Cornflake, Marshmallow, Chocolate Chip Cookies

June just came out of nowhere! This year has flown by, which also implies my summer is dwindling too. I've got a long list of things I want to accomplish this summer too. Who knows it may be one of my last in Madison? That decision is a long ways away though, lets focus on the summer list:

1. Find a hostess or waitress job. Check, cocktail waitress to be precise!
2. Raise $4,000 for the MS bike ride. Only 2 months and $3,965 to go, no biggie.
3. Put a 1,000 miles on my sexy new bike.
4. Go on a brewery tour. Ale Asylum anyone?
5. Make a trip to Devils Lake. I've never been, which appalls many of my fellow Wisconsin natives.
6. Canoe camping round two.
7. Concerts on the square, cheese and wine.
8. Willy Street biking eating-drinking crawl.
9. Lose a bit of the pasty white girl look.
10. Make a mean sangria.

That list probably makes me seems a lot more outdoorsy than I really am. Because I think that last word anyone would use to describe me is outdoorsy. That is just my summer list too, there are so many things that I want to do before the year is over! What sort of things do you want to do this summer?

Make these cookies, if June being here is as alarming as it is to me. Even if it isn't, the first of everything month deserves to be started out right. Theses cookies are just the thing. The sister-in-law was in town last weekend. I hadn't seen her since Christmas!!!! I met up with her and my brother at our favorite watering hole, The Library Bar and Cafe. These cookies along with some cake balls came with us. I like to bake and then contemplate how to pawn the goods off on people.

Turns out a bar is a pretty great place to pawn baked goods off on people. These cookies especially. They are crispy, chewy and salty. The salty aspect keeps the people drinking too. I like to help not only myself the bar too. All the reviews were amazing and it wasn't just because people were drinking. The night was young, in fact it wasn't even night time yet.

There will be a leftover cornflake crunch, but just make yourself a bowl of cereal with it. You won't regret it. You can save it too, since after you share these, people will want you to make more. Give these a try you won't regret the sweet, salty, gooey, chewy goodness that results.


Recipe by Christina Tosi from Momofuki Milk Bar Cookbook
Makes 15 large cookies
Ingredients:
Cornflake Crunch:
1/2 box (5 cups) cornflakes
1/2 cup milk powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Cookie:
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups Cornflake Crunch
2/3 mini chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups mini marshmallows

Making the Cornflake Crunch:

1. Heat the oven to 275F
2. Pour the cornflakes in a medium bowl and crush them with your hands to one-quarter of their original size. Add the milk powder, sugar, and salt and toss to mix. Add the butter and toss to coat. As you toss, the butter will act as glue, binding the dry ingredients to the cereal and creating small clusters.
3. 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 cooled slightly and chewed.
4. 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 will keep 1 month.

Making the Cookies:

1. 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 the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, 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 minutes. (Do not walk away from the mixer at this point, or you will risk overmixing the dough.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. 
3. Still on low speed, paddle in the cornflake crunch and mini chocolate chips just until they're incorproated, no more than 30-45 seconds. Paddle in the mini marshmallows just until incorprated. 
4. 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. Wrap the 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.
5. Heat the oven to 375F.
6. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment-lined sheet pans. Bake for 10-18 minutes (I baked mine for for 15 minutes-keep an eye on them). The cookies will puff, crackle and spread. The cookies should be browned on the edges and just beginning to brown toward the center. Leave them in the oven for an additional minute or so if they aren't and they still seem pale and doughy on the surface.
7. Cool the cookies on the sheet pans before transferring to a place or 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.