Cornflake Cookies

I'm not one to jump on the cooking trends that sweep the internet.  I've never made Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread and, although tempted, I did not try the Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookie, mostly because I don't like to wait 24 hours to eat the cookies I have just made.

But there's one trend that even I cannot ignore.  Perhaps you have heard of Momofuku Milk Bar?  It's a bakery in Brooklyn beloved by hipsters and sugar junkies, and it's the home of cinnamon bun pie, crack pie, compost cookies (made with potato chips), and any number of cereal inspired sweets.  I'd heard about their famous chocolate chip cookies with cornflakes mixed in, but I didn't give them much thought until last night.  I can't quite handle it when there are no baked goods in the house, so I always keep ingredients for chocolate chip cookies on hand, and I have a go-to recipe for such occasions.  A proper husband always packs a cookie with his wife's lunch.

Instead of turning to my usual recipe, I found myself craving something with a little more crunch than an unadorned cookie.  Because I live in a household that consumes cornflakes at an alarming rate, my mind drifted to those famous cookies.

The original recipe calls for "cornflake crunch" - basically sweetened cornflakes, or Frosted Flakes, if you will.  I opted to use just plain cornflakes, and I'm glad I did; these cookies are sweet enough as is.  They also contain more butter than I have ever put in a cookie, causing them to spread considerably while baking (and to burn easily, so be careful).  But now I get what the hype is all about.

You can make these as they do at Momofuku and use 1/3 of a cup of dough per cookie.  But I decided that, while we enjoy dessert around here, we probably should opt for cookies the size of cookies, not cookies the size of a human face.  But your choice.

I'll probably stick with my plain old chocolate chip cookies; you can't go wrong there.  These cookies were good, and they certainly met my craving for some crunch in my cookie.  It was a nice experiment, and now I can say I've tried, just like every other food blogger on the planet.  But I'm still going to knead my bread.

Cornflake Cookies
 Makes two dozen normal cookies or 15 enormous cookies

1 c butter (2 sticks), softened
1 1/4 c sugar
2/3 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
3 c cornflakes
2/3 c chocolate chips
1 1/4 c mini marshmallows

Beat the butter with the sugars for a few minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla, and beat for 7-8 more minutes.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix until dough just comes together.  Scrape down the bowl.

Mix in the cornflakes, chocolate chips, and marshmallows by hand.  Try to mix them evenly, and do not over mix.

Cover dough, and chill for an hour, or up to a week.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Form cookies in your desired size, and place on a greased or lined baking sheet.  Place cookies at least four inches apart; they really spread!

Bake for 12 minutes.  Check your cookies at this point to see if they have begun to brown.  If so, remove from the oven and cool.  If not, keep checking on cookies every minute until they are done.