Welcome to GMA 25 Days of Cookies. For 25 days, we are featuring cookie recipes that are perfect to make for the holiday season. Our celeb BFFs are sharing their cookie recipes with us and we've gathered some seasonal standouts that are sure to dazzle on your Instagram feed and Pinterest board.
Head to our full guide here all month long for the most beautiful, fun, seasonal, delicious holiday cookies worthy of your new Christmas traditions.
Christina Tosi, the award-winning pastry chef and creator of the dessert empire Milk Bar, shared her famous compost cookie recipe with "GMA." Filled with potato chips, mini pretzels, graham cracker crumbs, butterscotch and more, this cookie puts a salty spin on the classic chocolate chip.
Check out the recipe below and step-by-step guide!
Christina Tosi's Compost Cookies
Makes about 15 to 20 cookies
Ingredients:
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons glucose
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini butterscotch chips
1/4 recipe 1/2 cup Graham Cracker Crust (Recipe to Follow)
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 1/2 teaspoons ground coffee
2 cups potato chips
1 cup mini pretzels
Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 milk powder
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup heavy cream
Note:
Or you can use pre-made graham crackers if desired.
Directions:
For the graham cracker crust:
Toss the graham crumbs, milk powder, sugar, and salt with your hands in a medium bowl to evenly distribute your dry ingredients.
Whisk the butter and heavy cream together. Add to the dry ingredients and toss again to evenly distribute. The butter will act as a glue, adhering to the dry ingredients and turning the mixture into a bunch of small clusters. The mixture should hold its shape if squeezed tightly in the palm of your hand. If it is not moist enough to do so, melt an additional tablespoon of butter and mix it in.
Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the butter, sugars, and glucose in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. (Do not walk away from the machine during this step, or you will risk over mixing the dough.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Still on low speed, add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, graham crust, oats and coffee and mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
Add the potato chips and pretzels and paddle, still on low speed, until just incorporated. Be careful not to over mix or break too many of the pretzels or potato chips.
Using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop (or a 1/3-cup measure), portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat.
Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature - they will not bake properly.
Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment or silicone baking mat-lined sheet pans. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle and spread. After 18 minutes, they should be very faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center. Give them an extra minute or so if that's not the case.
Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temperature, cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.
Eat immediately, or deploy as directed in a recipe. The crust is easiest to mold just after mixing. Stored in an airtight container, graham crust will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature or for 1 month in the fridge or freezer.
Recipe courtesy Christina Tosi.
Head to our full guide here all month long for the most beautiful, fun and delicious holiday cookies that are sure to become a new tradition.
Tell us which cookies you're baking! Tweet @GMA using #25daysofcookies with your #25daysofcookies pictures and we may feature you on our GMA Facebook page or in our morning GMA newsletter! Deck the halls with lots of cookies, fa la la la la, la la la la!
Editor's note: This was originally published on Dec. 20, 2018.
