Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies

I have always been a fan of buckwheat. I love soba noodles, blueberry buckwheat pancakes, and of course buckwheat cookies. My husband, on the other hand, was never a fan… until I made these cookies. Out of all the cookies I made this holiday season, these are by far his favorite and he’s now a buckwheat stan.

The presence of buckwheat lends these really interesting nutty, roasty, and slightly bitter notes to whatever you’re incorporating it into. Buckwheat really shines in a sweet baked good, especially when it includes browned butter and chocolate. These Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies are inherently gluten-free because the dough relies 100% on buckwheat flour. So the texture is tender, yet crispy with a wonderful chewy center. Browned butter accents the nuttiness of the buckwheat and a mix of white and dark chocolate play off it’s subtle bitterness. I’ve tested this recipe with all white chocolate and also all dark chocolate, so you can go in either direction, but the mix of the two is amazing.

Toasted buckwheat groats gives these cookies that addictive crunch factor. It’s almost like biting into a chocolate crunch bar but in cookie form. I also love the visual texture of these cookies. They look earthy and also gives off a fossilized, Jurassic park aesthetic, which I know is not your traditional Holiday cookie but it’s pretty nonetheless.

Don’t forget that these cookies freeze insanely well in cookie dough form, so you can keep these stocked in your freezer for whenever you need a fresh cookie beyond the holiday season!

Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies

Makes 28 cookies

60g (1/3 cup) Bob’s Red Mill Buckwheat Groats

227g (2 sticks) unsalted butter

250g (2 cups) Bob’s Red Mill Buckwheat Flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp coarse salt

200gs (1 cup) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

113g bittersweet or dark chocolate, roughly chopped

113g white chocolate, roughly chopped

1. In a medium pan over medium-low heat, toast the groats until browned around the edges, 3 to 4 minutes, tossing frequently. Transfer the groats to a small bowl to fully cool.

2. In a medium pan, melt butter over medium heat. Continue to brown the butter until you see flecks of browned milk solids and the butter smells of toffee, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the butter in a heat safe bowl and allow it to cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine buckwheat flour, baking soda, and salt.

5. In a large bowl, whisk to combine butter and sugar until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a flexible spatula until a smooth dough forms. Add half of the chocolate into the cookie dough and mix to incorporate. Loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap or a plate and chill the dough for just 30 minutes. This will help the dough hydrate and also firm up.

6. Scoop 1 1/2 tbsp of cookie dough and roll into a ball. Dip the top into the remaining chocolate chunks and the groats until they stick and then gently roll into a ball again. Place the cookie dough on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining cookies, making sure to space them 3” apart on the sheet. 

7. Bake until the edges are lightly browned, 9 to 11 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Freezing notes: After you’ve rolled your cookie dough balls, freeze them on a small baking sheet and store them in a plastic bag once solid. No need to defrost before baking. Bake as you would a fresh cookie, it might just need an extra minute or two.

thank you, Bob’s Red Mill, for sponsoring this post!