Buckwheat and Almond Cookies

Nondescript brown blob. Buy yours online from my store…no, I’m joking, get back here!

Stealing from myself somewhat, ah, well.  Today we have a new cookie, lighter than the all buckwheat version and perfect for dunking in your tea. I had ground almonds that were just sitting there and a hankering for a cookie. So I decided to go with brown sugar and more egg this time around. I’ve made these cookies, the original that is, quite often and I’m always pleasantly surprised how nice textured an all  buckwheat cookie can be. The replacing of some of the flour with ground almonds does cause some stability issues, but it adds a richness and  a lighter texture that really works well. I like using buckwheat and almonds, they’ve worked well together. Be it in bread or in biscuits. It’s difficult at times to know what to say. What can be the most help to someone trying to make this recipe? The dough is a tad stickier than in the original recipe. Not by much, that’s just the loss of the dry buckwheat flour. Just scoop it with a tablespoon measure and thwack it on the rim of the bowl. I did find it took a while to really work in the butter, perhaps it was the ground almonds soft texture as opposed to the grittier buckwheat which would create more friction and help the whole come together faster. Nothing much to screw up here, just make sure your brown sugar isn’t too hard or lumpy.

Lovely neat rows. I said neat rows!

This is a case of do as I say and not as I do. I didn’t know they’d spread quite so much, though they still get a nice rise and are airy, so I advice you to leave about two inches between each cookie. I almost left off on posting this, but they tasted so good. They have a light, moist crumb. They’re somewhere between a sponge and a biscuit. A sponcuit. A Bisconge. Er, a cookie. They look flat, but they had a nice dome and just enough bite. Thinking of them now, I’d say they’re somewhat like what a Jaffa Cake bottom is. Yeah, pretty sure. It’s been a long time since I ate a Jaffa Cake. If you give them ample room to spread they should be perfectly round, but even if they turn out oddly shaped they’ll still taste the same. Funnily though there is quite a lot of sugar these don’t taste too sweet, just right. After baking they absorb liquid and hold their shape when wet, which is wonderful if you’re a dunker. They taste of sweet buckwheat, that’s really all I can describe it as. The buckwheat when coupled with the sugar is really delicious. Quick and simple. Add it to the recipe pile and we’ll come back again someday. Next time they’ll look prettier. Perhaps. Until then, dear reader.

Ignore the dog bowl.

Ingredients

150g Buckwheat Flour
75g Ground Almonds
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
115g Butter, Chilled and cut into Chunks
100g Light Muscovado Sugar
1 Large Egg (70g to 75g in Shell)

Makes 16 Cookies.

Method

1. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.

2. Add the Flour, Ground Almonds, Sugar and Baking Soda to a bowl and set aside.

3. Rub the Butter into the Flour Mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs, then mix in the Egg with a fork, until combined. Knead together in the bowl until a soft sticky dough has been created. Form into a ball and leave in the fridge for 30 Minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 175c (Fan). Scoop 1 Tbsp worth of dough and roll into a ball, flatten onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between Cookies, and repeat until all dough is used up. Place one tray in the fridge if baking in single batches. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and slightly firm to the touch. Let cool on tray for 10 minutes and then remove to wire-rack to cool completely.