Digestive Cookies

Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Process 1⅓ cups whole wheat flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in a food processor until butter virtually disappears and you have a fine, floury meal. Add milk and pulse until a damp and crumbly dough forms.

Turn dough out onto an unfloured surface and gently knead just to bring it into a ball; flatten into a disk. Lightly flour surface and roll out dough until just shy of ¼” thick. Lightly flour cookie cutter and punch out cookies, dusting with more flour as needed to avoid sticking. Dust any excess flour off of cookies with a dry pastry brush.

Using a spatula, transfer cookies to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Gently knead scraps together, reroll, and punch out more cookies. Discard any scraps (or bake as is and crumble over ice cream!).

Prick each cookie 3 times with a fork and bake, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until bottoms and edges are browned, 15–18 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets (cookies will crisp up as they cool).

If using, melt chocolate and oil in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each burst, until mostly melted and smooth, about 1 minute total. (Alternatively, melt in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until melted; do not let bowl touch water.) Stir chocolate mixture until fully melted, then continue to stir until slightly cooled and thickened, about 3 minutes. (This makes it easier to get a thick layer of chocolate on the cookies.)

Using a small offset spatula or butter knife and working one at a time, spread a scant 1 tsp. chocolate over the flat underside of each cookie. Using the edge of the spatula and starting from one side and working your way to the other, gently and quickly press a few lines into chocolate as desired. Chill cookies on baking sheets until chocolate is set, about 10 minutes.

Do ahead: Cookies can be made 3 weeks ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.