A cookie for right now...
Quick-to-mix, hot-chocolate, date + toasted sesame cookie.
The ability of a hot cookie fresh from the oven to make things okay, even just for a few moments, is a powerful thing. A wonderful thing. A quick cookie is one that comes together in one bowl with a whisk and spatula. It requires no overnight rest and delivers the immediacy you need, exactly how and when you need it.
The immediate employment of hands and simple tools in a gratifying task, the immediate distraction of thoughts away from worry or stress, and the immediate capturing of senses… the touch of dry flour, sound of whisk tine against bowl, oven alarm, sweet scent of home baking, hot molten chocolate on fingertips.
A reprieve for the frazzled, the overwhelmed and the weary.
I pulled whatever flours I had from the cupboard to make the ones pictured, and the resulting blend deviated from the one I usually use. Nevertheless, the act of and the result delivered the same end.
My stash of soft wheat flour had run low from multiple rounds of testing for a project, so I used a high-extraction wheat flour more suited to bread making, which accounts for the thicker height, and wholemeal spelt in place of dark rye, resulting in a lighter, blonder cookie.
Know that any combination of wheat or rye flours will work, but softer wheats are more tenderising, and wholegrains are always more grounding, flavourful, textural, and satisfying. For the home millers, sub in a portion of fresh milled flour to see how it makes them morph into something uniquely yours.
Unsurprisingly, toasted sesame oil amplifies the toasted sesame notes. This savoury ingredient provides a sweet flavour hack in baking. A little goes a long way, and the 10g called for makes a difference in a cookie eaten straight from the oven. Aromas are at their most volatile when warm, and that is part of the whole escapist experience of the quick-to-mix, hot cookie.
Ingredients
Yield - approximately 12 cookies
125g whole wheat flour
105g soft wheat flour (sifted) or plain flour
40g wholemeal spelt or dark rye
2g sea salt
4g bicarbonate soda
15g toasted sesame seeds
80g pitted Medjool dates (chopped)
90g dark chocolate (70% cocoa or whatever you damn like)
90g caster sugar
120g soft light brown sugar
110g olive oil (light/medium, do not recommend extra virgin)
10g toasted sesame oil
80g water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 165 degrees C (fan).
Weigh the flours, salt, bicarbonate of soda, and toasted sesame seeds in a bowl, and stir to mix the dry ingredients.
In a medium bowl, weigh the sugars, oils, water, and vanilla extract and whisk with a balloon whisk until the mixture has emulsified and looks like caramel.
Add the dry ingredients, fold through until almost streak-free, then add the mix-ins (dates and chocolate) and continue to mix for a moment or two more.
Scoop the cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving an inch between each cookie.
Bake for 8 minutes, rotate the tray for even browning, and continue to bake for 5-7 minutes, until the edges are toasted and the centres look soft but set with a matt finish.
Remove the cookies from the oven and make a cuppa. By the time it's brewed, you’ll be out of mouth-burning danger. Enjoy.
Note: The cookies are best still warm from the oven, but they keep well for 2-3 days or can be frozen before baking and baked on demand. You can also make them ooey-gooey again with a short blast in the microwave; a 30-second whirl should do it. Proceed to add ice cream if the situation calls for it.
If you make these cookies, I hope they punctuate your day with a positive dose of sensory stimulation, slow you down and encourage you to stop and smell the flour. Remember that baking is not superfluous, but a radical act of self-preservation.
Fantastic cookies, I've made them twice already and they are going in the regular rotation!
These sound sensational, thanks!