Chocolate Chip Rye-Wheat Cookies

Freshly baked cookies for the sharing. Image by Gwynne Middleton.

One of the more satisfying treats I make in my high-altitude kitchen falls into the cookie category. When I was learning the ins and outs of baking a mile above sea level, I was grateful that most of my favorite cookie recipes needed little alteration to produce a good result.

Below you’ll find a recipe for a twist on the traditional chocolate chip cookie. When we started hand-milling whole grains last year for flour, we invested in a hefty bag of rye berries. I’ve appreciated the slightly sour tang of rye flour in savory breads, and I’m glad I branched out into its use for sweet baked goods.

This is a cookie for those who want more than one-note sweetness. Here you’ll get a great combination of sweet, tang and salt, with just enough butter to send you reminiscing about the good ol’ days when cookies and milk were a go-to snack.

---

Chocolate Chip Rye-Wheat Cookies

Make 20 Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup/115 grams room temperature unsalted butter (1 stick)

• 1/2 packed cup/110 grams dark brown sugar

• 1/2 cup/100 grams granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup/102 grams dark or regular rye flour

• 1/2 cup/120 grams all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Then, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder and salt and set aside.

3. Combine the sugars and softened butter in a mixing bowl/mixer and beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes until a combined smooth consistency.

4. Add egg and vanilla extract to butter-sugar mixture, and continue beating for 1 minute until ingredients are combined. Then lower the speed on your mixer and add the dry ingredients you’ve set aside and beat on low speed until just combined.

5. Here’s where it can get messy, but in the sweetest possible iteration of messy. Roll about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cookie dough into a ball, and gently press each ball into a disk. Space them appropriately on the baking sheet, keeping in mind that this dough spreads a bit as it bakes. I usually situate 10 cookies to a baking sheet, so I wind up baking this recipe in two batches in the oven.

6. While most cookies I bake are done in about 10 minutes, these cookies take about 13 minutes to get lightly brown on the edges. Set your timer for 10 minutes and keep an eye on their bake after that in case your oven runs hotter than ours.

7. Remove from oven and cool on a rack if you have one, Let’s be honest. You’re not going to actually wait until these are cooled completely, so I recommend five minutes to cool and then get snacking!