Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yeah, I know what you're thinking.
Not another cookie recipe! Forget it. I've had it up to here with chocolate chips and melty, crunchy sweetness. Where are the rutabaga recipes, dagnabbit? What about parsnips? I've got a hankering for kale. A craving for beets. Turnips! Geesh. I want more jicama. Serve me some *bleeping* kohlrabi, already!
Sorry. Not today.
Baking egg-free, butter-free and gluten-free can be tough, so if you- or an angel you love- are allergic to several of the top allergens, or simply GF/CF (and we all know, Babycakes, there's nothing simple about it!), just know--- I'm in the weird and rocky boat with you. Which is why I keep experimenting and tweaking. And if the butter eating glutenous In Crowd doesn't get it, I say, You know what, Cheese Breath? Just go eat your Twinkies, will ya?
Why buckwheat? I wanted to make a chocolate chip cookie with my new favorite gluten-free flour. Even though it's more of a fruit (the rhubarb family) than a grain, buckwheat is higher in protein and fiber than typical gluten-free flours. And- as another plus- it has no tinny beany aftertaste like the legume flours many folks turn to for boosting nutrition (as luck would have it, I'm allergic to legumes, anyway).
The fat choice. Through all my gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free cookie experiments I have come to favor Spectrum Organic Shortening as my baking fat of choice. It somehow (I'm no scientist) gives the cookies a better structure. And they're way less oily (than when I use oil).
Dry ingredients::
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup rice or sorghum flour (or both)
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
"Wet" ingredients::
1 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening
1 1/2 cups organic light brown sugar
1 tablespoon yummy vanilla
Ener-G Egg Replacer for 2 eggs- of if you can use eggs, 2 happy free-range organic huevos
Add ins::
2-5 tablespoons vanilla rice milk, as needed
1 10-oz bag of allergen-free chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts, coconut, or chopped dried fruit, if desired
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flours, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking soda and sea salt.
In a separate bowl, beat the Spectrum shortening, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Add in the eggs or egg replacer and beat to combine.
Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and beat to combine- until a dough forms- adding a tablespoon of vanilla rice milk at a time to achieve a soft but sturdy dough.
Add the chocolate chips and any additional add-ins and beat by hand.
Cover and chill the dough for an hour.
Check your e-mail, sip your tea. Twitter.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scoop tablespoons of dough and form them into balls; place them on the lined cookie sheet, about two inches apart. Press down on the dough balls ever so slightly, but keep the mounded shape.
Bake in the center of a pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies are firm. Remove the cookies with a thin spatula and place them on a cooling rack. They will crisp as they cool.
This recipe baked about 28 cookies, I think (we ate some warm and gooey from the oven- I got so blissed out I lost count).
Not quite the chocolate chip cookie recipe you were looking for?
Try these-- one is vegan (egg-free and dairy-free) and all are gluten-free:
Try these-- one is vegan (egg-free and dairy-free) and all are gluten-free:
![Karina's Kitchen: Recipes from a [Gluten-Free] Goddess Blog](http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c330/crowdreamer19/KarinasKitchen_Footer400.jpg)
cookies
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28 spoons in the pot:
Hey, Karina, These cookies look great. I am a big fan of buckwheat, so I will be trying these out. I too was in the mood for chocolate chip cookies this weekend, but I made mine with teff flour. Now I am a teff fan too!
Karen, herself
herselfgluten-free.blogspot.com
I love buckwheat also. I will definitely try these, if I can find sorghum flour, I have yet to find it. sigh...
ROTFL...TURNIPS??? Girl I could live on cookies! Keep 'em comin'! The other day I kept eating those darned cookies (that I made for my daughter- who got 3) and I had to remind myself that allergen free does NOT mean calorie free.
PS: to pooh bear, shipping is rediculous but you can order sorghum (and just about anything else you can think of) online at allergygrocer.com
Love buckwheat flour as well-has a natural sweet taste and what a great way to make cookies "healthy." Can't wait to try~
These look great Karina, but you really have to slow down- I never have time to try out any of your ideas!
I love buckwheat also, I am glad you can have more variety with your ingredients, that's always helpful. I also love kale and turnips, so when you get around to those, I'll be looking forward to it too :)
I have been looking at your blog. All I can say is OH MY LORD!!! You must be an extraordinary cook. I found out I had celiac sprue last year and have no inkling to cook at all. You are indeed talented!!
Thank you for your amazing recipes!!!
Hi Karen! I've never baked with teff. I've only tried the dark and light teff wraps- which tasted so funky I tossed them. Hmmm...
Hey I'm Pooh Bear! You can make this recipe with rice flour instead of sorghum (I did)- as long as you're not allergic to rice, that is. ;)
Hi FoodAllergyMom! Turnips = ick. :) So glad you and your daughter like the cookies. And no, gluten-free doesn't mean calorie free, does it? Yikes.
Gluten Free Mom- Hope you like them. I love the nutty buckwheat taste.
Heya Cindy- Thanks and hope you give them a try. They're yummy. Way yummier than turnips and kale [face scrunched]. ;)
Hi Nellie! Thanks so much for your kind words- and enthusiasm! :) Visit again soon.
Karina
Mmmmmm! I love cookies too! I have been in such a cookie loving mood lately (not really great for my waist line... but ya know!) I have about 5 recipes I want to make right now! This being one of them! I have a buckwheat flour I had no idea what to do with!
I say who wants vegetables when you can have cookies! Can't we declare chocolate a vegetable. It does have antioxidants right? I would love to try cookies with buckwheat.
Oh darn, another cookie recipe ;)
These look great! I have some buckwheat that I've been meaning to use, so once I get through my current batch of cookies, I will certainly be making these.
I'm a big fan of Spectrum Organic Shortening, too. It somehow seems "lighter" than the typical shortening.
I'm about to give these a shot, replacing the sugar with agave nectar, for the low GI. I've made your quinoa breakfast cake (modified to avoid the sugar) about 6 times in the past 2 months, and we need to change it up a little ;) wish me luck! Your recipes are awesome, Karina!
these look really Yummy! I've been craving cookies too!!!
Yum!
Who needs Kohlrabi, when you can have chocolate! ;-)
Blessings,
Linda
http://nickersandinkblog.blogspot.com
http://themanepoint.blogspot.com
http://practicallyathome.blogspot.com
Hi Karina,
I am so thrilled at this recipe, I can't wait to try it. My son will be so thrilled!
I'm a little confused about the tapioca starch. I don't see that as a product from Bob's Red Mill. My Google search had some sites saying it is the same as tapioca flour and others say to use arrowroot (both of which I have). Can I use either of those products? If so, do I use the same amount? (if you can't tell, I'm new here)
Thanks so much!
Suzanne
I've never used buckwheat flour, the cookies look good. I found my baking ways got a little lazy after I went gluten-free. I just don't eat as many baked goods anymore. Your blog is great, lots of ideas to jump start my baking blahs:)
Hi Carrie! I love buckwheat flour in cookies, waffles, pancakes... It's nutty and best used in a combo with a lighter flour. Hope you like it!
Gluti Girl- I have often said- isn't chocolate a vegetable? ;) It's a bean, right?
Good Eatah- Thanks for the smile. And yeah- Spectrum is fluffy. ;)
Hi Intuitive- Thanks! Glad you like the quinoa cake. I bet you'd like these. I imagine they'd work with agave. Let us know!
Jenny- Must be in the air!
In-nickers- Exactly! ;)
Hi Suzanne- Bob's doesn't have it? Maybe it does say flour- tapioca flour is a starch. If Bob's package says flour then go for it. It's the same thing.
Most "starches" can be interchanged in recipes- tapioca, cornstarch, potato starch will all work- but have slightly different flavor. Not really noticeable. Tapioca adds chewiness.
Bookbabie- I hear ya. I go through phases. Sometimes I don't bake a thing for weeks. Then- I get the bug. Blame it on the moon.
Karina
hey, those look better than the cookies I make!!!
Karina,
The market for gluten-free recipes is growing as more and more people are finally diagnosed. I was diagnosed in the 90's and my patients are often surprised to learn about gluten intolerance when they see me for their IBS symptoms. Thanks for the great recipes. I hope you don't mind if your blog is linked from the public charity Innate Health Foundation IHFWiki (a wiki providing the food allergy/intolerance community with info on recipes, restaurants, etc.).
when can you come to nyc and have a goddess bakeathon?! ;-) these look wonderful karina, thank you!
So very happy to find this recipie. I just did a post on my awful woes with gluten free chocolate chip cookies! I wonder if you can tell me about the egg subsitutes. When I look at them in the store they still have egg listed as an ingredient. So, I am not sure if I can use them. I am confused :(
Dear Sondra,
Egg substitutes may not be the same as an egg replacer.
Liquid egg subs (found in mainstream grocery stores) are basically flavored egg whites; and these products are for folks avoiding the fat and/or cholesterol in eggs.
What I use::
Ener-G Egg Replacer is a leavening replacement for those allergic to eggs (like me). You can find it at Whole Foods and many health food stores. Or on-line.
Bottom line- if you are allergic to eggs, you should not use a low fat egg sub. Find an egg-free egg replacer, such as Ener-G Egg replacer.
Take care!
Karina
Wow! These are unbelievable...soft with a little crunch. So so good.
I'd choose a nickname but I don't know how to enter it. Anonymous will have to suffice.
I have a question ... it may seem silly, but it is an honest one. I have a bag of buckwheat groats that I don't really want to eat as groats. (They didn't cook up very nicely!) I'm not sure what makes them groats, but do you think I could mill them and make them into buckwheat flour?
Hi Anonymous- When looking at the comment form, click on the choice that says: Name/URL and a field of entry will appear.
I imagine you might be able to mill the groats, but I have never done so. I just buy the flour. The question would be- to toast the groats first? Or mill them as is. You might need to research that.
Buckwheat groats are lovely pan toasted, then cooked in broth (like rice or quinoa). Add chopped onion and parsley; toss with cooked pasta and mushrooms- you name it.
If you want some ideas on how to use the groats in cooking- soups, polenta etc, look up "kasha" recipes.
Karina
Is it just my internet or is anyone else not seeing some of the pictures on the pages. I loved to see the pics. They look so yummy.
Anon- I think Blogger was doing some behind-the-scenes maintenance. It should be good now. Try "refreshing" your browser (click on reload the page).
Karina
Hi Karina,
I'm still visiting you! :)
I was wondering whether you considered using coconut oil (which is semi-solid) as the fat in this recipe and what your experiences have been with coconut oil. I've used it in a few recipes, but haven't baked with it yet.
Also, I was wondering whether you had created a buckwheat-based pancake mix for yourself. Personally, I use about 1/2 buckwheat and 1/2 Pamela's mix, dairy-free milk, 2 eggs, a bit of oil, and maybe a sprinkle of salt. These are awesome with a bit of sweetener-free strawberry jam (and cream cheese, if you weren't dairy-intolerant).
Take care!
Hi ~M! I'm glad you're visiting me again today. ;)
Personally, I don't care for coconut oil in baking; it dominates the flavor of the end product, and the mouth feel is quite oily- to me.
My current favorite fat in baking is Spectrum Organic Shortening. The semi-solidness seems to give a fluffy light structure to the batters/dough that is less oily than using vegetable oil; and in my opinion, less oily than coconut oil.
Of course- this is my personal preference. You'll need to make up your own mind, trusting your own taste buds. ;)
I do make buckwheat pancakes and waffles and have been experimenting with flour ratios (I can no longer use eggs or buttermilk, so Pamela's is out, unfortunately- but glad you've come up with a mix you enjoy!).
When Alex was here he made the best banana waffles for Jess and I. Amazing. I really will have to get him to share his recipe. So light and crispy!
xoxo
Karina
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