Salty Buckwheat Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This is a chocolate chip cookie. But not just any chocolate chip cookie. This one, which gets its speckled look, earthy, nutty flavor, and chewy middle from buckwheat flour, might just become your new favorite. You can substitute whole-wheat flour for the buckwheat flour and still get a great cookie, though it will (obviously) be missing buckwheat's distinct and complex flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter cut into 8 equal pieces, (½ cup)
- 125 grams all-purpose flour (1 cup)
- 63 grams buckwheat flour (½ cup)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal salt or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher, plus more
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate 65–75% cacao bars or wafers (disks, pistoles, fèves)
- 133 grams light brown sugar (⅔ cup; packed)
- 100 grams granulated sugar (½ cup)
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Melt the butter
- Heat ½ cup (1 stick) butter in a small saucepan over the lowest heat possible until melted (you don’t want it to sputter or brown), about 5 minutes.
Whisk dry ingredients
- Meanwhile, whisk 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (63 grams) buckwheat flour, ½ tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, and 1¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl.
Chop the chocolate
- Coarsely chop 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate. Set aside a handful of chocolate in a small bowl.
Combine the wet ingredients
- Scrape the butter into a large bowl and add ⅔ cup (133 grams) light brown sugar and ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar. Whisk vigorously until the butter has been absorbed into the sugar and no big lumps remain, about 30 seconds.
- Add 1 large egg, then 2 large egg yolks, one at a time, whisking until fully combined after each addition.
- Whisk in 1 tsp. vanilla extract. At this point, your mixture should look much lighter in color and be smooth, almost creamy.
Make the dough and chill
- Add dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir until just incorporated and almost no dry streaks remain.
- Add chopped chocolate (but not the chocolate you reserved in the small bowl) to the batter. Gently mix just to distribute.
- Cover bowl with an airtight bowl cover, a kitchen towel, or plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours. (If you’re crunched for time, 1 hour will do, but cookies will be best after 2.)
Prepare the cookies
- Place racks in upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 375°.
- Using a tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out scant 2-Tbsp. portions of dough (or, if you have a scoop, this is a leveled-off #30 or a heaping #40) until you have 10 portions divided between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets (you want five per sheet—these will spread a bit!).
- Roll portions into balls and gently press a piece or 2 of reserved chocolate into each one. It’s okay to cram the chocolate on there—some pieces can even be vertical.
- Cover and chill any remaining dough.
Bake
- Bake cookies, rotating baking sheets top to bottom and front to back halfway through, until edges are golden brown and centers are puffed, 8–10 minutes. (Pull at 8 if you like your cookies softer and want to guarantee they’re still soft the next day!)
- Working one at a time, pull baking sheets out of the oven and tap lightly on the stove to deflate cookies.
- Sprinkle with Diamond Crystal kosher salt (if you’re using Morton, skip it: the crystals are too large).
- Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Let baking sheets cool (to do this fast, run them under cold water), then turn parchment paper over.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough, dividing evenly between baking sheets, to make 6–8 more cookies.
Notes
Do Ahead: Cookies can be baked 3 days ahead. Let cool; store airtight at room temperature.