Chocolate Malted Milk Cookies

Cookies are a wonderful thing.  I have mentioned this before, but at 49, I can tell you, I still enjoy a great cookie every so often.  And while I’ll never turn down an amazing chocolate chip cookie, I also enjoy interesting other flavors, when I can find them. These are my chocolate malted milk cookies, a simple recipe I developed years ago inspired by the malted milk ball candies I’ve adored since my childhood.  Think soft, chewy, chocolatey, malted deliciousness that whips up effortlessly and bakes off perfectly so anyone can master them.

Broadway Nut Shop

I have fond memories of the malted milk balls from an old-school candy store near where I grew up, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Broadway Nut Shop was a landmark store and anyone who lived in the area in the 80’s and 90’s, definitely knew the place.  This was a classic, old-school, pound candy and nut roaster (hard to find these days) and it smelled heavenly like sugar and nutty goodness mixed all together.  Inside, every candy and freshly roasted nut was neatly displayed in large glass candy jars for you to look longingly at as you very carefully made your targeted decision on what to buy.

This special little place was always busy, no surprise really, there were tons of kids in the area and you simply could not pass by the store window, with its neon sign complete with a glowing peanut, without going inside and getting a little something.  Sadly, the Broadway Nut Shop closed its doors for good in 2002, but that little shop is where I first discovered what a malted milk ball was and where my love of malted milk first began.

In this recipe, I use a malted milk powder that mimics the taste of those malted milk ball candies I fell in love with years ago. For those unfamiliar, Malted milk powder is a fine light-yellow powder with a mellow, nutty flavor and a natural sweetness. The term “malt” refers to a grain (typically barley) that has been sprouted and quickly dried. Once the grain is ground up, it becomes the base of malted milk powder, which also contains wheat flour and powdered milk. Different brands often add other ingredients, including sugar, flavorings such as chocolate, food coloring, salt, and preservatives. For this recipe, I use malted milk powder made by Carnation.

In these chocolate malted milk cookies, the malted milk powder does a few things; it gives added flavor, similar to butterscotch, helps with browning, and helps balance the sweetness level creating a more in-depth chocolate flavor. So what you get, is one heck of an interesting cookie if you ask me.