Please think of this recipe as my way of apologising for being absent for a couple of months. Somehow the little winter holiday break morphed into January blues and February lurgy, and here I am finally getting back into the groove. And man, it feels good to be back in the swing of things.

Back to cookies though. Rye for a nuttier than nutty texture, gorgeous chocolate (apparently it’s good for the brain, according to this) and sea salt flakes to give each mouthful a beautiful roundness of taste and sweetness.

Oh, they’re also ready in under 45 mins, if you remember to leave the butter out of the fridge to soften. Seriously, when are you making these?

You’ll need:
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
125 grams granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste 
180 grams rye flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
200 grams dark chocolate, chopped into bite size pieces
Flaky sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180° C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until well combined and paler in colour.

Add the egg and vanilla bean and combine.

In a separate bowl, mix together the rye flour with the baking powder.

Add to the butter and vanilla mixture, then finally incorporate the chocolate chunks.

Portion the dough into 12 balls onto the baking sheet. Space the balls so that they have room to spread once in the oven.

Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 15 – 18 mins.

Serve warm for maximum wow-ness. Otherwise they’ll hold for a few days in an airtight jar.