salty buckwheat brownie cookies

with shiny tops and fudgy centers

these soft, chocolatey cookies with a salty crunch are an adaptation of one of my favorite simple brownie cookies from tartine: revisited by liz prueitt (see her substack here). i’ve been making her recipe for salted brownie cookies recipe for years, and have experimented every now and then with different flours and toppings or additions. this version is the best way to adapt it that i’ve made so far, using buckwheat flour and toasted buckwheat groats as a crisp, crunchy topping.

i like to toast the buckwheat groats in the oven at 180°C/350°F for 8 minutes or so, until they smell really nutty and are slightly darker in color. it’s nice to toast a big batch to keep on hand and use as a crunchy topping for salads or cottage cheese or cook it toasted like any other grain to eat as is, make porridge or add to soups.

these cookies come together really quickly, which is one of the things i love about them. there’s no need chill the dough or let it rest or anything, you really just melt the chocolate and butter, whisk the eggs and sugar, and fold everything together.

it’s best to bake these right away to ensure they have that fudgy, moist texture and beautiful brownie-esque shiny top, but if you have to work in batches or need to step away for a bit, you can keep the dough covered in the fridge before scooping and baking—they will still be good, just not quite as pretty.

as with most cookies, these are best eaten they day they’re baked but will keep wrapped tightly for 3 days, and they actually freeze really well, just like a brownie. wrap them up individually then place in a freezer bag and they’ll be ready to pull out and thaw at room temperature to enjoy later.

if you’re all cookie-d out from the holidays and start of the new year, i don’t blame you, here are some rather more seasonally appropriate recipes you might want to revisit: roasted red pepper soup with chunky chorizo-y croutons, pumpkin risotto with shortcut fried sage salsa macha, triple pickle chopped salad and easy crispy chicken thighs with oranges and alliums.

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this time last year:

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salty buckwheat brownie cookies

makes about 10 cookies

225 grams dark chocolate (i recommend between 50 and 72%)

30 grams unsalted butter

2 large eggs

150 grams granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

75 grams buckwheat flour

50 grams toasted buckwheat groats (aka kasha)

flaky sea salt

1. preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. roughly chop or break up the chocolate and add to a heatproof bowl with the butter. add some hot water to a saucepan and set the bowl over it to make a bain marie; the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water in the pot. heat over medium and melt chocolate and butter together until smooth, then set aside; if you have a microwave, you can also use that to melt your chocolate and butter together in short intervals, stirring in between.

2. whisk eggs, sugar and salt by hand or with an electric hand mixer until you reach a ribbon, about 5 minutes by hand, 3 minutes with a mixer. the mixture should be very pale in color, nearly doubled in size and when you lift the whisk out of the bowl the mixture should fall back down into a thick, visible trail before disappearing. fold in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture, then fold in the buckwheat flour just to combine.

3. use an ice cream scoop (mine is 5 cm / 2 inches in diameter, about 1.5 ounces) to portion the batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving plenty of room around each cookie as they will spread; the batter is loose, but it will scoop, don’t fret if they look a bit imperfect on the sheet!

4. top generously all over with buckwheat groats and finish with a small pinch of flaky sea salt, lightly pressing into the top of the cookie to secure. bake until the tops are crackled and soft, but the edges are set about 8 - 10 minutes. let cool completely on the baking sheet before using a spatula to remove and enjoy.