Compost Animal Crackers
In the early days of Milk Bar, we jumped at the chance to snag free travel in exchange for baking at events. We were gobsmacked that anyone would fork over airline tickets and hotel rooms in exchange for cookies and truffles, but who were we to say no?!
When our friends at a fancy-pants fashion company asked us to come to Paris (!!!) to bake for their big fashion show, we renewed our passports and packed our bags.
All that for making 6,000 compost animal crackers pshhhh, how hard can it be?! Cut to some very cranky bakers in the basement of a French hotel, cursing the tiny chocolate chip, oat, graham cracker, and coffee–studded animals as we painstakingly cut them out one by one across 36 hours straight.
The cookies were a hit and we did get to see the City of Lights eventually, but say "Merci" to your lucky stars that your compost cookie zoo is much smaller than ours.
©Pixabay
For optimal animal cut-outs, the right cutter is key. Try searching online for "mini cookie cutters with spring ejection.” Hilarious, I know, but it works!
Ingredients:
- 226g unsalted butter, softened 2 sticks (16 T)
- 115g light brown sugar ½ cup (packed)
- 100g sugar ½ cup
- 1 large egg
- 1g vanilla extract ¼ tsp
- 400g flour 2¾ cups
- 4g kosher salt 1 tsp
- 3g baking powder ¾ tsp
- 1g baking soda ¼ tsp
- 150g mini chocolate chips ¾ cup
- 100g mini butterscotch chips ½ cup
- 40g graham cracker crumbs ⅓ cup
- 40g rolled oats ½ cup
- 4g ground coffee 1 T
- 50g kettle-style potato chips 2 cups
- 50g mini pretzels 1 cup
Instructions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar on medium speed about 1 minute until smooth.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for 7 to 8 minutes until well combined.
Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and paddle on low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.
Still, on low speed, paddle in the mini chocolate and butterscotch chips, graham cracker crumbs, oats, and coffee just until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Still, on low speed, paddle in the potato chips and pretzels until broken into small pieces.
Turn the dough out and flatten it into 2 pancakes. Roll each dough pancake out between two sheets of parchment paper to a ¼-inch thickness.
Using your cookie cutter, stamp creatures into the dough as close to one another as possible (do not remove the cookies). Refrigerate the entire sheet of dough for at least 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 325°F. Pan-spray or line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Pop your chilled zoo off the parchment and transfer them carefully to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them ¼ inch apart. Reshape your dough scraps into a ball and roll out anew. Stamp and refrigerate as above.
Bake the cookies until the edges are set and the center is no longer glossy, 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of your animals.
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