Rye Cookies

This week’s cookie recipe is based on a grain that doesn’t get a lot of attention in the pastry kitchen: rye. Because rye flour is usually baked into bread, often combined with a sourdough starter or caraway seeds, you may think of it in terms of savory foods. But on its own, rye flour has a gently nutty, even sweet flavor that makes it a good choice for cakes and cookies. Rye flour lacks the gluten-forming abilities of wheat flour, so it’s generally combined with wheat flour to avoid squat, dense, or crumbly baked goods. 

Aside from its appealing flavor, rye flour has a lot going for it nutritionally. It’s high in protein, B vitamins, and the antioxidant selenium. And like all whole grains, rye contains plenty of fiber, which can help prevent diabetes and obesity, among other benefits. Rye flour also contains special carbohydrates that help it absorb up to eight times its weight in water. Not only does this mean that baked goods made with rye stay softer and moister than ones made strictly with wheat, but it means that when you eat them, they swell in your stomach, helping you feel full longer.

Of course, all of this information would be purely academic if rye flour didn’t make great-tasting cookies, but it does—rye blends beautifully with butter and brown sugar into rich cookies that can be iced with a simple butter glaze or just eaten plain. The next time you’re in the baking aisle, don’t overlook the rye.

Ann
Ann Clark, Ltd. 

Rye Cookies

Makes about 16 cookies
Unless your kitchen is very hot, it’s not absolutely necessary to chill the dough, but it is helpful to let it rest for an hour or so to give the flour a chance to absorb the liquid.

Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy:
1 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar

Whisk together, then add and mix in:
2 cups rye flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Add and mix until the dough is uniformly moist:
5 tablespoons milk

Press dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375º.  Working with half at a time, roll dough out on lightly floured counter to 1/4-inch thickness and cut with your favorite Ann Clark Ltd. Cookie Cutter, then transfer cookies onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone liners. If you like, use a sharp paring knife to score a decorative design on the surface of the cookies. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly colored. Let cookies cool slightly on cookie sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

My favorite shapes for Rye Cookies include the Oak Leaf cookie cutter, the Gingerbread Boy cookie cutter, and the Chicken cookie cutter.