Salted Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies

When I was in California last year, visiting my daughter, we went to lunch at Tartine Manufactory in San Francisco.  Needless to say we had a scrumptious lunch and when we left, on a whim, I bought one of these cookies and a slice of chocolate pound cake.  Back in the car, heading to Oakland, I split the cookie with my daughter and we swooned at the deliciousness of this cookie.  I shook my head, chastising myself, why or why didn’t I buy more?

I looked diligently online to get a recipe.  Found one that maybe was the same but turned out not to be.  The next time I visited my daughter, during the summer, I bought 2 dozen.  One for my daughter and her husband and 1 for me to bring home.  Of course they didn’t last long and I kind of gave up trying to find a recipe.

In the fall, Elisabeth Prueitt (with her husband Chad Robertson) republished their original cookbook with some added new recipes and I decided to buy it.  I had never bought the first one and was very impressed with the bakery, so I thought, why not?  When I got it and leafed through the cookbook, there was the RECIPE, for Salted Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies!!  Just this recipe alone was worth the cost of the book!!  I quickly texted my daughter with a picture of the recipe and told her, “As soon as I get all the ingredients I will be making these.”

So these are it and just as delicious as the bakery ones:  enjoy!!

There are a few ingredients that may not be readily available.  I had to send away for the Buckwheat flour, usually one of those things that I do not advocate but this cookie is worth it.  I now see it in the supermarket.  Also the Cacoa Nips are kind of unusual but I did find them at one of my supermarkets.

Salted Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies from Elisabeth Prueitt

1/3 cup (45 grams)  buckwheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

8 ounces dark chocolate, cut up into chunks (I used Scharffen Berger 70%, but any dark chocolate, good quality will suffice)

2 tablespoons butter

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoon Cacao nibs

1 teaspoon flaky seal salt, such as Maldon

Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl.  Set aside.

Place butter and chocolate into a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Remove and stir.  Microwave again for another 30 seconds.  Remove and stir.  Microwave for 15 seconds, remove and stir.  Set aside to cool for 30 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine eggs, sugar and salt.  Beat for 6 minutes until pale yellow.  See picture below for texture.  Fold the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla extract into whipped egg mixture, with a rubber spatula.  Add the flour mixture and fold in quickly.  Just before complete, fold in cacao nibs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a purple cookie scoop (a generous 1 tablespoon) or 2 spoons, portion out dough onto cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.  Liz uses a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip to portion out the cookies.  I was happy with the scoop.

Let cookies set at room temperature for 15 minutes.  Then sprinkle each cookie with a pinch of flaky sea salt.  Bake the cookies until set, about 10-12 minutes.  They should still be slightly soft in the middle.  Let cookies cool completely on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

the BOOK:

chopped chocolate:

butter and chocolate:

mise en place:

prepped cookie sheets:

what the eggs, sugar and salt should look like after 6 minutes:

fold in cooled chocolate:

fold in flour mixture:

and then cacao nibs:

portion out cookies, let set, then sprinkle with salt:

out of the oven let cool:

transfer to wire racks:

yum!