Toasted Rye, Browned Butter and Black Tea Chocolate Chip Cookies - ugh, ten words, 54 letters and a title for a blog post where I actually also wanted to add: "How to toast flour", but left it out to keep the overwhelming effect in check. Nevertheless these little bad boys just happened in my kitchen.
And let me tell you, the moment they came out of the oven I knew the long post title just had to happen - these are so good, I would've felt guilty for not sharing them with you!
It all actually started with this recipe from food52, a classic one for Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies. Since glancing at the photos mid-week I knew I had to bake some cookies on the weekend - as a method of stress relieve, you know (the usual: lots of studying currently going on). But because my mind is actually really good at associative thinking (and btw non assotiative thinking as well) the idea of using toasted flour came up. Aaand because I've a current crush on rye, Toasted Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies it should be.
Opening the refrigerator the other day, I saw a tiny little packet of butter, that was soon to expire - this was the reminder of my long time intention to finally try out browned butter in baking - you see, now I was all in for Toasted Rye and Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.
In the end black tea was the last one to join us on the road to the most-fantastic-totally-need-to-try-out-no-joking-run-to-the-kitchen-immediately Toasted Rye, Browned Butter and Black Tea Chocolate Chip Cookies.
So Saturday morning was spent in the kitchen: dancing (thanks we're having a home where no one can glance in the kitchen to be amused by my terrible dancing skills...) from the counter to the oven and back - mixing up the dough, adjusting the mix of ingredients, shaping the cookies and sitting in front of the oven like a child, anxiously waiting for the baking time to be over. From the toasting of the flour, to the browning of the butter and the final baking of the cookies - the kitchen was bursting with aromas from popcorn (toasted flour) to caramel and nutty shades- can someone hand me a mason jar so I can preserve this smell? Because it gives you a total mood-boost, huge smile included!
The final cookies are crisp, with a slightly chewy centre (you might lower the baking time by 2-3 minutes, if you're one of the chewie cookie lovers though), huge chunks of chocolate chips, that are actually melting in your mouth. The whole thing has an awesome deep flavour that shimmers from rich butter and caramel to a hint of black tea and a wholesome nutty accent of the toasted flour - I actually had to hide some so they wouldn't be mysteriously gone once I was ready to shoot the photos. So if you're looking for a super tasty, "full bodied", unexpected cookie recipe, that even satisfies the pickiest eaters as well as sophisticated taste buds, this is THE one for you! Now take out the ingredients and start whisking - you'll be suprised by the magic that can be achieved by simple steps like browning butter and toasting flour!
Toasted Rye, Browned Butter and Black Tea Chocolate Chip Cookies
- inspired by this recipe from Food52, makes 25-30 Cookies
- 1 cup/225g Butter
- 2 and 1/2 cup/300g Rye Flour
- 1/2 cup/115g Sugar
- 1/2 cup/115g Brown Sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
- Content of three black tea bags
- 200g Chopped Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Chips (I used 60%)
1. Cut the butter into pieces and add these into a medium sized saucepan. Put it on the stovetop on medium high heat until melted and simmering - whisk constantly until the butter starts to get slightly brown and has a nutty, caramel taste (about 4-8 minutes)- pour into a heat proof bowl and set aside to cool down.
2. Toast the flour: See below for detailed instructions with gifs. Working in two to three batches add your flour into a medium sized pan and put it on the stovetop on medium high heat. Stirring occasionally toast your flour until slightly brown and your kitchen smells like popcorn: ~7-10 minutes. Set aside to cool down.
3. Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C.
4. In a mixing bowl beat together cooled butter, both sugars and the egg for about two minutes. Add the salt, the tea, baking soda and powder to the flour, mix well and work the dry ingredients into the wet with a wooden spoon or your hands until a dough starts to come together. Finally add in the chocolate until well combined.
5. Line your baking trays with parchment paper and form little dough balls (about 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter). Set these on the trays, about 3 inches apart to prevent the cookies from baking into each other. Bake for 8-11 minutes until slightly browned (if you like chewy cookies take them out when they still seem a little underbaked - they will harden up once cooled). Take out, let cool and enjoy!
How to toast flour
Toasting flour really gets out all the taste of the used grains and provides a lovely nutty aroma in the final product.
1. Put the flour in a pan, so the bottom is covered. Set the heat on medium-high.
2. Start toasting your flour, stirring occasionally.
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Mmm I love rye and chocolate
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