I often eat a bag of salty crisps at the same time as a chewy chocolate bar, alternating bite for bite between the two, because the extreme contrast of salt from the chips and the sweetness of the chocolate fire off each other and create an endorphin rush. The same goes for these cookies, adapted from a recipe by Christina Tosi at New York’s legendary Milk Bar.

Compost (AKA larder) cookies

Christina Tosi writes in Gourmet Traveller Australia how she first learned to make these cookies at a conference centre on Star Island, New England, where they’d bake them each week with a hodge-podge of different ingredients. Being on an island, they didn’t always have access to what they wanted, so they had to come up with a new recipe every week using whatever they had. In the spirit of the recipe’s origins, I’ve adapted Tosi’s recipe for the UK, and made it flexible, so you can raid your own store-cupboards and adapt and invent your own version from it.

The two main revelations I had when devising this recipe (both of which I’d highly recommend you include) are, first, use fresh coffee grounds, because they impart an incredible depth of flavour without overpowering the cookie. And, second, the addition of salty snacks (salted crisps, pretzels and/or peanuts, for example) is totally delicious in combination with the sweets. You can also try adding other ingredients such as cereal, tortilla chips or roasted fava beans.

Tosi makes a Graham cracker crumb to mix into her cookie dough, but I’ve simplified that to an optional biscuit crust made from crushed biscuits (I used malted milk biscuits, but any will do) brought together with a little melted butter.

Makes About 20

For the cookie dough 225g room-temperature butter 350g sugar – I used a mixture of 250g granulated sugar and 100g dark brown sugar 50g golden syrup, or liquid glucose or extra sugar **1 **egg ½ tsp vanilla extract 225g flour (bread flour, plain flour or a mixture including wholemeal) 40g rolled oats 2½ tsp fresh coffee grounds (not instant coffee; optional) ½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda, or more baking powder 1 tsp sea salt

Optional extras 50g biscuit crust (eg, graham crackers, Lotus biscuits, digestive biscuits) crushed to a crumb and mixed with 1 tbsp melted butter 150g chocolate chips, or roughly chopped chocolate 100g other sweets or bars (toffee, fudge, butterscotch, Snickers; I used Rocky bars), roughly chopped 100g mixed salted snacks (crisps, pretzels**,** peanuts)

First make the cookie dough. Vigorously beat the butter, sugar and golden syrup for a few minutes, then add the egg, vanilla extract, flour, rolled oats, coffee grounds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sea salt, and beat well to combine.

Fold in any biscuits, chocolate or sweets that take your fancy, then gently fold in any more fragile salted snacks. Divide and roll the dough into 20 evenly sized balls and place these on a tray in the fridge for at least an hour, and ideally overnight.

Heat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 and line several baking trays with baking paper (unbleached, for preference). Arrange the dough balls evenly on the trays, leaving plenty of room (at least 10cm) between them, to allow for spreading. Bake from cold for about 18 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges, then remove and leave to cool on the trays. Store in an airtight container for several days (or in the freezer for up to three months).