Slice and Bake Cookie Recipe

Brown Butter Chocolate-Rye Cookies — Photo:
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

Active Time:

40 mins

Chill Time:

6 hrs

Total Time:

8 hrs

Yield:

About 2 dozen cookies

This recipe for brown butter and dark chocolate rye shortbread cookies from 2022 F&W Best New Chef Caroline Schiff, pastry chef at NYC’s Gage & Tollner, uses dark rye flour in addition to all-purpose flour to give the cookies a distinct earthiness. Schiff’s take on old-school slice-and-bake shortbread cookies includes adding dry milk powder while browning her butter which slowly caramelizes and imparts the cookie with a sweet toffee flavor.

“Buckle Up — this recipe makes a lot of cookies,” Schiff advises. “Think: two substantial logs of dough, each yielding about a dozen thick cookies. That makes this recipe perfect for a crowd, or you can be like me: Slice and bake what you want to enjoy right away, and squirrel the remaining dough in the freezer for emergencies. (Because you never know when a cookie emergency might strike!) The brown butter in this simple dough adds a deep, caramelized, toasty flavor, while the rye flour adds a subtle floral note. Powdered sugar keeps them delicate, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.”

Frequently asked questions

Is rye flour gluten-free?

While rye flour contains much lower amounts of gluten than wheat or barley based flours, it is not gluten-free.

Where can I buy Dutch processed cocoa powder?

Dutch processed cocoa powder is readily available at most supermarkets. When browsing the selection of cocoa powders in the baking aisle, look for packages labeled Dutched, European-style, or alkalized.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Make sure you use a sharp serrated knife when slicing the cookies and chop the chocolate into small shards to prevent the dough logs from crumbling. Serve these slice and bake cookies with a tall, cold glass of milk.

Cooking techniques

The key to perfectly round slice and bake cookies is starting with uniform dough logs. Place the plastic-wrapped dough in an empty cardboard paper towel tube, and roll it on a countertop to smooth the sides.

Make ahead

Dough logs can be prepared through step 3 and refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months. If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding with step 4.

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Ingredients

1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (about 4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) dark rye flour
3 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa (such as Valrhona)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (about 5 ounces) chopped bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 large egg, beaten

Directions

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium, stirring often. Once butter is fully melted and beginning to bubble, stir in milk powder. Cook, stirring often, until mixture is lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Immediately pour mixture into a medium-size heatproof bowl; set over a large bowl of ice water, and let cool, stirring often, until mixture has solidified to a soft and creamy consistency, 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove bowl from ice bath. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 1 minute. Add all-purpose flour, rye flour, cocoa, and salt. Beat on medium speed until incorporated, about 45 seconds. (Mixture will look crumbly.) Stir in chopped chocolate until a soft dough forms.
Divide dough in half. Turn out one dough half onto a large sheet of plastic wrap, and shape into a smooth 9-inch-long log (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter). Repeat process with remaining dough half to form a second log. Wrap logs tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 6 hours or up to 1 week.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one dough log from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. (Dough will crumble if sliced straight from refrigerator.) Place turbinado sugar in a shallow dish. Brush dough log lightly with beaten egg; roll in sugar, pressing gently to adhere.
Using a serrated knife, trim off and discard about 1/2 inch from each end of dough log. Slice into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (about 12 rounds per log). Arrange rounds at least 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven until cookies are matte and feel dry to the touch, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Repeat rolling, slicing, and baking process with second dough log.