Recipes

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

November 22, 2013

Replacing standard all-purpose flour with whole grain rye makes a dense, fudgy cookie with an intense and complex chocolate flavor. Adapted from the cookbook Tartine No. 3, these rich cookies are perfectly finished by a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. Bake them while the dough is still cold to prevent them from spreading too much.

Replacing standard all-purpose flour with whole grain rye makes a dense, fudgy cookie with an intense and complex chocolate flavor.

Yield: makes ABOUT 25 COOKIES

Ingredients

³⁄₄ cup whole-grain dark rye flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¹⁄₂ tsp. kosher salt
2 ²⁄₃ cups finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 ¹⁄₂ cups light muscovado or light brown sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Maldon salt or fleur de sel, for sprinkling

Instructions

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until melted, 5 minutes. Remove bowl from pan; set aside.
Place eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment; whip until fluffy. With the motor running, slowly add sugar until eggs have nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes. Add reserved chocolate mixture and the vanilla; mix until combined. With the motor running, slowly add dry ingredients until a soft, loose dough forms. Cover dough with plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.
Heat oven to 350°. Using 2 tablespoons for each, drop cookies onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2” apart. Sprinkle cookies with Maldon salt or fleur de sel; bake until cookies are puffed, 8-10 minutes.