Momofuku Milk Bar Corn Cookies

Continuing my Momofuku Milk Bar obsession; I recently tried my hand at making these Corn Cookies!  They're salty, sweet and totally addictive. They get their flavour from freeze dried corn kernels, which are blitzed into a fine powder. Freeze dried food is a little hard to come across in Australia and I spent far more time than I care to admit trying to track this stuff down. It's readily available in the U.S. (Amazon.com has your back there) but Aussies will pay through the nose looking for dried corn. I finally found it on iHerb.com, which has awesomely cheap shipping rates as well. These cookies also use corn flour, not to be confused with cornstarch; which can be found in health food shops as maize flour (the type used for making tortillas etc.). Read on for the recipe!

I love how gloriously yellow and sunny these are! They have a crispy, crackly texture on the edges with that highly sought after, slightly underbaked, squidgy middle. Kind of like how a good brownie is all fudgy in the centre. They contain baking powder and bicarb soda, so don't be alarmed when these puff up and crackle in the oven; they'll level out as they cool. 

I really cannot stress just how damn delicious these cookies are! I portioned mine up and had to freeze the cookie dough in batches of only four to limit myself from eating the entire recipe's worth. They toe the line between salty and sweet so perfectly that it really is hard to stop at just one... but for the sake of your ass, you definitely have to try; these babies are no shrinking violets when it comes to butter content!

Momofuku Milk Bar Corn Cookies

From the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook by Christina Tosi (With my ridiculous notes)

Makes around 20 large cookies

I followed the recipe to letter with these and they turned out great! Next time, I might try using some brown sugar instead of white to add some caramelly flavours to the party. I also baked these for a few minutes less than the book but my oven runs very hot and I didn't want to dry these out. Keep an eye on them after about 15 minutes and take them out when they're lovely and golden brown at the edges. These are also very soft immediately out of the oven so leave them to cool on the tray for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. 

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, room temperature

250g caster sugar (I reduced the sugar in the book by 50g just for my own tastes. Use 300g if you have a sweet tooth!)

My addition: 1 tsp vanilla extract (I love this stuff man!)

1 egg

225g bread flour (I used Tipo '00' flour; the type used for pasta)

45g corn flour

65g freeze dried corn powder (There is unfortunately no substitute for this, trust me I looked, so just bite the bullet and order them because these are definitely worth it!)

3g baking powder

1.5g baking soda (I don't have a gem scale so I ended up using 2g... Shock horror! Just kidding, it's no biggie.)

6g sea salt (I used Maldon salt flakes)

Method

1. Combine the butter and sugar in a stand mixer (you could use a hand held mixer but believe me, you will definitely get tired!) and beat with the paddle attachment on medium-high for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides, add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium for a further 7 minutes. Mixture should be light, fluffy and only slightly grainy from the sugar.
2. Reduce the mixing speed to low and add the rest of the ingredients. Beat for no longer than one minute; just long enough to bring the ingredients together. 
3. Using a large ice cream scoop (or a small one if that floats your boat) portion out the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten the tops slightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to a week. I had mine in for about 2.5 hours. Once they're solid you can put the portioned dough into ziplock bags and stash in the freezer for a rainy day.
4. Heat the oven to 175ºC.
5. Place the chilled dough on a lined baking tray at least 4 inches (10cm for those in the metric system) apart. Bake for 18 minutes; but check their colour after 15. Cookies will puff, crackle and spread. 
6. Cool on the tray for at least 5-10 minutes to let the cookies solidify before transferring to a wire rack or plate. Cookies will keep at room temperature (in an airtight container) for 5 days or in the freezer for up to a month. Although I challenge you to keep them around for that long! Enjoy!

Over and out!