Yes. We are still talking about blueberries. And happy Bastille Day while we are at it.
I’m always game to try a new cookie recipe and so set this one aside last fall after it appeared in September’s Bon Appetit Magazine to rave reviews. Who knows why it took me this long to get to it.
The recipe is for blueberry and cream cookies from Momofuko Milk Bar in New York. It begins with a sort of, well, milk-crumb-streusel concoction. Now, I know that Christina Tosi (Chef at the Milk Bar) pretty much walks on pastry…but I also think she has a thing for dried milk powder. To date I’ve tried two of her recipes and both call for this rather elusive ingredient. After scouring several specialty stores, I finally found it at a Bristol Farms (ironically, the closest grocery store to my house and of course was the last place I looked). Provided the bakery’s success however, I’m inclined to start adding milk powder to all kinds of things…
So, milk powder, sugar, a little cornstarch, some smelted butter and a couple other ingredients get blended together and then baked.
Until it looks like crumbs. Don’t let the lack of lack of visual remarkability fool you. This stuff is kind of cool and definitely makes what is to come more interesting.
The dough-base for these cookies is suspiciously like chocolate chip cookie dough. Only milk scrabble and beautiful dried blueberries (or bleuets if you are French) (or baluberries if you live at our house) are substituted-in for chocolate chips.
The dough is very thick and with its five cups of flour, the recipe is huge. I halved it here and had plenty of yield.
Out of the oven these cookies are attractive. However, the fun real fun begins when someone bites into one, tastes the streusel and says…’what is that ingredient’ (you know, in the good way).
Of course I have to admit, these would still be really good…and a lot less time consuming should the milk scrapple be omitted.
Blueberry and Cream Cookies
As printed in Bon Appetit Magazine (September 2010) by Christina Tosi, Momofuku Milk Bar, New York New York
for streusel
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Preparation
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Preheat oven to 275°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Combine milk powder, flour, sugar, cornstarch, and coarse salt in medium bowl; toss to mix evenly. Add butter; stir with fork until clusters form. Spread mixture evenly on prepared sheet. Bake until crumbs are dry and crumbly but still pale, about 10 minutes. Cool Milk Crumbs completely on sheet. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
for cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 5 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups Milk Crumbs (click for recipe)
- 1 1/2 cups dried blueberries
Special Equipment
Preparation
-
Combine butter, both sugars, and corn syrup in large bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 3 minutes. Add eggs; beat on medium-high speed until mixture is very pale and sugar is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; beat on low speed just until blended, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Add Milk Crumbs; mix on low speed just until incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer. Stir in blueberries just until evenly distributed (dough will be very sticky).
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Using 1/4-cup ice cream scoop for each cookie, drop dough onto 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 24 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled until baking time.
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Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line 2 large (18×12-inch) rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Transfer 6 chilled dough scoops to each sheet, spacing at least 4 inches apart (cookies will spread). Bake cookies, 2 sheets at a time, until golden, reversing sheets halfway through baking, 20 to 22 minutes total. Repeat with remaining chilled dough, cooling and relining sheets between batches. Transfer cookies to racks; cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.