We are well into 2021, and there are still situations in which only a cookie will do. With all the sourdough baking, it is nice to dip into the non-wheat flours. For their different colors, flavors, textures and nutrition…it is a world worth exploring. Buckwheat cookies it is!
For some reason, I really just love buckwheat…the color, the smell, the nutty and slightly bitter flavor. It goes so well with chocolate, and it makes killer cookies, pancakes and crepes, too. Buckwheat cookies – why not!
This recipe is one that I have made many, many times. I cannot recall where the original recipe or inspiration is – so I will just thank the general internet blogosphere and my drive for making all sorts of cookies for this recipe.
The browned butter is an extra step, as is toasting the nuts for this recipe – but they are small measures that pay off in big ways for these buckwheat cookies. We saw this in making financiers – which are equally as tasty. I actually really like that you do not have to cream together room temperature butter and sugar for this recipe. No pre-thinking on taking butter out to warm up – bonus!
You can use your favorite chocolate chips (I like Guittard), or chop up your favorite chocolate bars. Freshly baked from the freezer, the cookies maintain a more gooey interior that I really like – but you can bake these to crispy perfection as well. The key is to make sure the cookies sit in the fridge for an hour to firm up – so plan just a touch ahead. Standard for me, I keep a stash of cookie dough balls in the freezer for baking off a few whenever the cookie monster strikes.
Browned Butter Buckwheat & Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, room temperatures
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (110g) light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup plus 3 TB (100g) buckwheat flour I use Bobs Red Mill brand
- 1/4 cup plus 2 TB (45g) tapioca flour also called tapioca starch
- 1 pinch each cinnamon and cardamom optional – but great!
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 cup (6oz or 170g) dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks from your favorite dark chocolate bar
- 1 heaped cup toasted walnuts or pecans optional, but quite tasty
- Flakey sea salt, for topping Optional – I like Maldon
Instructions
- Brown the butter by melting the butter in a small-medium sauce pan. Heat over medium heat, swirling and scraping the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula to keep the butter solids from scorching. Cook the butter until it is golden and smells nutty. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool until room temperature. You may optionally sieve or strain the butter solids out of the butter if they have browned too much.
- Sift buckwheat flour, sea salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a medium bowl (large enough to hold the entire batter once mixed). Set aside.
- Once the browned butter is cool, add in the sugars, mixing in the pan the butter was browned in. Add in the egg and beat very well until combined.
- Add the butter-egg-sugar mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix just briefly. Add in the chocolate and toasted nuts (if using), and mix to combine everything until no patches of flour are seen.
- Cover the bowl, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm.
- To bake, pre-heat oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silpat. Take 1 heaping tablespoons of batter and roll them into balls (or scoop using a cookie scoop). Place 2 to 3 inches apart, as the cookies do spread a bit.
- Top each cookie with a sprinkle of sea salt. Bake for 10-13 minutes, until the edges are set and middles are still a bit soft but slightly collapsed. The cookie will be nicely browned on the bottoms, and slight browning on their tops.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool until just warm – the cookies are fragile when hot.