookies filled with butterscotch and chocolate chips, graham crackers, oats, coffee grounds, pretzels, and potato chips. The perfect cookie for indecisive dessert lovers!
THESE MOMOFUKU MILK BAR COMPOST COOKIES ARE SO LOVED, EVEN A CELEBRITY MAKES THEM
Yes, an actual, real celebrity (we’ll get there in a second).
These cookies have lived on my site since 2015 when I originally published them during my first annual 12 Days of Cookies. They are ridiculous, and we have Christina Tosi, chef and owner at Milk Bar bakery (an extension of the Momofuku restaurant) in NYC to thank for them.
Years ago, my husband and I were watching the Food Network, and we were introduced to this famous Milk Bar cookie recipe called a compost cookie, comprised of everything you can imagine and then some, and we vowed we would one day taste one for ourselves.
Thanks to a friend who brought one home from a trip to NYC for us to try not long after that, we actually did get to try one for ourselves, and I fell in love with one bite because they.were.amazeballs (ridiculous categorization V necessary).
These cookies are buttery, crisp, full of so many goodies, and keep you coming back for more bites just because you want to taste what’s next.
Thankfully for us and for you, Milk Bar shares their Momofuku Milk Bar compost cookie recipe right on their website! Score! A little adapting and BAM! this incredible, wondrously tasty cookie was published on my site in no time and we’ve made them approximately a bajillion times since.
REAL REVIEWS FROM REAL PEOPLE (AND THAT CELEBRITY)
“These were so good!! They were extremely easy to make and came together quickly.”
“Hands down my new favorite cookie recipe!”
“Been looking for a simplified recipe for these ever since my visit to Milk Bar in 2018 but one that was still as good as the original… Bingo!”
“Coffee grounds in cookies? Who the heck does that? Christina does and you know what? It’s amazing… Great instructions. Super cookies!!!”
Oh yeah, and that celebrity? During the pandemic, I discovered thousands of people viewing this one single recipe at one time on a random weeknight. It turns out Alison Brie had made them from my website and then shared a link to them on her Instagram. I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that and I’ll never forget it! They are now lovingly called “Alison Brie cookies” in our house forever more. You can call them that, too, if you want.
INGREDIENTS FOR MILK BAR’S COMPOST COOKIES
I know, compost, right? Kinda gross when we’re thinking of eating it. But don’t worry– these cookies aren’t full of anything gross, they’re simply a hodgepodge of several ingredients that come together so wonderfully that you’ll wonder why you never ate all of them together in a handful before making these cookies.
You’ll sometimes see these cookies referred to as “kitchen sink cookies,” as in “they have everything but the kitchen sink,” but when I think of those, I think of a soft and chewy cookie. These compost cookies are uniquely and purposefully crisp, which is something I surprisingly love about them.
For these compost cookies, you will need:
• flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• chocolate chips
• butterscotch chips
• graham crackers
• oats
• coffee grounds* (!!! my personal favorite part!)
• potato chips
• pretzels
• unsalted butter
• granulated and brown sugars
• egg
• vanilla extract
*Yes, coffee grounds. I know. It sounds odd, but see recipe notes for more information and ingredient swap ideas if you aren’t totally sold on them or any of the listed add-ins.
HOW TO MAKE COMPOST COOKIES
The instructions for these cookies are very straightforward. To be honest, the hardest part is stirring together the add-ins because there are so many of them. I always wind up with bits and pieces jumping from the bowl.
STEP #1: Prepare the add-ins and stir them together until evenly dispersed.
STEP #2: Mix the dry ingredients.
STEP #3: Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg and vanilla extract.
STEP #4: Add the dry ingredients, then mix in the add-ins.
STEP #5: Roll into balls, chill, bake!
Making these cookies over the years myself and hearing from readers, I know that these compost cookies spread too much. Combat this with my roll then chill + parchment + reshape tricks.
ROLL THE DOUGH AND THEN CHILL IT
Because the dough has so many bits and chunks in it, rolling them before the dough is hard is much easier. And less painful. Have you ever been injured rolling cookie dough?
Food blogger life. It’s tough.
I recommend rolling the cookie dough into balls and placing them onto a baking sheet or a large platter to chill. The cookie dough isn’t very sticky, so it’s fine if the dough balls are touching a bit while they chill.
Once they’ve been covered and chilled for at least 1 hour, they’re ready to go!
DO NOT USE SILICONE BAKING MATS: PARCHMENT ONLY
Read that and read it again: do not use silicone baking mats for these cookies. I wish I could tell you the exact reason these compost cookies spread way too much on silicone but often hardly at all on parchment, but I can’t. I just know from experience that silicone = way too much spread and parchment = a little.
Here is an example of what a compost cookie baked on a silicone baking mat looks like. The ones on parchment will spread, too, but the edges won’t burn quite like the silicone mat ones do.
RESHAPE COOKIES USING A ROUND COOKIE CUTTER
Please read this and read it again, too, though: these cookies do spread out quite a bit, as they are intentionally a thinner, crisp cookie, so use a cookie cutter (I like a 4″ diameter one) or the rim of a mug or glass to reshape hot cookies right from the oven ( I do this with my gooey, oozy peanut butter Rolo cookies, too).
Compost cookies, garbage cookies, kitchen sink cookies… Whatever you want to call these cookies, they’re a must make, because they truly have it all.
Chocolate + salty + sweet + oaty + grahamy + coffeey. I’m getting delirious.
A simple and tasty yet complicated and confusing cookie all rolled into one. These easy compost cookies are the bomb. I promise to stop using ridiculous phrases if you promise to try them for yourself to understand.
Just invite me over to help taste test, please? I simply can’t get enough of them!!
More Favorites from Fresh April Flours
Compost Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 and ⅓ cups (160g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (40g) coarsely crushed potato chips1
- 1 cup (80g) coarsely crushed pretzels2
- 4 full graham cracker rectangles3 coarsely crushed (approximately 1 cup)
- ½ cup (85g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (85g) butterscotch chips
- ⅓ cup (27g) quick or rolled oats
- 1 Tablespoon (5g) coffee grounds4
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup (133g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.1 and ⅓ cups (160g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- In another medium size bowl, toss together the crushed potato chips, crushed pretzels, crushed graham crackers, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, oats, and coffee grounds.1 cup (40g) coarsely crushed potato chips1, 1 cup (80g) coarsely crushed pretzels2, 4 full graham cracker rectangles3, ½ cup (85g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, ½ cup (85g) butterscotch chips, ⅓ cup (27g) quick or rolled oats, 1 Tablespoon (5g) coffee grounds4
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream to gather the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and vanilla extract, then beat again on medium speed until completely combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, ⅔ cup (133g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 large egg, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Reduce mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until the dough just comes together.
- With the mixer still on low speed, add the bowl of mix-ins, then mix for only about 10 seconds, being careful not to over mix the dough or break too many of the chips or pretzels. Continue mixing with a spatula, stirring carefully until everything is thoroughly combined.
- Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), roll the dough into balls. You can also combine two cookie dough balls to make large cookies. Place them on a couple large plates then cover cookie dough balls and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
- When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375°F (191ºC). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper (not silicone baking mats5), and place chilled dough balls on them (no more than 8 small or 6 large dough balls on a sheet at a time).
- Bake small cookies for 12-13 and large cookies for 15-16 minutes until cookies just begin to brown on the edges. The centers will look under-baked. Some cookies may have spread more than others. While they are still hot, I like to use a 4" round cookie cutter or a spoon to tuck in the edges and reshape the cookies. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days. Cookies freeze well, up to 2 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well, up to 3 months. Bake from frozen and add 1-2 minutes to the baking time depending on the size of your cookie dough ball.
Video
Notes
- Potato chips: I like to use wavy/ruffled chips because they tend to be stronger and crunchier than the thinner ones.
- Pretzels: I prefer to use itty bitty or mini size. Aim for each pretzel to be chopped into 2-3 pieces, though I keep some of them whole if i’m using mini.
- Graham crackers: use any flavor you like. I usually just get whatever is on sale or available.
- Coffee grounds: yes, actual coffee grounds. Do not use instant coffee or espresso powder.
- Parchment paper: I find that this particular cookie recipe does not like silicone baking mats, no matter how many times I have tried. I’m not sure why, but I advise against using one for these cookies. The cookies will spread much more and thus bake faster. If you decide to use one, bake at your own risk!
- Other ingredients to consider adding: peanut butter chips, cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips, crushed Oreos, Chex cereal, raisins, chopped candy bars, Rice Krispies, Ritz crackers, Goldfish crackers, or tortilla chips (to name a few)! If using mini chips of any kind, reduce amount to ¼ cup.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
I found these at my local farm and had to google them as I prefer to make my cookies. YUMMERS!!! They’re sooooooooooo good! Thanks for posting such a delicious treat.
Thank you so much, Jude 🙂
Do you have a preferred potato chip for this recipe?
Hi, Robert– I prefer something thick and with substance. Ruffles are great!
Hands down my new favorite cookie recipe!
Everyone loves these, thank you for sharing your recipe’
I have a couple of questions though:
Do you use light or dark brown sugar?
And previously you said thin potato chips but more recently, Ruffles type. Can you clarify?
Thanks!
Thanks so much, Kay! I use light brown sugar unless otherwise specified, and I honestly, I like any kind of chips in there! They all work well 🙂
Can you freeze these? I’d like to make them for my daughter’s wedding.
Yep! Step #7 in the recipe.
These were so good!! They were extremely easy to make and came together quickly. I didn’t have any butterscotch chips, but I had everything else. I also added some candy leftover from Easter — chopped up Reeses Peanut Butter cups, and Reeses Pieces, and after scrounging around a little in my pantry found some chopped walnuts too. If you have a bunch of stuff in your pantry you want to get rid of, chips, pretzels, candy/candy bars, nuts, then this is the perfect recipe to make! We loved them. They’ve only been out of the oven for about 20 mins and I’ve already eaten 4….😬
Thank you so much, Neely! 🙂