Book Review: Milk Bar Life By: Christina Tosi

 

I was so excited when the UPS guy showed up at my door with my new cookbook from Christina Tosi! I’ve been looking forward to reading this for weeks! The book is titled Milk Bar Life and it’s by Christina Tosi who owns and runs Momofuku Milk Bar in Brooklyn, NY. Momofuku Milk bar serves cute little bakery/dessert items created by Christina and some of those items are featured in this cookbook. There are also some savory recipes too!

 

When you open the book, you’re greeted with a nice little introduction from Christina telling you a little bit about herself. Like this charming tid bit: ” I never wanted a pony, or to be a pretty princess when I was little. Instead, I dreamed of cookies, cookies, cookies (working name), a bakery of my own that would leave me happily covered in flour and sugar, morning to midnight, and if I played my cards right, an unconscionable amount of raw cookie dough.”

What I love about this book is, not only is it a cookbook but it also doubles as a coffee table book and just an all around interesting read.  If you flip through the book, you’ll find a mixture of savory and sweet recipes as well as beautiful pictures and stories from Christina herself. I’ve picked out a few of my favorite recipes and want to share them with you.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

As she stated in the introduction, Christina loves cookies so it’s no wonder she will have a few cookie recipes or two in her cookbook. This one is a favorite of mine because I’ve always loved chocolate chip cookies above all other cookies. 

Haute Dogs

You could call these, pig in the blankets’ older brother. These “haute” dogs are great because they incorporate your two favorite dishes; hot dogs & pigs in the blanket into one awesome, fun treat and would be great for any BBQ or even for the 4th of July!

Kimchi Quesadillas

I’ve never had anything kimchi before, so I’m really excited to try this recipe. I love that instead of regular cheddar cheese, Christina uses blue cheese to give this dish, as she likes to call it, a little extra zing and funk.

Marky’s Butter Burgers

 

 

The Greta (Sugar Cookie Squares)

I decided to make these sugar cookie squares myself because I’m a sucker for a good sugar cookie recipe. I may have mixed the cookie dough for too long though because it turned into more of a cake than a cookie, but it tasted super delicious none the less. To give you an idea of what the differences are here are a couple of pics.

Here is the before of the cookie bar before it went into the oven:

And here is the finished product:

 

As I stated before, since I didn’t mix correctly, mine turned into more of a cake than a cookie, but it was still very delicious! I would’ve loved to have had this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

 

 

When I was reading into Christina’s background, I decided to visit youtube so that I could find out more about Momofuku Milk Bar and I came across this video:

I really enjoyed getting to try the greta cookies and my dad even helped me in making them. It was a good bonding experience for us and I can’t wait to try the other recipes. If you want to check out more on this book or you want to purchase a copy of your own, click here.

Which recipe looks the best to you?  Would you try any of these?

 

The Greta (Sugar Cookie Squares)

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Christina Tosi

Serves: 2 dozen

Sugar cookie square recipe from the owner of Momofuku Milk Bar.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• For The Cinnamon Sugar: (you can substitute sprinkles for this if you prefer)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
3. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream on high until homogenous, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
5. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, mixing until just combined, about 30 seconds.
6. Mix in the milk until just combined, about 30 seconds.
7. Spread the dough in an even layer in the prepared pan.
8. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the cookie dough.
9. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes for a slightly underbaked cookie (which is how Christina likes it), of for another 3 to 5 minutes if you’re a firm cookie fan.
10. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.

3.2.2929

If you haven’t seen my latest post where I was nominated for the Liebster Award, then click here.

 

***This is a Sponsored Post***

I received this book from blogging for books in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own. Book courtesy of Random House LLC.