I’m here today with a sweet treat. I know desserts are crowd pleasers, so you could see these cookies as a peace-offering – or maybe just an apology. The last time I presented something sweet the bees were buzzing and the birds were chirping. It was a time of renewal. What calendar watchers would call spring. Now its autumn and I’m left wondering where summer went. Why didn’t a burger post happen? Or coleslaw? Shouldn’t I have churned up ice cream in an inventive flavor? These things used to be my seasonal rituals. However, this summer I began to feel my blog slipping away from me. Or maybe I mean me slipping away from it. Anyway, I’m hoping to sweeten my little blog (and my place in the blogosphere) by turning to cookies, Rye-Cranberry Chocolate-Chunk Cookies to be exact.
We’re all busy. We’ve all got our stuff. My stuff involves caregiving for my partner’s elderly mother. We’re in a particularly trying phase of life here. I hesitate to call it the end-phase (because I don’t believe that it is) but there is certainly a slowing down of routines. Dressing is a big chore. A walk down the hall takes two rest stops when it used to take one. Little things like meals can take a whole afternoon. So as the calendar year closes I find myself carefully choosing the activities I call my own.
Rye-Cranberry Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
This week I chose baking. And I thank Mokonuts Cafe and Bakery and Dorie Greenspan for just the right inspiration. Greenspan has a charming story in the New York Times about how she discovered these Rye-Cranberry Chocolate-Chunk Cookies. I’ll let you read that on you’re own. But I promise it will make you want to board a plane for Paris before the last paragraph. If only I could…
What caught my attention in this recipe was the ingredient list: rye flour, poppy seeds, and flaky sea salt. These are savory ingredients that become sweetly complex when paired with cranberries and chocolate chunks. You might be tempted to call her cookie just another version of a Chocolate Chip Cookie, but you’d be shortchanging the appeal by more than a dollar. Filled with shards of melted chocolate and laced with pinpoints of poppy seeds it’s the texture that separates these cookies from the other cookies in the jar. They’re baked at 425 degrees F and are deeply browned. They’re imperfect to the point of craggy and would never be mistaken for store-bought. This recipe makes just 15 cookies so these cookies are big (mine weighed 54 grams each before baking). Which is another appealing aspect in my opinion. While these Rye-Cranberry Chocolate-Chunk Cookies are indeed slightly savory – they’re still the sweet treat I promised myself. GREG
My dough divided in fifteen 54 gram balls before baking.
Ingredients
- 130 gram medium rye flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill dark rye flour)
- 85 gram all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 140 gram unsalted butter (at cool room temperature)
- 100 gram granulated sugar
- 100 gram light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 50 gram poppy seeds
- 80 gram moist, plump dried cranberries
- 113 gram bittersweet chocolate (chopped into chunks)
- flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
Directions
Whisk together the rye flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, sea salt, and baking soda; set aside.
Working with a mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment, if you have one), beat the butter and both sugars together on medium speed for 3 minutes, until blended; scrape the bowl as needed. Add the egg, and beat 2 minutes more. Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients all at once, then pulse the mixer a few times to begin blending the ingredients. Beat on low speed until the flour almost disappears, and then add the poppy seeds, cranberries, and chocolate. Mix only until incorporated. Scrape the bowl to bring the dough together.
Have a baking sheet lined with parchment, foil or plastic wrap nearby. Divide the dough into 15 pieces, roll each piece into a ball between your palms and place on the baking sheet. Cover, and refrigerate the dough overnight or for up to 3 days. (If you’d like, you can wrap the balls airtight and freeze them for up to 1 month. Defrost them overnight in the fridge before baking.)
When you’re ready to bake, center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Arrange the cookies on the sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie (work with half a batch at a time and keep the remaining balls of dough in the refrigerator until needed). Sprinkle each cookie with a little flake salt, crushing it between your fingers as you do.
Bake the cookies for 10 or 11 minutes, pull the baking sheet from the oven and, using a metal spatula, a pancake turner or the bottom of a glass, tap each cookie lightly. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 3 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a rack. Repeat with the remaining dough, always using cold dough and a cool baking sheet.
Serve after the cookies have cooled for about 10 minutes, or wait until they reach room temperature.
It’s not often that I come across a cookie that’s off the beaten path and yet so appealing that I want to make it immediately. So thank you for that. I will almost certainly put these on my holiday baking list. I happen to have rye flour in the cupboard that needs using up, in fact.
I know what it’s like to care for an elderly relative. I did it myself. It’s hard, but it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. I have the utmost respect for you, Greg.
You know it’s OK to slip. We are only dealing with my MIL from a distance and it is hard, so I can not imagine how hard it is in person. Just remember to take care of you, because otherwise you won’t be any good to her. (I can say that because being a mother I know how hard it is to take care of one’s self.) Greg you are a mensch. Now go eat one of those glorious cookies for me.
Oh my. That cannot be easy at all. So very trying. You must have a lot of patience. Well I’m glad you got a chance to bake and make these cookies just for you. Although I’m sure you shared.
Greg, from my own experience I know how much work it is to care for someone at this stage of life. For me it was hard to focus on anything else that wasn’t a “must-do” on my list. Happy your taking a bit of time for yourself — even in the kitchen. Baking cookies is such a relaxing and comforting task.
I’ve never used rye flour before. For better or worse, I always have a sweet tooth and will definitely try these. (The better being I try new sweet recipes like this on without hesitation, and the worse, well .… 😉
Sending lots of positive energy to your family. ~Valentina
Your life is in a tough place at the moment, alas, so of course you don’t have as much time to play with blogging as you’d like. We’re grateful when you do, though. And you’re right that sweets are always a crowd pleaser! Dorie Greenspan is such a great baker — probably the best writing cookbooks at the moment — and this recipe is definitely up to her standard. Good stuff — thanks.
I love Dorie’s recipes, and this one looks wonderful. They’d be a great on-the-road snack (we’re planning another trip to the Grand Canyon while we’re in Arizona). Although, i might make them a bit smaller!
You are an amazing person to take care of your partner’s mother, it cannot be easy. I wasn’t able to care for my dear Mom at this stage, too heart-wrenching so I can’t imagine the emotional strength and physical energy it must take. Don’t feel the need to apologize, blogging should never be a burden. We do this for fun, friendship and support and we hope to be there for you. Your posts are always full of great food information and humour and I love reading them.
I can attest that these cookies take delicious to new heights. Incredible flavor combination — yum!
Rye flour in a dessert? Last time I tried something like this it was Julia Child’s «pain d’épices» — and it was a disaster. As I have the rye flour in the freezer, I will try these hoping to right the wrong from before.
You do have your hands full, I just spent the afternoon with my girlfriends 94-year-old mother. Those cookies are up my alley, not too sweet yet full of flavor .
You’ve got your hands full, Greg. No need for a peace offering or apologies but I’m sure glad you shared these cookies. I love rye flour–can’t wait to try this recipe.