I'm Thowing in the Towel on This One: Compost Cookies 2.0

So I decided to give Christina Tosi's Compost Cookie one more try after the very disappointing results I got after my first attempt. I got some advice from commenter Louise and took a look at Anna Ginsberg's blog Cookie Madness, which recently featured no less than three posts on the Compost Cookie. This post provided a slightly adapted version of the recipe using weight measurements (instead of volume) for flour. I gave this version a try, and I even stuck the scooped dough in the freezer for a few hours before baking. While I got slightly better results, I still wasn't happy with the cookies.

The cookies were less flat this time, but they still spread too much and the texture was all wrong. I'm sure if I just keep adding more flour, eventually this cookie would turn out correctly. But honestly, at this point, I don't really care enough to keep trying. I am just not such a fan of the flavor of the cookie dough, and I think I might get more enjoyment from eating the mix-ins plain (in this case, I used Butterfingers, Twix, Reese's Dark Peanut Butter Cups, and potato chips) than in the cookie, where they morph a bit into an amorphous sweet blob.

I don't feel bad walking away from this recipe. There are lots of other really delicious cookies out there just waited to be discovered!

Recipe: Compost Cookies from Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar, as adapted here from Cookie Madness.

Previous Post: "The Name Says It All: Compost Cookies Destined for the Garbage Heap," March 9, 2010.

Comments

Anna said…
I wish I could isolate the one thing people are doing that is causing their cookies to come out flat. Mine were so good! I am fairly certain you would have liked the flavor combo too, since it wasn't too far off that of a regular chocolate chip cookie. It's frustrating when a recipe doesn't work for everyone.
Shawna said…
I'm glad you tried it the second time and disliked it too. I hated these cookies.

To prevent them coming out flat, you literally have to chill the dough through, scoop it, and then rechill the baking pan with the dough balls on it for at least half an hour.

In my opinion, that's absurd and shows that the recipe is not actually well-balanced. I also agree with you that the mix-ins made a blobby nothingness that was just plain sweet.

None of her desserts work for me, and I can usually get any baking recipe to work.