I have loved every cookie I have made from the Milk Bar cook book. I love the giant chewy cookies the recipes produce and am not really sure I can go back to “normal” cookies. I used to scoff at prep work for baking. Freeze the dough first? Pfffft….but now I don’t mind starting the process ahead of time. My favorite thing is to start around G’s bedtime so I can prepare the dough, throw it in the freezer, then clean up from the day (random baby toys, discarded snacks, dinner dishes) for the hour it needs to get ready for the oven. Milk bar cookies have a super high butter-to-flour ratio so if you threw them right in the over without freezing the scooped-out dough first they would melt into a sad cookie-puddle.

One of the unique aspects of the Milk Bar technique is the addition of crumbs. They literally have a section in the book on how to make different flavored crumbs. After living with kids for 7+ years I never imagined I would have to do anything special to have crumbs laying around but in this case they are used to create depth and texture in cookies and cakes and can be sprinkled on dessert plates or on top of ice cream.

This is the second cookie I’ve made that has required a crumb mix-in (the first being the chocolate-chocolate cookie) and I almost forgot to add the crumbs in before I baked the cookies. I’m glad I remembered because I do think it adds to the flavor. You get little chunky-sandy bits of vanilla and sprinkles that almost tastes like little leftover birthday cake pieces when you take a bite of a soft snickerdoodle-inspired cookie. (the difference between a plain sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle is the addition of cream of tartar. On a classic snickerdoodle you roll them in cinnamon-sugar but that is omitted for this cookie.

Confetti Cookies:

Yield: 15-20 large cookies (I got 18)
Cook Time: 18 minutes (in my oven it’s more like 13-15 so keep a close eye, they are meant to come out still very pale!)

Ingredients:

(for the confetti cookies)

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbs. glucose (or 1 Tbs. corn syrup–do not omit!!)
2 eggs
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cups milk powder
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
1/2 recipe of birthday cake crumb, recipe below

For the birthday cake crumb:

1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. tightly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbs. rainbow sprinkles
1/4 cup grapeseed oil (all I had on hand was canola…just make sure it’s a clear-colored oil)
1 Tbs. clear vanilla extract

Directions:

(for the crumb)
Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine the sugars, flour, baking powder, salt and sprinkles in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low until well-combined.

Add the oil and vanilla and mix to combine. The wet ingredients act as a glue to allow the dry ingredients to form clusters. Continue to mix until that happens.

Spread the clusters on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, breaking them up occasionally, as needed. Mine actually only took 18 minutes or so. Take them out of the oven before they harden; they should remain slightly moist to the touch. They will harden as they cool.

Let the crumbs cool completely before using or storing. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature or up to 1 month in the refrigerator or freezer.

Cookies:

Combine the butter, sugar and glucose in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for 7-8 minutes. At the end of 7-8 minutes the mixture should very pale yellow and doubled in size. It should be very shiny, homogenous, fluffy and resemble a cloud. (See notes below.)

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the flour, milk powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and sprinkles. Mix just until the dough comes together, not longer than 1 minute and don’t walk away during this step, just to make sure that you don’t overmix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

With the mixer on low speed, add the birthday cake crumbs and mix in for about 30 seconds, just until incorporated.

Scoop the dough onto a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan using a 2 3/4 ounce ice cream scoop (mine is a #16), or use a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Flatten the cookies slightly and wrap the pan in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour, I refrigerated mine overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. (I normally do 345 because my oven runs hot)

Arrange the chilled dough on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet. I only bake 6 at a time. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18 minutes they should be very lightly browned on the edges. The centers will just slightly show a change in color. Leave the cookies in the oven for another minute or so if they seem doughy or the colors aren’t quite right. They will look slightly dry at the edges but and be just beginning to brown, but still be pretty pale.

Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to store. At room temperature the cookies will keep for 5 days.

*Recipe from Christina Tosi via Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook