Rice Crispy Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies (à la Milk Bar)

A few weeks ago, the amazing Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar was the featured chef at Baton, a supper series in Atlanta, and Dale and I got in at the last minute!

After ordering my champagne in a can, dessert was first with pancake cake--layers of pancake, fruit, and maple topped with peppery butter--and cinnamon bun pie. In quick succession came pastrami sandwich croissants, macaroni and cheese pancakes, uni grits, and steak and eggs. It was pretty epic. They also did a bake sale where we scored slices of crack pie and a variety of awesome cookies.

I purchased the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook awhile ago but had yet to bake anything out of it, mainly because I couldn't make up my freaking mind. But after tasting what I assure you was one of the best cookies I've ever had, I knew I would be making some version of the cornflake marshmallow chocolate chip cookies.

Because I generally like to change things up a bit and because I have a special love of rice crispy cereal, I made rice crispy crunch, instead of cornflake, for these cookies. And holy mother!! Let me just say, I've made this crunch three times so far and have no problem finishing it off. It's probably the best ice cream topping of all time. Like, for real.

Now, I realize that these are not the prettiest cookies, but I assure you they are tasty--the perfect combination of salty and sweet, crispy and soft. Plus they're BIG and flat and super cookie-like. I sort of love them.

Rice Crispy Marshmallow Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar
makes 16-24 cookies, depending on how big you want 'em

225 g (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
250 g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar
150 g (2/3 cup packed) light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
240 g (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
250 g (scant 3 cups) Rice Crispy Crunch (recipe below)
140 g (heaping 2/3 cups) mini bittersweet chocolate chips
65 g (1 1/4 cups) mini marshmallows

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed 2-3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add egg and vanilla, and beat for 7-8 minutes.

Reduce mixer speed to low, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just incorporated, not longer than 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add crunch and chocolate chips, and mix just until incorporated, not longer than 30 seconds. Add marshmallows and mix just until incorporated.

Using a 2 3/4 ounce ice cream scoop, portion dough out onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat the tops to flatten the dome. Wrap sheet in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (I actually have had better success freezing and baking straight out of the freezer.)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (cookbook says 375, but when I baked them at this temperature, I ended up with burnt marshmallows). Place dough four inches apart on a parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet and bake for 16 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. They will be soft in the middle and brown at the edges when done. Cool cookies 10 minutes on sheet pan then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Rice Crispy Crunch
makes 4-5 cups

170 g (5 cups) rice crispy cereal
40 g milk powder
40 g sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
130 g (1 stick plus 1 Tbsp.) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Place cereal in large bowl. Add milk powder, sugar, salt, and butter, and toss to coat evenly. Spread on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. They will look and smell toasty and crunch when cooled. Cool completely then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month.