I’m late to the party (as usual).
After lusting after (and even trying a few recipes I’d found online) all things Momofuku Milk Bar, I finally bit the bullet and scooped up my very own copy of Christina Tosi’s cookbook ($23 on Amazon).
If you don’t own this gem of a book yet, do yourself a favor and MAKE IT HAPPEN. It’s visually gorgeous, yeah, but Christina’s recipes are creative and outside-the-box in ways that’ll absolutely blow your mind.
Obviously, the first recipe I wanted to tackle was the famous Cereal Milkâ„¢ (recipe below). You know, the indescribable-but-wholly-delicious taste of the milk that’s left in your cereal bowl after you scarf down your breakfast.
There are several recipes in the cookbook that employ Cereal Milk, but I wanted to do my own thing. So, I went the cookie sandwich route. It took a few tries to figure out what kind of oatmeal-based cookies I want to go with– one iteration was too soft, another too crunchy; ultimately, I settled on a recipe that yielded a chewy texture to offset the smooth, creamy Cereal Milk buttercream center.
These sandwiches will last up to three months in the freezer if stored in an airtight container (I actually like them best served cold)!
Tell me, have you guys tried any recipes from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook? If so, which ones? I’m trying to decide what to make next!
Momofuku Cereal Milk Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon molasses
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 1/2 cups cornflakes, coarsely crushed
- 2 3/4 cups cornflakes
- 3 3/4 cups whole milk, cold
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (NOT melted)
- 3 ounces (about 1/3 block) cream cheese
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons cereal milk, room temperature (or more for desired consistency)
Instructions
- Add butter, oil, and both sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream on medium speed until smooth
- Add eggs, vanilla and molasses and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt
- Mix oats into flour mixture
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined
- Fold in crushed cornflakes until evenly distributed
- Dough should be thick and sticky
- Cover bowl of dough and chill in the refrigerator for two hours (this helps to prevent cookies from spreading)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats
- Roll dough into balls (about 1-inch thick) and place balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets
- Bake for 10 minutes until very lightly browned on the sides and centers are soft and slightly under-baked
- Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely; cookies will continue to "set" on the baking sheet during this time
- To make the Cereal Milk, knock the oven temperature back to 300 degrees F
- Line a shallow sheet pan with parchment paper and spread cornflakes out on it
- Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly toasted
- Let cool completely in pan
- Transfer the cooled cornflakes to a large pitcher
- Pour the milk into the pitcher and stir vigorously; let steep for 20 minutes at room temperature
- Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, collecting the milk in a medium bowl (use your hand or the back of a spoon to gently wring the milk out of the cornflakes)
- Whisk in brown sugar and salt until fully dissolved
- To make Cereal Milk buttercream, add butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream on high until smooth, about 2 minutes
- Add confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition and scraping down sides as needed
- Add Cereal Milk and mix until smooth
- Spoon buttercream into a piping back and pipe onto the flat (bottom) side of a cookie; place another cookie on top (flat side facing the buttercream) to create sandwiches
- Serve alone or with a tall glass of leftover cereal milk!
*NOTE: Recipe makes more Cereal Milk than is needed for these cookie sandwiches– drink it alone, use it in a milkshake, or check out Momofuku Milk Bar’s cookbook for additional ideas! It’ll last for about a week in the fridge.
Amanda @ Cookie Named Desire says
i have yet to get this book yet but I am dying to get it soon. Funny thing: I don’t like the milk at the bottom of the cereal bowl. Don’t know why, just don’t. But all these cereal milk recipes sound like something I would LOVE to try. These cookies are gorgeous!!
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thanks so much, Amanda! Truth be told, as a kid, I used to hate the milk at the bottom of the cereal bowl, too! It’s only in adulthood that I’ve come to savor those last spoonfuls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (my fave!) flavored milk 🙂
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking says
Oh, wow, this sounds amazing <3
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thanks, Julie!!
Kimberly says
I love all things Momofuku, and that Cereal Milk? Cray cray … but in a so, so, so good way!
I love what you’ve done with that recipe too … so much so that I would pay you tons of money to ship me a dozen of these cookies right now! Love!
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Haha thanks so much, Kimberley! I would HAPPILY ship you some cookies– I’ve already eaten more than I care to admit, and I need them GONE! I have zero self-control, especially where Cereal Milk anything is concerned 😉
Kathleen @ Yummy Crumble says
Yeah, these look pretty amazing. I totally need to get that book. NEED.
Michelle { A Latte Food } says
These look amazing! Cereal and milk is maybe my favorite thing–next to cookies. Combine them? I’m in love! Pinned!
Beth says
These look great! Milk Bar is my absolute favorite cookbook. I’ve made almost every cookie and cake in the book. The corn cookie and the carrot layer cake are my favorites. I even made the carrot cake as my wedding cake.
Samantha says
In the process of making these now (can’t wait to taste them!) but am I missing where to add the oats? Do they get mixed in with the dry ingredients or folded in with the corn flakes? Thanks!
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Hey Samantha, great question!! My apologies for the error in the instructions! They should be fixed now 🙂 Add the oats to the flour mixture right before you combine the wet and dry ingredients. Let me know how they turn out!
Samantha says
Thanks Kailly! I’ve yet to try a Milk Bar recipe I didnt like.
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
Love, love, love the milk at the bottom of the cereal bowl. . .it’s the best part. These dainty little cookies look so yummy. I can practically taste the creaminess of the cereal milk buttercream.
http://www.theroadtohoney.com
Chi @chicory says
I love this cookbook, but never actually got around to buying it, so thank you very much for sharing this amazing recipe. I must say I’m obsessed with Christina Tosi’s cornflakes crunch.
Btw, I work for a foodtech company called Chicory and would love to invite you to join our team of talented recipe partners. Are you interested?
Susie says
Hi, I am literally making these right now!
I’m assuming you mean 1 1/2 cups of cornflakes, not 11/2 cups. Sorry I am a novice baker so I’m not sure if this is an obvious mistake that ya’ll would pick up on lol. I’m going to take my chances of it being 1 1/2 a cups.
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention, Susie! Yes, it should actually be 1 1/2 cups– I’ve just updated the recipe, so hopefully there shouldn’t be anymore confusion 🙂