White Chocolate Cornflake Crunch & Pretzel Clusters

Have you heard of the Momofuko Milk Bar cookies? They look crazy good. Crazy. Good. These are not them. These are something else entirely. Momofuko cookies are basically a very buttery chocolate chip cookie batter with marshmallows and 'cornflake crunch'. But this 'cornflake crunch' is a recipe unto itself. The cornflake crunch consists of crushed cornflakes, butter, milk powder, salt and a tiny bit of sugar. It's baked at a low temperature until it becomes golden. Then it's added to the cookie recipe. Totally decadent. Totally right up my alley.

I decided to make those cookies. HOWEVER. After I made the cornflake crunch, I went back to the recipe for the actual cookies, and it was then that I decided to read the reviews. Turns out very few people had success with the cookie itself. Too much butter, not holding its shape etc. Some of the commenters/reviewers were downright pissed off about the recipe, claiming that there was clearly an error on the website. So I found myself in a bit of a conundrum. Had I actually read those reviews earlier, I would not have gone out and purchased a box of Cornflakes and made this 'Cornflake Crunch'. But alas, I am not a planner. I was knee deep in the process and had no idea what the hell to do with all my cornflake crunch, which despite the article, is not something I would eat on its own. It's good, but it needs to be part of something bigger.

Perhaps the cookie recipe will be revisited in time, but for now, I'm in no mood to tinker around with something that may or may not turn out. I haven't the time nor the patience. So, instead of just tossing the Cornflake Crunch, I tucked it away until I could figure out what to do with it. Well. I may have stumbled onto something people! I ended up melting some white chocolate, which, as you know, is very sweet, and adding the Cornflake Crunch as well as a handful of broken pretzels and voila! "White Chocolate Cornflake Crunch & Pretzel Clusters" was born. It's delicious! Sweet and salty, and perfectly crunchy. Not to mention super easy too. I've seen chocolate covered cornflakes a few times, but this takes that concept to a whole new level. These cornflakes are buttery and toasted, so much better than just using regular cornflakes. So...if you're looking for an interesting and easy candy to make for your Christmas holiday baking, look no further. Some of the best dishes come from kitchen blunders and improvising. Case and point.

RECIPE FOR WHITE CHOCOLATE CORNFLAKE CRUNCH & PRETZEL CLUSTERS

10 ounces of good quality white chocolate
1/2 cup (approximately) broken pretzels
1 3/4 cups (approximately) Cornflake Crunch  *recipe follows

Melt chocolate in medium bowl. Once completely melted and smooth, add pretzels and Cornflake Crunch. Mix well. Drop by teaspoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Chill until chocolate is set.

Recipe for Cornflake Crunch:
Yields about four cups
5 c. cornflakes
½ c. milk powder
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
9 tbsp. butter, melted
Heat oven to 275 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, with your hands, crush cornflakes to ¼ of their original size. Add milk powder, sugar, and salt; toss to mix. Add butter; toss to coat. (As you toss, the butter will act as glue, binding the dry ingredients to the cereal, creating small clusters.) On a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan, spread clusters and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when cooled slightly and chewed. Cool completely before storing or using in a recipe. Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for one week; in the fridge or freezer, it will keep with one month.