RYE + MAPLE + CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I have been doing some major nesting lately. I’m not pregnant; I just have this itch to make everything tidy and organized and homey. Dale has been working nights, and I swear it has made me hyperaware of all the things I have wanted to do/fix in our house. It’s been coming along since we moved in really, but we’ve done a ton in the past few weeks. The kitchen has been reorganized and now has the most amazing raw wood, white bracket shelves. We updated our bedding and living room curtains and hung a few more things on the walls. We got hanging plants for the front porch and a couple more houseplants (we now have a zebra, umbrella, snake, aloe, and some other mystery plant). Thanks to Dale and his mom’s planning, dedication, and handwork, we also now have raised beds in the backyard! Our little garden is growing and looking happy, and Dale could not be more excited and proud – it’s sweet. We had a salad of leaves from the garden last week, and I cannot wait for radishes and onions and other beautiful things.

In addition to all that, I have been making the most delicious cookies. A salad of freshly picked greens followed by a cookie of dark rye, oats, maple, and dark chocolate pretty much makes me feel likes super woman. Browning butter, whisking flower, folding chocolate and maple flakes then watching the dough slowly sink then puff then set is a wholly satisfying and calming experience for me. Then when the result is as perfect as these cookies, well, I just can’t complain. I’ve made these cookies three times in the past month. They are just so so good – chewy, chubby, sweet, light crumb, and especially lovely sprinkled with some toasted vanilla sugar.

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Rye + Maple + Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 12-14 medium sized cookies
inspired by Sprouted Kitchen’s Mapled Cookies

140 g (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp) butter
110 g (3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp) whole wheat pastry flour
60 g (1/2 cup) whole grain (dark) rye flour
50 g (1/2 cup) rolled oats
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp maple flakes (optional but delicious)
large pinch salt
100 g (1/2 cup) raw sugar
100 g (1/2 cup) light muscovado sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp maple extract
120 g (1 cup) dark chocolate chips (preferably additive-free, like Sunspire)

Brown the butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat. The butter will foam and bubble. Continue heating until the sizzling subsides, and the butter begins to turn a light amber color and smells nutty and toasty. Immediately remove the butter from the heat and pour into a heatproof bowl. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flours through sugars). In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and extracts. Once butter has cooled enough to where it’s not hot to the touch, whisk it into the egg mixture. Pour wet into dry and stir together with a wooden spoon or spatula until almost combined. Stir in chocolate until distributed, being careful not to overmix.

Using a standard ice cream scoop, form balls of dough. Place balls of dough in an airtight container and refrigerate for a few hours or up to two days. To bake, preheat oven to 400 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and stack atop another cookie sheet (double stacking prevents over-browning on the bottom of the cookies). Position balls of dough about two inches apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 6 minutes. Using a spatula, squish the cookies down just slightly and bake for another 3 minutes, until set on the edges but still soft in the middle. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep in airtight container at room temperature for about a week.