We love everything about Milk Bar and its founder Christina Tosi’s ethos about making desserts that are fun, whimsical, and evoke nostalgic senses of time and place. (That’s how we approach cocktail making and enjoyment, so Christina feels like a kindred spirit!) So when a month-long online baking class with Ms. Tosi opened up, we jumped at the chance to learn from the queen herself!
We love taking inspiration and technique from the culinary and baking worlds to elevate our cocktails, so not only has this class been so. much. fun. - it’s also been research. 😉
The class is set up to study cookies, pies, and cakes, with Christina providing how-tos on making three of her classic Milk Bar recipes, and then coaching us on creating our own original baked goods.
Loving all things cocktails, of course we developed our own original cookie recipe based on a drink!
So, we have a special treat for you this week - may we present our Old Fashioned Cocktail Cookie recipe for your enjoyment! 🍪 This cookie is meant to evoke the warm, spicy, hearty, slightly bitter, slightly sweet, and comforting flavors of the classic cocktail. It’s not a re-creation of the drink in baked good form; rather, it’s an impressionist interpretation. Think of Debussy or Monet rather than Mascagni or Courbet. 🤣
But yes! Since you asked, these cookies DO contain alcohol! We soaked oat cereal squares in bonded Old Overholt rye whiskey and toasted them. Plus, we used rye flour, Angostura bitters, orange zest, black pepper (yes, really! It’s delicious!), and lots of warm vanilla extract and dark chocolate to give us those yummy flavors of whiskey aged in a barrel.
We love these cookies warm out of the oven and paired with a cool glass of milk...or, you know, and Old Fashioned. 🥃 😉
Bake, eat, sip, and enjoy!
Old Fashioned Cookies
Dough
225 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
250 g granulated sugar
150 g dark brown sugar
1 egg
2 g dark vanilla extract
2 g angostura bitters
130 g all purpose flour
130 g rye flour 3 g baking powder
1.5 g baking soda
5 g kosher salt
Whiskey oat squares (sub-recipe)
130 g Quaker Oats Brown Sugar Oatmeal Squares cereal
45 g cask strength/bonded rye whiskey (we used Old Overholt Bonded)
Mix-ins
125 g dark chocolate chunks
2.5 g orange zest
2 g black pepper
Whiskey oat squares
Instructions
Make the whiskey oat squares:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss cereal squares and rye whiskey in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Cereal should be slightly damp from the liquid. Spread mixture onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown and toasty. Let cool completely, and place into a Ziploc bag. Use an ice mallet or back of a spoon to smash lightly until rough pieces (don’t pulverize - you’re looking for nice sized pieces for crunch within the cookie).
Make the cookies:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make sure the butter is at room temperature. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and paddle, and add the egg, vanilla, angostura bitters, orange zest, and black pepper. Beat on high for 7-8 minutes, scraping down the sides and paddle every few minutes and at the end. Add the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in a separate bowl and stir together gently. Add dry ingredients into the creamed mixture in the stand mixer. Mix on low until just incorporated, no more than 45 seconds. Scrape down sides and paddle. Add in chocolate chunks and whiskey oat squares. Mix on low until incorporated, no more than 45 seconds.
Make a tester cookie: use a large cookie scoop (about 2 ounces) and portion out one cookie. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes at 375 degrees, rotating halfway through, until edges are golden brown.
While test cookie is baking, portion out the remaining cookies with your scoop and place on parchment lined cookie sheets, about 3 inches apart. Lightly press down the tops of the cookies with your hands. Wrap the sheet pans tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour (or up to overnight). Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-13 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the edges are golden brown. Let cool completely on the cookie sheet before transferring to an air-tight container. Cookies will keep for 5 days at room temperature or one month in the freezer.