The Secret to Momofuku Milk Bar's Cookies

I will go so far as to say mixing is the most important step in making a Milk Bar cookie. Mixing the cookie dough is the first thing any of our cooks learn how to do. Everyone thinks they know how to mix a cookie, but I disagree.

The basics are as follows:

• Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
• Make sure both the bowl and paddle are at room temperature (not hot out of the dishwasher or dishwater).
• Use room-temperature butter (65 degrees to 70 degrees). Butter that's too warm will make butter soup; butter that's too cold will take twice as long to cream properly.
• Beat the butter and sugar(s) together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. (If the recipe calls for glucose, add it with the butter and sugar.) This dissolves the sugar while incorporating small pockets of air into the mixture. The air pockets develop as the sugar granules cut into the butter. This creaming process seals the hard-body bond between your butter and sugar.
• Use either cold or room-temperature eggs; room-temperature ones will incorporate more quickly.
• Add the eggs one by one, waiting for each one to be incorporated before adding the next. Then paddle on high for 7 to 8 minutes. The eggs help to strengthen and emulsify the bond.
• If the recipe calls for vanilla extract, add it with the eggs.