How to make moreish cookies from store-cupboard odds and ends

This flexible cookie recipe is adapted from Christina Tosi of New York’s Milk Bar and draws on the idea of ‘compost’ or larder cookies made from odds and ends when supplies were limited on Star Island. The version here is adjusted for the UK and designed for raiding your store-cupboards and inventing variations.

Two key recommendations are to use fresh coffee grounds for depth of flavour and to include salted snacks such as crisps, pretzels or peanuts to balance the sweets. You can also add cereal, tortilla chips or roasted fava beans, and there is an optional biscuit crust made from crushed biscuits mixed with a little melted butter.

Makes about 20. For the dough: 225g room-temperature butter, 350g sugar (250g granulated and 100g dark brown), 50g golden syrup, 1 egg, ½ tsp vanilla, 225g flour, 40g rolled oats, 2½ tsp fresh coffee grounds (optional), ½ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp sea salt.

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