Thrice-Baked Rye Cookies

I know Claire does not claim to be a top-notch dessert decorator, and sometimes that is what I’m missing when I make these recipes, however I must say the Thrice-Baked Rye Cookies prove why one must not judge a book by its cover (or in this case, a recipe picture).

I already had the ingredients for this cookie, but one interesting element was the requirement for two hard-boiled egg yolks. Needless to say, I’ve never used hard-boiled egg anything in a cookie. Over the past year, I have learned on my own that the best hard-boiled eggs come from older eggs; the ones I had were relatively new. While my yolks were certainly cooked after I unwrapped them from the cooked egg white, it was still a bold yellow rather than the soft yellow I’m used to.

I started by combining the all-purpose and rye flours on a baking sheet and toasting it for nine minutes. I then added the salt, baking powder, and flour (once it was cooled) to a bowl through a sieve. After that, I grated the egg yolks through the sieve. I do not have a big sieve, so this took a bit of time, with a lot of scraping off the yolks from the bottom since it barely made it through the metal grates. All in all, the yolk element definitely took longer than I anticipated, but I trusted Claire that it would be worth it in the end.

I used another bowl to mixed the butter, sugar and vanilla until it was smooth and combined. I always appreciate recipes where I don’t need to use my stand mixer; it reminds me of the good old days when I was learning to bake as a kid. I added the flour mixture to create a cookie dough. I placed the dough on plastic wrap and formed it into a square, then placed it in the fridge for an hour.

After the dough chilled, I rolled it out on to a baking sheet between two sheets of parchment paper, about ¼ inch thick. I took off the top parchment piece and used a butter knife to cut diamond shapes across the entire slab of dough, brushed it with egg wash and sprinkled demerara sugar all over it. I’ve never baked cookies in this fashion; I simply put that entire slab of dough in the oven without separating the cookies. After about 20 minutes, I retraced the lines of the cookies and let them cool. Then I separated the cookies and dispersed them between two baking sheets, baking them for another ten minutes.

While I wouldn’t consider these the most attractive looking cookies, they were extremely tasty. The rye flour adds a great touch, and I have to say, it must be the egg yolk that really makes everything shine through so strongly. My husband was totally into these cookies, saying they were perfect with morning coffee. While I didn’t expect much from the Thrice-Baked Rye Cookies, just like some of my all-time favorite recipes, sometimes simple is best in baking.

Claire has not yet posted a video on her YouTube channel about these, but I’ll share if she does!