There is nothing chewy, dense, or heavy here—just meltingly tender; buttery cookies with the nutty flavor of whole wheat. The flavor of wheat is perfection with almost any nut or dried fruit combination, or with cacao nibs. Hemp seeds are fabulous in the upgrade that follows. Spelt or kamut flours—both older forms of wheat—may be substituted for the scant cup of whole wheat flour; Makes about 48 2-inch cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups (9 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour, or I cup (4.5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour plus I scant cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour
- 14 tablespoons (1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup (3.5 ounces) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Combine the flours in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
In a medium bowl, with the back of a large spoon or with an electric mixer; beat the butter with the sugar; salt and vanilla until smooth and creamy but not fluffy, about I minute with the mixer Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Scrape the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead it with your hands to be sure the flour is completely incorporated.
Form the dough into a 12-by-2-inch log.Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into ¼ inch-thick slices. Place the cookies at least 1 ½ inches apart on the ungreased or lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. For lined pans, set the pans or just the liners on racks to cool. For unlined pans, let the cookies firm up on the pans for about I minute, then transfer them to a rack with a metal spatula. Let the cookies cool completely before storing.
The cookies are delicious fresh but are even better the next day. May be kept in an airtight container for at least I month.
UPGRADE
You can add 1/3 cup (1.33 ounces) roasted cacao nibs with or without I cup chopped nuts (raw or toasted) of any kind to the creamed butter and sugar mixture before adding the flour:
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About this recipe
Excerpted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich (Artisan Books). Copyright ©2010.
