Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Nordic Twist

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A cookie that is always fun to play around with is chocolate chip.  One can find endless versions of this iconic American cookie, but the latest issue (May-June) of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street magazine intrigued me because it contains rye flour that is toasted.  (Those are my cookies that I set on the magazine cover!)

If you read my blog on Wednesday, you know that our cousin visiting from Finland brought us several licorice products for which Finland is famous.  In return, I wanted to make her something American but with a little Nordic twist.  Why not a chocolate chip cookie with rye flour?  Rye flour made sense as Finns use it extensively in baking.  The original recipe also called for a little molasses, but I decided to substitute a special Finnish dark syrup called Tumma Siirappi.

This wonderful syrup is available online and I can only describe it as a cross between molasses, honey, and maybe Lyle’s Golden Syrup.  It has a lovely flavor all its own and really has no substitute.  It is a staple in Finnish cooking and baking for Slice Cookies and even for savory items such as root vegetable casseroles, especially those served at Christmas.  It was a good substitute for the molasses, although I’m sure the molasses is good too, since it’s a Christopher Kimball recipe!

One cup of rye flour is toasted in a skillet until it becomes a bit darker and develops a nutty aroma.  It only takes about 7 minutes or so.  Butter is then stirred in and cooled before adding to other ingredients.  By the way, today is also National Pecan Day and the cookies include a cup of toasted and chopped pecans.

The cookies are crispy on the edges and softer in the middle.  We found that they tasted even better the second day.  I had stored them in an airtight container layered with plastic wrap.

I hope you will enjoy these cookies either the original way or Nordic twist.  Or make up your own version!  I will be making these again for sure.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Nordic Twist
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • ⅞ cup (124 grams) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup rye flour (140 grams)
  • 12 Tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) salted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
  • 1-1/4 cups white sugar (248 grams)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon Dan Sukker Tumma Siirappi, Finnish Dark Syrup (or molasses)
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 package (10 ounces) Dark Chocolate Morsels (or about 1-1/2 cups chopped bittersweet chocolate)
  • 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (113 grams)
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle position. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda.
  3. In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, toast the rye flour until fragrant and shade or two darker, about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the skillet from the heat, then add the butter and stir until melted.
  4. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, dark syrup (or molasses) and vanilla. When the rye-butter mixture is cool to the touch, slowly stir it into the eggs. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
  5. Drop by 2 Tablespoon mounds of dough about 2-inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. One sheet at a time, bake until the edges are firm and the centers are soft, about 8-12 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with second sheet. Makes 24 cookies.

 

 

 

 

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12 Responses to Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Nordic Twist

  1. April 27, 2017 at 9:16 am #

    Oh yum! Can’t wait to try them with my Tumma Siirappi. So glad you got me started on that wonderful Finnish dark syrup. And the Finnish Slice cookies are the best!

    • April 28, 2017 at 7:36 am #

      Finnish Dark Syrup is the best! And so are Slice Cookies..

  2. August 29, 2017 at 5:50 pm #

    I see some brands sell light and dark rye flours. I was wondering is you have tried light vs dark rye flour and which you prefer

    • August 29, 2017 at 8:21 pm #

      Hi Mark- I would always follow whatever a recipe calls for, and if it didn’t, it would depend on what I was making. I can’t say have a preference because I like anything made with rye flour. I actually can’t remember which I used for the cookies, but I just looked in my pantry and found an almost empty bag of Hodgson Mill Whole Grain Rye Flour and I might have used that one.

  3. December 22, 2017 at 6:32 pm #

    Wow I just made this they are sooooo good! I had some rye flour I didn’t know how to use… perfect!!!

    • December 31, 2017 at 8:28 pm #

      I’m so happy you liked them, Marie!

  4. April 26, 2018 at 6:31 am #

    My go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Delicious and easy!!!

    • April 26, 2018 at 9:36 am #

      Thank you, Brenda. I’m so glad you like them! Thanks for letting me know.

  5. October 14, 2018 at 12:54 pm #

    Fabulous taste, but mine came out VERY flat. Adding a bit more all purpose flour got the dough to a more cookie-like consistency and my second batch is more fluffy like the photos here. I suspect that this is one of those recipes where you get better results by weighing your ingredients instead of doing it by cup measure.

    • October 16, 2018 at 1:29 pm #

      Hi Tamara! I say if your second batch came out how you liked it, then use that one. I have found that recipes can sometimes turn out different due to things like oven temperature, brand of ingredients used, type and condition of baking sheets, how dough is mixed, etc. Whenever I make any recipe from any book or magazine, I always first make it exactly as printed, then if I think it needs tweaking I will write notes in the cookbook of what to do next time. And sometimes the recipe turns out perfect. To me, this is the fun of cooking!

      • October 16, 2018 at 1:36 pm #

        Thanks Debbie! I did find that the cookies were much better with the added all purpose flour (about 1/4 cup). And the gals I gave the cookies to really loved them, especially the molasses flavor. I was hoping for more flavor from the rye, though, as the toasted rye flour smelled wonderful. This was my first recipe using rye flour, would adding 1/4 cup of rye instead of the additional all purpose flour that I added hurt the recipe any? Would it make the cookie too dry? I just don’t know if you can do an equal measure rye flour substitute for AP flour. I guess I could try it, but am hoping you’ve had more experience using rye flour and might have a suggestion.

        • October 17, 2018 at 9:47 am #

          I don’t think the additional rye flour would make a huge difference, and I may even try that myself. I love rye flour, as it is used in many Finnish recipes which I make all the time since my husband is Finnish-American. He loves whitefish from Lake Superior and I coat the fish in rye flour before pan-frying and it’s wonderful!

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