There’s something about throwing a bunch of your favorite snacks together into one cookie dough base that makes the resulting treat all the better. Inspired by Momofuku Milk Bar’s Compost Cookies, these bars take that idea and put it all into one pan to create squares for everyone–chewy and soft center pieces and edges with a combination of chew and crisp.
The best part about throwing a bunch of snacks together into one bowl, is that the resulting product is equal parts sweet, salty, and chocolatey. Every bite has a textured crunch to accompany the soft dough that surrounds every add-in.
Apparently, my time in New York was highlighted by trips to cookie shops. I probably should have known about Milk Bar before I got there, but I learned about it from a playwright during a Wednesday night workshop over pizza and an early draft of theatre. So many others agreed with how delicious Milk Bar cookies were that I ventured out that weekend and braved through the 5th Avenue crowds to find the Midtown location, the closest to the apartment I was in at the time. I walked home with a couple of different cookies as documented in my post for my Blueberry & Cream Cookies, but it’s the Compost Cookies that I used to make for myself after returning to the Chicago area.
These cookie bars aren’t as flexible and fall apart soft as their infamous inspiration, but they are incredibly tender and packed full of flavor and goodies.
It’s been a big baking weekend for me as I try to get ahead on the next couple of weeks as I will be in the UK traveling to Manchester, Glasgow, and London. I’m actually really excited about the two recipes that will be posted while I’m gone. One is sweet–and was a huge hit when I brought it as a snack to my fantasy football draft on Friday night, and the other is a savory recipe that I stole from my mother–so you know it’s good.
In the meantime, I should probably begin packing for a ten-day trip that I leave for in 5 days time. While I’ve yet to pack any clothes, I am thinking that these Compost Cookie Bars might just make it on board our flight as a travel snack.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15-19 minutes |
| Servings |
bars
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- 1/2 cup butter salted, softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg large, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp ground coffee
- 3/4 cup butterscotch chips
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup bittersweet/dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cup potato chips kettle cooked
- 3/4 cup pretzels minis
Ingredients
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- Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Spray/grease and line a 9" x 13" pan and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. About 3-5 minutes on medium high.
- Add in the egg and vanilla, one at a time, mixing until combined between each addition.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, salt, and ground coffee. Add these dry ingredients to the mixer, 1/2 at a time. Mix until just combined, scraping down the edges in between additions.
- Slowly mix in the butterscotch chips, milk and bittersweet/dark chocolate chips, potato chips, and pretzels until the chips begin to break apart and the mix-ins are evenly distributed.
- Dump the dough into the prepared pan; it'll be a bit crumbly from all the add-ins. With a clean hand or a spatula, gently press down, pushing the dough into the corners, so that you have an even layer of cookie dough. Sprinkle with a bit of coarse or flaked sea salt.
- Bake 15-19 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown and the center is set but still a bit soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan. You can either slice the bars in the pan, or use the parchment paper to pull the cooled cookie from the pan then slice on a cutting board or countertop.
Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for another day.
Yummy bars – great flavors that come from the variety of ingredients. I added 2tbsp of butter as I felt the dough was too dry. They came out nice and chewy.
Thanks Patricia! They definitely need to be packed in with all the bits and pieces. I’m glad the extra butter helped them stay together a bit better!
Being home all the time, I have plenty of time to bake. This is such a unique cookie bar, I thought I would give it a try. Honestly , I didn’t like it. I love the combination of salty and sweet but not in this case. Enjoyed your blog just not the bar.
Hi Barb! Thanks for giving them a try. I’m sorry that the combination of flavors was not to your liking. The good thing about these bars is that they can be totally adapted and customized into something different if there are things you want to leave out or other add-ins and flavors that you want to include. I’m glad you’ve been giving baking more of a go with all this extra time at home!