hazelnut & rye chocolate chip cookies

browned butter, dark rye flour, hazelnuts and dark chocolate make a super toasty brown combination. October 2023

the rye flour makes this quite a dark dough, perhaps not the prettiest you’ve ever seen!

crispy edges and chewy centre with chocolate and hazelnut chunks

yields 19 cookies (if you don’t snack too hard on the mixture)

ingredients

113g butter, halved

1 tbsp milk

1 tbsp milk powder

75g caster sugar

75g dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla paste

130g dark rye flour (I use bob’s red mill, from piedemonte’s)

1 tsp baking soda

70g hazelnuts, chopped

100g dark chocolate, chopped

method

in a small saucepan, add half the butter (63g) and the milk powder (1 tbsp), and cook over medium heat until butter is browned

remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and add in the milk (1 tbsp) and remaining butter (62g) and let sit for a few minutes until all the butter has melted and cooled

add the caster sugar (75g) and brown sugar (75g) and mix to combine

add the egg (1) and vanilla (1 tsp) and mix to combine

add the rye flour (130g), baking soda (1 tsp), chopped hazelnuts (70g) and dark chocolate (100g) and mix until just combined

cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, up to overnight

preheat oven to 180°C

divide into 30g balls (about 19 total) and bake in batches for about 10 minutes until the centre is just set

note the rye flour makes these a dark cookie and it can be hard to tell by eye when they’re done

optional: at the 5 minute mark, take the cookies out and quickly bang the tray on the floor / countertop. this flattens them and gives them a beautiful crunchy outside and rippled look

let cool at least 5 minutes to allow them to solidify before tucking in

textures of brown