At The Wayland Mill in Seattle, Washington (one of our Best New Restaurants of 2026), pastry chef Ellary Collins makes a cookie that encapsulates all the goodness of classic Midwestern gooey butter cake in a crisp-on-the-edges, chewy-in-the-center treat. Collins says, “I wanted to incorporate a toasted rice flavor into a cookie, and the puffed rice brittle was a fun way to do that while also adding texture. Our chef Yasuaki named these Gohan Gooey Butter Cookies. Gohan is the Japanese word for ‘rice,’ and it tastes strikingly reminiscent of the classic Midwestern gooey butter cake he grew up eating.” When making the brittle, it’s important to cook the sugar mixture to the color of honey. Once the baking soda is added, the color will quickly deepen. Err on the side of caution knowing it will continue to darken off of the heat. Malted milk powder can be found in most well-stocked grocery stores alongside the cartons of dried milk.
More irresistible cookies this way: BA’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies; Miso White Chocolate–Macadamia Cookies; and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies With Toffee.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes (plus 1 hour for chilling)
Yield
Makes 16 large
Ingredients
Brittle
Cookies and Assembly
Preparation
Brittle
Step 1
Cook ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, and 1 Tbsp. water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the color of honey and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and, working quickly, add ¾ cup Rice Krispies or other puffed rice cereal and mix until evenly coated. Add ¼ tsp. baking soda and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt and stir just until mixture puffs and slightly lightens in color.
Step 2
Immediately scrape mixture out onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat (or you can use parchment paper lightly coated with nonstick vegetable oil spray), pushing as needed to work into a single layer; sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let brittle cool (it will harden), then coarsely chop into about ½" pieces.
Cookies and Assembly
Step 3
Beat 1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar, ⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp. (packed; 79 g) light brown sugar, and 14 Tbsp. (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed, scraping down sides as needed, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and add 2½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (50 g) malted milk powder, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ tsp. cream of tartar; mix on low speed just until a soft dough forms and no pockets of dry flour remain, about 30 seconds. Add 3 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped, and brittle and fold in with a rubber spatula just until evenly distributed.
Step 4
Using a #16 cookie scoop or ¼-cup measuring cup, portion out dough and roll into smooth balls. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Step 5
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Arrange 5–6 cookies each on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2" apart. Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until golden and cracked (edges will be firm but centers should still be soft), 16–18 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack if needed. Repeat with remaining cookies. (Reuse a baking sheet or portion out onto 3 baking sheets from the start if you have them.)
