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Ask Yourself "What If?" with Milk Bar Founder Christina Tosi | A Bit of Optimism Podcast

What if this podcast turned into a baking show? For Christina Tosi’s third visit to A Bit of Optimism, we decided to find out. So we headed to Milk Bar to make compost cookies from things in my own pantry and my favorite beer bread from scratch! Christina’s not just my best friend—she’s the founder of Milk Bar, host of "Bake Squad" on Netflix, a cookbook author, and a fan favorite on this podcast. She lives by one simple question: what if? In this experimental episode, we dug into some big ideas about creativity, uncertainty, and the magic of trying something new. Recipes below! For more on Christina and her work, check out: http://christinatosi.com/ --------------------------- Simon's Compost Cookie Recipe (makes 15-20 cookies): 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar 2 tablespoons glucose syrup 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt Maltesers 85% dark chocolate Optimism Coffee grounds Granola Space/Astronaut Ice Cream Kettle Corn Pop Chips For the full step-by-step recipe, visit Milk Bar's website: https://milkbarstore.com/blogs/recipes/compost-cookie-new?srsltid=AfmBOoq3Xn896zypVDfdBRaoxfyMcdfdyA... Beer Bread Recipe: 3 cups self-rising flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 4 tablespoons honey (or to taste) 12 oz beer (Samual Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout is Simon's preference!) 2 tablespoons butter (and save a little for the top) Mix ingredients slowly together Bake at 350 for 45-60 mins until baked through --------------------------- This episode is brought to you by True Classic! I really love their T-shirts, so we called them up and asked if they wanted to work together. And they said yes! Check out their clothes at: http://trueclassictees.com/ + + + Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game. + + + Website: http://simonsinek.com/ Live Online Classes: https://simonsinek.com/classes/ Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/ Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek Simon’s books: The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/ Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/ Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/find-your-why/ Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/books/leaders-eat-last/ Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/books/together-is-better/ + + + #SimonSinek

Simon SinekhostChristina Tosiguest
Jun 2, 202551mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Baking as optimism: Christina Tosi on “what if” experimentation mindset

  1. Christina Tosi explains that her baking began as childhood trial-and-error, shaping a lifelong comfort with experimentation rather than strict recipe-following.
  2. The conversation frames baking as a “what if?” practice where curiosity, iteration, and learning from disappointment are core skills for both kitchens and companies.
  3. Tosi connects dessert-making to community and introversion, describing baking as her love language and a way to make people feel seen and cared for.
  4. They build a bespoke “compost cookie” from Simon’s pantry items to demonstrate playful constraints, flavor storytelling, and risk-taking without fear of imperfection.
  5. They also make (and taste) chocolate stout beer bread as an “idiot-proof” crowd-pleaser, using it to illustrate reverse-engineering complexity into simple, repeatable processes.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Curiosity beats precision when you’re building a creative practice.

Tosi’s earliest baking wasn’t recipe-based; it was iterative experimenting, which trained her to treat outcomes as data rather than judgment—an approach she still uses professionally.

Great creators build multiple prototypes at once.

Sinek notes Tosi’s habit of running A/B/C/D versions simultaneously; it accelerates learning and reduces attachment to any single outcome.

Being “good at disappointment” is a competitive advantage.

Tosi argues that frequent mismatch between expectation and result is normal; resilience comes from extracting the lesson and trying again, not avoiding risk.

Innovation often comes from refusing inherited rules.

Milk Bar’s identity was built by intentionally not doing “standard bakery” defaults (e.g., cereal milk ice cream, unconventional pies, unfrosted cake sides), reinforcing that differentiation is a choice.

Constraints can unlock originality—use what’s already on hand.

The compost cookie model turns scarcity (not enough chocolate chips) into a creative engine by repurposing pantry odds-and-ends into texture and flavor contrast.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

For me, baking and the approach to life is always walking around with this sense of what if.

— Christina Tosi

Being a great chef, a great baker, you have to be so good at disappointment.

— Christina Tosi

Dessert is my relationship to the world, to community… that’s how I say, ‘I got you.’

— Christina Tosi

Creativity is finding order in chaos.

— Simon Sinek

If we’re not experimenting and trying and falling flat on our faces… we’re suffocating ourselves.

— Christina Tosi

Origin story of trial-and-error baking“What if?” curiosity as a creative operating systemDisappointment, failure, and learning loopsBaking as love language and community-buildingMilk Bar’s rule-breaking product philosophyCompost cookie: pantry-driven innovationBeer bread: simplifying craft into repeatabilityFriendship and the “eight minutes” support code

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