Before I get into these Knusperflakes Cookies, I’m going to share the only “wisdom” I’ve gleaned from my few years in the workforce. My first two jobs were pretty unique in that they were at “dream companies” – first at the Milk Bar flagship in LA, and then at Dreamworks Animation. And for a while, that was great. Exciting even. It’s easy to work for a place you already knew well before starting, and when you genuinely enjoy the product they’re making. However… it comes with its issues. Namely, when they start doing things that don’t match up to your vision of them. When you feel a bit too passionately, but your job is not actually Head of the Company, but rather Entry Level Grunt Worker.
This was a major issue for me at Dreamworks (amongst…. a few other issues), but I had a bit of that feeling at Milk Bar. They started focusing their efforts on making packaged goods for super markets that weren’t as good as their in store products. They were churning out birthday cakes in a way that the kitchens couldn’t keep up with, and quality declined. But they also replaced their chocolate-chocolate cookie with the chocolate birthday cookie, which I found… unforgiveable. The Chocolate Chocolate cookie was one of the greatest things on their menu – a rich and dark chocolate, with a bit of a salty kick. Chewy with crunchy chocolate crumb bits. Decadent. Delicious. And the chocolate birthday cookie is just… a chocolate cookie with sprinkles in it. When there’s already enough birthday stuff on the menu. Sigh.
So while I look back on my time at Milk Bar quite fondly (there were still plenty of other baked goods I was happy to take home for free), it was always annoying when I had to put on a smile and tell the customer to buy a chocolate birthday cookie when, as a fan myself, I would have complained. Alas, I had no power. I was working for The Man. (The Man, in this case, being Christina Tosi, who I admire and respect and think is a wonderful person.)
As fun as it can be at the start to work for a company you praise and support before working for them… there’s something about being on the inside that has a way of jading you. At least, that’s the case for me. So I suppose there’s a lesson to be learned there to not work for the places you’re a fan of. Sort of a “don’t meet your heroes” situation. And while I now have a job that makes me feel a bit like Jim explaining his job, at least it would be pretty impossible for them to disappoint me!
And in the meantime… I can make Milk Bar’s Chocolate-Chocolate cookies at home, and then add in cornflakes because *I* think it would be good and something that Milk Bar should have experimented with. And I’ll get drunk on my free will.
For those of you unfamiliar, Knusperflakes Ritter Sport are the inspiration here. It surprised me when I first tried it, but Knusperflakes is one of the best Ritter Sport flavors. Tied with Marzipan for being the best. Naturally, I’ve used Milk Bar’s cornflake crunch to make Knusperflakes inspired desserts before (like these Cornflake Crunch Brownies). And naturally, both iterations were delicious. Maybe not quite in line with a true Knusperflake’s milk chocolate-y goodness, but it still has the crunch and flavor!
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PinIngredients
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup glucose
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ounces 55% chocolate, melted
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona
3 g baking powder 3/4 teaspoon
1.5 g baking soda 1/4 teaspoon
7 g kosher salt 1 3/4 teaspoons
1 recipe Chocolate Crumb (see below)
1 recipe Cornflake Crunch (see below)
Instructions
Combine the butter, sugar, 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, vanilla, and melted chocolate, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, cocoa powder, 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 overmixing the dough.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Still on low speed, add the chocolate crumbs and cornflakes and mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds. You can preserve some of the cornflakes out if you’d like to use them to sprinkle on top of your cookies.
Using a 2 3/4-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.
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pans. Bake for 18 minutes. The cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. It’s tough (kind of impossible) to gauge if a cookie that is this dark with chocolate is done. If after 18 minutes, the cookies still seem doughy in the center, give them another 1 minute in the oven, but not more.
Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. At room temp, the cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.
Ingredients
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/ 3 cup cocoa powder, preferably Valrhona
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
Heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until the mixture starts to come together in small clusters.
Spread the clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. The crumbs should still be slightly moist to the touch at that point; they will dry and harden as they cool.
Let the crumbs cool completely before using in a recipe or eating. Stored in an airtight container, they will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature or 1 month in the fridge or freezer.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Cornflakes
1/4 cup dry milk powder
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 275°F.
In a medium bowl, crush the cornflakes with your hands until they are about one-quarter their original size. Add the milk powder, sugar, and salt and mix to combine. Set aside.
Melt the butter in 30 second increments in the microwave and then combine with the dry ingredients until everything is coated.
Pour the cornflake mixture onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 20-25 minutes until toasty.
Let the cornflake crunch cool completely before using.