Compost Cookies
Inspired by the popular Milk Bar recipe, these Compost Cookies have a malted brown butter cookie dough base and are loaded with coffee grounds, potato chips, oatmeal, chocolate, and pretzels for a tantilizing and chewy cookie!
These chewy Compost Cookies are loaded with potato chips, pretzels, oats, coffee grounds, chocolate, and white chocolate chips! And YES they are better than Milk Bar!
Bake up more mouthwatering cookie recipes by also checking out Levain Bakery Copycat Cookies or these Cowboy Cookies that are also loaded with mix-ins!
All About These Tasty Compost Cookies
Grab a bite of these Homemade Compost Cookies, and you’ll realize for yourself that they’re better than Momofuku Milk Bar Cookies! These brown butter base cookies are loaded with pretzels, oats, potato chips, and two kinds of chocolate chips!
Compost cookies, also known as everything but the kitchen sink cookies and garbage cookies, get their name from adding in lots of mix-ins! Making the best-tasting cookie in just an hour’s time!
Ingredients For Compost Cookies
- Unsalted Butter
- All-Purpose Flour
- Coffee Grounds
- Malted milk Powder
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Granualted sugar
- Dark Brown Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Large Egg
- Large Egg Yolk
- Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- White Chocolate Chips
- Pretzel Pieces
- Potato Chips
- 1-Minute Oats
Brown Butter
Brown butter, also known as beurre noisette, is simply butter that’s been cooked to turn the milk solids brown. The solids then turn into brown specks in the pan that give cookies a delicious toasty, slightly caramelized flavor.
The brown butter enhances these compost cookies, giving them a rich flavor that makes them completely irresistible!
If you’ve never browned butter, it’s actually very quick and easy to do. It takes less than 10 minutes using only butter, a whisk, and a skillet!
In this recipe, you do not brown all of the butter, as that would alter the recipe. Instead, only 10 tablespoons are browned, and the remaining 4 are just melted and not cooked.
How To Make Compost Cookies
- Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then remove the butter from the fridge to allow it to soften at room temperature.
- Whisk the flour, coffee grounds, malted milk powder, salt, and baking soda together and then set it aside.
- Brown the butter by cooking it over medium heat in a skillet until it’s melted. Continue cooking while stirring until brown bits start to form in the bottom of the pan, the top is foamy, and it has a nutty aroma. Then remove the brown butter form the heat and stir in the remaining butter until it’s melted. Transfer the butter the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the sugars and vanilla to the butter and mix to combine.
- Mix in the egg and additional egg yolk. Let the mixture rest and then whisk again. Repeating the whisking and rest for two more cycles.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula or paddle attachment.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, pretzel pieces, crushed chips, and oats.
- Portion the cookie dough out and transfer it on to the prepared baking sheet. Top the cookies with additional chocolate chips and pretzel pieces if desired.
- Bake the Homemade Compost Cookies, rotating them halfway through. Then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions & Variations
- While malted milk powder isn’t necessary for the structure of the cookie, it does add a nice, delicious depth of flavor. If you don’t have malted milk powder, powdered coffee creamer would be a great substitute.
- I prefer to use Cape Cod potato chips since they’re thicker than most brands allowing them to hold up better in the cookies. However, don’t be afraid to just use what you have on hand, either!
- Unfortunately, instant coffee and espresso powder would both just dissolve in the cookie dough. Therefore, fresh from the canister coffee grounds must be sued for the best results.
- This recipe portions out the dough using a large cookie scoop, creating large cookies that are about 4 inches across. If you want to make smaller cookies use a medium cookie scoop and then bake them for 6 to 7 minutes.
- You can definitely play around with the mix-ins by adding in mini butterscotch chips or 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs. Feel free to try making these with any of your favorite snacks, though!
Storage Instructions For Compost Cookies
Transfer cooled cookies into an airtight container. If you dressed the cookies up with toppings before baking, you may want to separate the layers of cookies with parchment paper to prevent ruining any toppings.
Store the cookies at room temperature and enjoy them for up to 5 days.
How To Freeze Compost Cookies
To freeze them, wrap each cookie individually with plastic wrap and then again with tin foil. Afterward, place the wrapped cookies into a large Ziploc freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Allow them to thaw at room temperature overnight before enjoying them!
You can also freeze the cookie dough to bake later! To do so, portion the dough out onto a baking sheet and place it in the freezer for an hour.
This allows the dough to freeze separately before placing it into a Ziploc bag, where it would just turn into one big lump of dough. Once the frozen cookie portions are bagged, store them in the freezer and bake within 3 months.
More Scrumptious Cookie Recipes:
- Ranger Cookies – Lots of delicious flavor and texture packed into one cookie!
- Big & Chewy Monster Cookies – Made with cake flour for a deliciously soft cookie!
- Cowboy Cookies – Loaded with pecans, chocolate chips, and shredded coconut!
- Serenity Cookies (Sweet Magnolias) – A brown butter dough filled with chocolate and walnuts!
- Cookie Dough Cookies – Rich, homemade Crumbl Copycat cookies!
Steps
Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. It is best if you use two baking sheets and rotate them for the batches. Dropping the second batch of dough on the hot cookie sheet will slightly change the structure of the cookie.
Pull the butter out of the refrigerator to sit at room temperature 15 minutes before using.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, coffee grounds, malted milk powder, salt, and baking soda, and set aside.
Add 10 tablespoons of butter to a skillet and cook over medium heat until melted. Continue cooking and stirring frequently for 2 to 3 minutes until brown bits start to form in the bottom of the pan, the top is foamy, and it has a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until melted. Transfer the butter to a large heat-safe bowl or stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment.
Add the sugars and vanilla to the butter and mix to combine.
Add the egg and additional egg yolk and mix for 30 seconds. Let rest for 3 minutes, then whisk again for 30 seconds. Repeat the resting and whisking for 2 more rounds. The batter should be smooth, thick, and shiny when done - almost like caramel sauce.
Use a rubber spatula or paddle attachment to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients for 1 minute. The dough will seem very soft, this is normal and you do not need to chill it.
Fold in the chocolate chips, pretzel pieces, crushed chips, and oats.
Portion the dough out with a large cookie scoop and drop the scoops of dough 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Top the dough with additional chocolate chips and pretzels if desired for a more finished look.
Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
- Do not brown all of the butter, it will alter the recipe. It's important that the 4 tablespoons are only melted and not cooked to the point of clarifying or browning.
- Slicing the butter before melting will give it a fast and more even melt.
- This recipe makes large cookies, about 4 inches across. If you want to make small cookies, use a medium cookie scoop and bake for 6 to 7 minutes.
- Malted milk powder isn't necessary for the structure of the cookie but adds a nice depth of flavor. Powdered coffee creamer would be a great substitute.
Nutrition
- Calories362
- Carbs45g
- Protein4g
- Fat19g
- Saturated fat11g
- Fiber2g
- Sugar26g
- Sodium274mg
Estimates per serving, when a serving size is listed.
