Name: 20-Minute Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour; ¼ cup all-purpose flour ((1 ¼ ounces; see note for gluten-free version) ); ¼ cup whole spelt (or whole wheat pastry) flour ((1 ounce) ); ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt; 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and kept warm ((1 stick) ); ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar ((2 3/4 ounces) ); ¼ cup granulated sugar ((1 3/4 ounces) ); 1 large egg; ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (60 - 70% cacao mass) ((5 ounces) ); ½ cup walnuts toasted, cooled, skins rubbed off, and broken up or coarsely chopped (optional); 2 tablespoons cacao nibs (optional)

Dark buckwheat flour adds big flavor to these thick, chewy buckwheat cookies loaded with dark chocolate. The batter takes 10 minutes to stir together using melted butter, brown sugar, and all-purpose and whole wheat flours. Or make them gluten-free using sweet rice and tapioca flours instead – see the notes in the recipe card below.

After a 10-minute bake, the cookies bake up with shiny, crinkled tops, crispy edges, and gooey middles. You won't ever want to go back to standard chocolate chip cookies after tasting these mega-flavorful buckwheat cookies.

stack of buckwheat chocolate chip cookies

If you crave the rich flavor of roasty, earthy buckwheat flour (like the stuff used in these fluffy buckwheat flour pancakes) but baked into a soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie, allow me to introduce these buckwheat flour chocolate chippers. Like my reader-favorite oat flour chocolate chip cookies, these bake up thick and soft with golden edges and molten middles.

All About Buckwheat

Like most things, 'buckwheat' sounds much better in French, where it's known as 'blé noir.' This translates to 'black grain,' which sounds less poetic than 'blé noir' as well, though possibly less misleading than 'buckwheat,' since it isn't actually in the wheat family at all, but rather the gluten-free seed of a plant native to Asia.

Oddly, triangular buckwheat groats themselves aren't black at all, but rather a pretty ecru with hints of pastel green. But when roasted and ground into dark buckwheat flour, the flour becomes a charcoal-flecked brownish-grey. Arrowhead Mills and Bob's Red Mill are two widely available brands of dark buckwheat flour. If light buckwheat flour is what you've got, you can still make these; you'll just have a more classic chocolate chip cookie that will still be delicious.

Baking with buckwheat flour

Despite my love of buckwheat crepes and soba noodles, I never would have thought to bake flavorful dark buckwheat flour into sweet confections until Heidi at 101 Cookbooks posted some nibby buckwheat butter cookies, a recipe from Alice Medrich's stunner of a book Pure Dessert.

I made the cookies right away and was knocked off my feet by how well the flavors and textures went together: the gluten-free buckwheat created a meltingly delicate cookie dotted with crunchy, bittersweet nibs. I couldn't stop eating them. (I've also shared a buckwheat snowball cookie recipe with similar flavors, as well as these chocolate-studded banana buckwheat muffins - such a great combo!)

Buckwheat's unique flavor reminds me of toasted hazelnuts and cinnamon tempered by an oat-like softness. Since all of those flavors go so well with chocolate, I decided to try baking buckwheat flour into my favorite cookie of all, the illustrious chocolate chip.

Appropriately, I based my recipe on Alice Medrich's classic chocolate chip cookies from her new cookie book. I love that this recipe uses melted butter, so the dough comes together in a snap. I made a few different batches, tinkering with the amount of buckwheat flour I subbed in for the all-purpose (I added some whole spelt, too), and taking the sugar down a notch.

Alice says to let the dough rest for 1 hour and up to overnight, but the cookies turn out fine even when baked right away. She also recommends baking the cookies on unlined baking sheets, which did make for slightly thicker cookies, as the edges of the dough stick, preventing the cookies from spreading more. But when I went to scrape the sticky cookies off the sheet pan, I decided this was a deal breaker, and I had perfectly delectable results using parchment paper.

Mix-Ins

Chocolate Chunks or Chips

It's been a long time since I put actual chocolate chips in my cookies; it seems that, for now, higher quality chocolate comes in bars (or if you're lucky, wafers in the bulk section). Chopping your own chocolate gets you large chunks mixed with smaller shards, which lend a rustic look. Hold back a few, and stick them on top of the unbaked dough balls if you like; then everyone will know what's hiding inside.

Optional nuts & nibs

I used to be a purist when it came to chocolate chip cookies, but now, thanks to Jay peering over my shoulder and asking, 'Are you gonna put nuts in those?' so many times, I've come to appreciate the chunkier texture and hint of toasty bitterness they lend, especially against the flavor of the buckwheat. Following Alice's lead, I threw in some cacao nibs, as well, for added bite.

close up of buckwheat chocolate chip cookies

Like any chocolate chip cookie, these are at their peak when just firm enough to lift one off the baking sheet, when the edges are crisp, the centers gooey-soft, and the chocolate molten; preferably, with a cold and creamy chaser.

top down shot of chocolate chip cookies on a baking tray

Heaven, in any language.

Bojon appétit, my sweets! If you make this, I’d love to know. Please leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

buckwheat chocolate chip cookies on a board

5 from 5 reviews

20-Minute Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 10

Total: 20

Servings: 24 2 1/2-inch cookies

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour (3 ounces; such as Bob's Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills which are roasted, dark buckwheat flours)
¼ cup all-purpose flour (1 ¼ ounces; see note for gluten-free version)
¼ cup whole spelt (or whole wheat pastry) flour (1 ounce)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt

Wet Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and kept warm (1 stick)
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar (2 3/4 ounces)
¼ cup granulated sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
1 large egg
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate (60 - 70% cacao mass) (5 ounces)

Optional mix-ins

½ cup walnuts toasted, cooled, skins rubbed off, and broken up or coarsely chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons cacao nibs (optional)

Instructions

Prepare Things

Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375º. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the dough

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda and salt.
Combine the sugars in a large bowl, then stir in the warm, melted butter. Whisk in the egg and vanilla extract.
Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until almost combined, then stir in the chocolate chunks, nuts and nibs to distribute evenly.

Shape & Bake

You can either bake the cookies immediately, or cover the dough and let it rest for up to 2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge, bringing the dough back to room temperature before scooping. In either case, scoop rounded tablespoons of dough (I use a #40 spring-loaded ice cream scoop) and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheets 3" apart.
Bake the cookies until the edges are just set and the centers are puffed and soft (but not wet), rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom after 5 minutes, for a total time of around 8 or 9 minutes (the baking time will vary with the size of your cookies, natch).
Let the cookies cool on the pans (or slide the parchment, cookies and all, onto cooling racks to stop the baking if you took yours a bit too far). Like most drop cookies, these are at their peak when they are just cool enough to lift off of the baking sheet. The cookies will keep in an airtight container for several days at room temperature, however.

Notes

For a gluten-free version, in place of all of the flours use:

¾ cup (90 g) buckwheat flour (I use Arrowhead Mills, which is roasted and certified gluten-free)
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (58 g) sweet rice flour
2 tablespoons (15 g) tapioca flour

Adapted from Alice Medrich's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, from Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy, Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies.

Feel free to double this recipe if you are a real cookie monster; this is a rather small batch as far as batches of cookies go. Baking the cookies right away results in thinner cookies that spread more, while resting the dough (for up to 2 hours at room temp, or in the fridge overnight) will make thicker, chewier cookies. The dough can be scooped and refrigerated for up to a week, or frozen for a month or two; you will then be mere minutes away from gooey, freshly-baked cookies whenever you get a hankering.

Nutritional values are based on one of twenty four cookies.

Nutrition

Calories: 133kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 73mgPotassium: 69mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 135IUCalcium: 12mgIron: 0.8mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

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Comments

5 from 5 votes (3 ratings without comment)

20-Minute Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

All About Buckwheat

Baking with buckwheat flour