K is for: Kitchen Sink Valentine’s Day Cookies

Really these should be called Cupid Cookies.

Because, let’s face it… if you make these for someone, they are likely to fall in love with you (if they haven’t already).

They could also be called Crack Cookies, but that’s not as cute sounding.

And I’m all about cute.

Especially on holidays.

These are my version of a Kitchen Sink cookie (or a compost cookie, or a garbage cookie, or whatever you call them). As you know, I’m not a baker, but I made a New Year’s Resolution to become better at it. I’ve made these now three times, slightly tweaking each batch to make them what I feel to be truly perfect cookies. And crack. They’re very addicting.

The best part about these cookies is they are very versatile. The whole “kitchen sink” concept is that you can basically find whatever sounds good from your cupboard and throw it into the batter. On the sweet side (left), I went with two chopped up Heath bars (thanks for the idea Laura Sylvan), Valentine’s Day Peanut butter M&M’s (I love all things PB), and mini chocolate chips from Ghiradelli. (Just for reference, the first time I did peanut butter chips and regular M&M’s in Christmas colors).

On the savory side (right), I did olive oil kettle chips (the chips sound weird, but don’t skip this ingredient please), broken pretzel pieces (mini pretzels would’ve been cute if I could find some), and a few freshly ground coffee grinds (again, sounds weird, but so good).

The first time I made them, I started with an adaption of the Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie. To be honest, they were a little too crunchy for my taste, so I did a lot of research (this is a great post about how different elements affect the baking process) and made my own little tweaks along the way.

Among some of my revelations for crisp on the edges, soft in the middle, rich cookies (keeping in mind I’m NOT a baking expert):

1.) More brown sugar than granulated sugar
2.) An extra egg yolk
3.) Just a touch of cornstarch (sounds weird, but I’ve seen this tip on a bunch of blogs)
4.) Weigh your flours, sugars, etc for more accurate results
5.) REFRIGERATE THE DOUGH. For at least 24 hours. Trust me, this is very important.
6.) Use a cookie scoop for uniform cookies
7.) If using M&M’s, gently press into the tops of the dough before baking to get a few pretty pieces on top. (You can do this with the chocolate chips too).
8.) Bake on parchment paper or a silpat
9.) Allow to cool slightly on the baking pan once removing from the oven
10.) Store with a little piece of bread in the tupperware to keep cookies moist and chewy

My only gripe is that the M&M’s always seem to crack. Perhaps adding them to the top halfway through the cooking time might help this, but it seemed like too much unnecessary work. Cracked M&M’s are rustic, right?

Rustic or ROMANTIC. Either way, these Cupid cookies are sure to keep your Valentine coming back for more.