I realized a few hours ago that I never actually wrote the article about the wonderful package of Momofuku Milk Bar goodies I received from my boyfriend / frequent dining companion for my birthday (in February) this year, so the following article is a tad belated.

Momofuku Milk Bar is a bakery and dessert shop within David Chang’s Momofuku Restaurant Group (I’m not cool enough to use the lowercase…) and has five locations – 3 in Manhattan and 2 in Brooklyn. Chef and Owner Christina Tosi’s creations are often playful, creative versions of traditional homey desserts, though her style doesn’t really fall under any particular category. The place has 2 stars in the Michelin guide and has been referred to as “one of the most exciting bakeries in the country” by Bon Appetit. I can attest that I was certainly pretty excited when I saw Chef Tosi’s signature on the package…

There were Compost, Corn and Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies. There was also a box of b’day cake truffles, as well as one of the bakery’s most popular signatures, the famous Crack Pie.

Let’s start with MMB’s number one bestseller, the very aptly named Crack Pie. The stuff is, indeed, addictive and disappeared in about 3 days despite its richness and density. I tried cutting myself small wedges of the stuff but then I’d go back immediately after consuming the portion and cut myself seconds and thirds and fourths even. The pie has a buttery, flaky, golden brown graham cracker crust and a dense, gooey, sickly sweet filling which reminded me of a blondie or the filling of a pecan pie or even the thick lotus paste filling of a moon cake. It was made with brown sugar and vanilla – not too complex in flavor. The texture was what made the pie so enjoyable, with the thick, velvety smooth, yolky filling giving way to the teeth, while the crunchy graham cracker crust provided structure. The little powdered sugar heart on the surface was cute too.

While I enjoyed the Crack Pie, my hands-down favorite part of the package were the b-day cake truffles. Eggy, thick, super dense balls of vanilla cake dough, coated with pieces of white chocolate as well as “cake crumble,” and speckled with rainbow sprinkles, which added some color and a bit of craziness to the texture. The bite-sized truffles are tongue tantalizing and I am currently salivating heavily as I write this. When you bite into one, the teeth break the slightly hardened, thin shell of cake crumble on the exterior. This provides a crunch which is followed immediately by the soft, smooth texture of the raw dough on the inside. You know the texture I’m talking about… Kind of like fresh marzipan, melting onto the roof of your mouth. One so satisfying that you know it has to be harmful if consumed in excess. Goshdurnit, why can’t lettuce taste and feel this good? The flavor is very basic: mind-numbingly sweet, perhaps a bit of vanilla is added for a floral tone. It is, again, the texture that makes these little guys irresistible.

Momofuku Milk Bar’s Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies are wonderful. They are buttery soft, crispy from the cornflake and gooey from the patches of marshmallow running trough. Chocolate chips add a nice flavor here and there. Since I got these packaged instead of straight out of the oven, they were a bit rigid so I heated them up on the broiler for just a few minutes to allow the chocolate chips and marshmallow to re-melt and the exterior to crisp up again. This was definitely worth it, as everything in the cookie moistened up a bit, making for creamier, more satisfying bites. Delicious!

Another simple treat with a twist. Texturally the Corn Cookie is similar, if not identical, to that of a festive sugar cookie – buttery, smooth, moist, comforting. The cookie also has the same dull sweetness of a sugar cookie but with a neat twist – the use of cornmeal adds the natural, mild sweetness of a juicy steamed corn kernel to the sweetness of the sugar. In a way, this is kind of like a piece of sweet corn bread, but with te texture of a buttery, eggy cookie. Yum.

Recycle, recycle, recycle! Most of the time it’s a pain in the butt. In the case of Monofuku Milk Bar’s famous Compost Cookies, it certainly pays off. A mad mix of both sweet and salty household snacks thrown into a rich, dense cookie dough and baked together until crispy on the outside. Chocolate and butterscotch chips, coffee grinds (for a flavoral depth that makes the cookie very interesting indeed), graham cracker crust, pretzel pieces and even salty potato chips are included in the mix. A very creative cookie, unlike any other I have had before.

The treats arrived in a big box with a cold pack nestled between them, along with a very sweet personalized card. I normally don’t have too much of a sweet tooth, but these really hit the spot and brought a huge smile to my face. It was also nice to have a stable supply of baked goods in my apartment for like two weeks.