COOKIES,  VEGETARIAN

NIBBLY BUCKWHEAT CHOCOLATE-CHIP COOKIES…& BUCKWHEAT CONNECTIONS!

2008/12/14 / 32 Comments
“The unexpected connection is more powerful than one that is obvious.”
Heraclitus

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My connection to buckwheat goes back many many years. It was in the year 1996 when the daughter was 6 months old that I had my first encounter with the grain. Didn’t know it existed before that. We were visiting friends in Moscow (the same ones we were with in Sydney last month), & Meher was just beginning to eat semi-solids. 2008 12 071We had landed in Moscow airport on a grey, rainy day, the place full of strapping tall Russians with stern expressions & a ‘cold world’ charm. The city was like it was out of a film…babushkas lined up at bread stalls, swanky SUVs zipping down roads, Ladas honking madly, designer stores, roadside stalls, & astonishingly, prices at most stores displayed in US dollars! We’d been transported to a different era altogether!! It was the era when we had to carry passports/ID on ourselves each time we stepped out of the house, & had to report to the police station each week. The Red Square with the onion domes is very clear in my memory to this day, with the church next to it & a beautiful mall alongside. IMG 2204Since we arrived via via London we carried supplies of Gerber baby food, cereal etc. Uliana then suggested a buckwheat cereal for Meher as it was a locally available one. Of course we tried, & met with some success, since the daughter was the most fussy person on the face of this earth at the time. She used to make me weep with every bite I gave her… but thankfully buckwheat had better luck! CollagesA native of Russia, buckwheat is thought of as a cereal, but is actually an herb of the genus Fagopyrum. The triangular seeds of this plant are used to make buckwheat flour, which has an assertive flavor and is used for pancakes and as an addition to some baked goods. The famous Russian blini are made with buckwheat flour. Buckwheat groats are the hulled, crushed kernels, which are usually cooked in a manner similar to rice. Groats come in coarse, medium and fine grinds. Kasha, which is roasted buckwheat groats, has a toastier, more nutty flavor.
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From then to a month ago buckwheat had no meaning in my life. Until recently…Circa 2008, while walking towards Echo point in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Uliana & I began talking food. The conversation veered to buckwheat & we had a good laugh about the days of cereal & baby Meher. Then Uliana mentioned that you can only pick up buckwheat from a Polish store in Sydney, & we had to make sure we stopped by the store, for old times sake! That was not to be with the drama that followed.

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Then the other day, back home, I stopped by a lovely store called Fab India, & was looking for some stuff to mail to a friend. Sadly enough, what I came for was out of stock, so I searched each & every shelf for something else … only to find bags of buckwheat staring back at me! HAPPINESS IS … grabbed a bag with both hands & wanted to call Uliana. Turns out that it’s been available in India for years by the name ‘kuttu ka aata’, a locally available flour, especially used in the fasting season. I don’t fast, so I obviously don’t know!!

IMG 2219Literally galloped home in glee & googled for buckwheat cookies … got a match that couldn’t keep me out of the kitchen for long. It was at Heidi’s blog 101 Cookbooks … & I knew I could follow that with my eyes closed. She has a wealth of stunning recipes, & I’ve made her peach galette before. This particular recipe, the ‘Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies’ is an Alice Medrich recipe, which is a twist on the traditional butter cookie, or maybe on shortbread. Mine spun off some more since cacao nibs are unheard of here, & my elder sis in Dallas would shoot me if I asked for stuff like cacao nibs, matcha powder, lemon myrtle, dried lavender amongst other ‘silly stuff’ … ‘you can’t get this sorta stuff at regular Target, Walmart etc’…she thinks I’ve lost it!!IMG 2224
So, I made the cookies with mini chocolate chips, that I roughly beat up in a bag to break up randomly. GREAT COOKIES…yum & different, & got me many thumbs up from the kids. As Heidi says, you can roll ’em or slice ’em; she rolled hers out & so did I. There’s something inhenrently romantic & elegant about scalloped edges; I stamped out scalloped circles & hearts!2008 12 016I love the use of alternative flours, & was thrilled to use buckwheat here. About the cookie…crisp, wholesome in every bite, great texture & every bit full of Alice Medrich’s brilliance. Her book Pure Desserts is not available here, but it’s on my list of books to own one day! I’ve tried a Citrus Olive Oil Cake of hers…signature style & outstanding. Do stop by at 101 Cookbooks & check out the review of Alice Medrich’s book & much more. Thank you for posting this cookie recipe Heidi. It’s a beautifully written post.2008 12 011

NIBBLY BUCKWHEAT CHOCOCLATE-CHIP COOKIES
as adapted from ‘Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies’ from 101 Cookbooks
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups (5.6 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (3 ounces) buckwheat flour
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate-chips (the original has 1/3 cup cacao nibs)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extractIMG 2183

Method:
Whisk the all-purpose and buckwheat flours together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, with the back of a large spoon or with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar and salt for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy but not fluffy.
Mix in the chocolate chips and vanilla. Add the flours and mix just until incorporated.
Scrape the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead it with your hands a few times, just until smooth.
Form the the dough into two flat patties & chill for at least 2 hours. It is quite cold here, so 1 hour was good enough.
Lightly grease 4 baking sheets, & preheat the oven to 180C.
Roll out with a floured rolling pin and cut out shapes with cookie cutter. Place the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
Bake until the cookie are just beginning to color at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes.
Cool the cookies in the pans on a rack or a minute, & then onto racks until completely cool.
As Heidi rightly says…The cookies are delicious fresh but even better the next day.

They can be stored in an airtight container for at least one month….(wishful thinking..mine disappeared in 2 days)
Makes forty-eight 2 1/2-inch cookies. ( I got more than 2 dozen 2 1/2″ circles, & as many smaller hearts).

HERB+CRACKERSTANIA

There’s a bunch of events these lovely cookies are going off to over the holiday season. These would make nice gifts over Christmas. I would have loved to send then to Weekend Herb Blogging too, since buckwheat is a pseudocereal/almost a herb, but sadly the rules don’t allow clubbing of events. So the nibblies are en route to…

2008 12 017

HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON…

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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32 Comments

  • Elra

    2008/12/14 at 6:21 pm Reply

    I always have buckwheat in my pantry, because we all love to have savory crepe on the week-end for breakfast. So, this cookies look like a good candidate for my buckwheat.

    I never been to Russia, and always request this destination to my husband. Unfortunately, he always prefer to go somewhere else. Maybe there will be luck for me one day, that he’ll consider to take me there.
    Have a wonderful season, Debaa!
    Cheers,
    Elra

  • Snooky doodle

    2008/12/14 at 7:00 pm Reply

    wow thes elook nice and wholesome. I ve never used buckwheat flour but i cought some buckwheat. I m curious how these taste. If i find the flour I ll try them. You always have great recipe and presentation is unique 🙂

  • Happy cook

    2008/12/14 at 7:08 pm Reply

    Thankyou for sending this over to me.
    I have only made buckwheat pancakes. Never made anything esle with them.
    I love thsoe green stars, i bought few from one of the indian emporiums when we were in India and at the moment they are hanging in the christmas tree.

  • Curry Leaf

    2008/12/14 at 8:24 pm Reply

    Lovely.Nice post.You gave me a tour of Moscow and much much needed info on buckwheat.Never ever knew they were available in India.Thanks for sharing the cookie and info.

  • Helene

    2008/12/15 at 1:34 am Reply

    I love buckwheat pancakes. So good. I never used it for cookies. You must spend hours writing all these posts. Great pictures again.

  • Divya Kudua

    2008/12/15 at 2:21 am Reply

    Cookies look so pretty Deeba..as usual,fantastic post and even great pics!!Have never heard of Buckwheat before..but thanks for the info about fabindia,maybe I can pick it up from there..lovely lovely cookies!!

  • Bharti

    2008/12/15 at 3:24 am Reply

    Pretty cookies! Thanks to this post, I’m going to have to buy some buckwheat and try it out myself.

  • noble pig

    2008/12/15 at 3:50 am Reply

    Okay I loved your story. I too have many of the same memories of Moscow…back when the cold war was a well, the cold war. Stern place eh?

    These cookies sound awesome, love the edges of the cookies too.

  • arundati

    2008/12/15 at 4:00 am Reply

    the cookies look fab…i love the pictures…and i hope the cookies all around will get me off my behind and start baking for christmas!!thanks for letting me know buckwheat flour is available “at a store near you”!

  • Arfi Binsted

    2008/12/15 at 4:41 am Reply

    Deeba, can I visit your place when I come to India? It seems a heavenly house with lots of yummy goodies hehehe…

  • Manggy

    2008/12/15 at 5:17 am Reply

    And how does Meher feel today about buckwheat? After these delicious cookies I’m sure she loved it! 🙂 You’ve lived quite a life so far, Deeba!

  • Uj

    2008/12/15 at 10:55 am Reply

    wow.. They look so pretty..Never heard of Buckwheat before.. Thanks for the info. Love your pics.. I simply cant seem to be making friendship with my oven. tried twice but my cakes simply don’t agree to turn out fine. I have been eying your Zebra cake for a while now!

  • Aparna

    2008/12/15 at 12:44 pm Reply

    These look amazing, Deeba.
    One thing we do have here is a fabulous FabIndia store, and i’m going to check it out for buckwheat next time.

  • Sophie

    2008/12/15 at 5:59 pm Reply

    I’ve never thought about combining chocolate and buckwheat :), what a tasty idea. The photos are so pretty and festive :D.

  • anudivya

    2008/12/16 at 12:22 am Reply

    I never dreamt of making cookies with buckwheat! I have to get some flour right away. And I love those cute cookie cutters you used.

  • Pearlsofeast

    2008/12/16 at 7:20 am Reply

    Good to know that buckwheat flour is kuttu atta. I think we get it here too. Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe.

  • Bellini Valli

    2008/12/16 at 3:02 pm Reply

    Up until now I have only thought of buckwheat as a cereal as well Deeba. You have definitely opened my eyes!!

  • Susan from Food Blogga

    2008/12/16 at 5:30 pm Reply

    Leave it to Heidi to create a delicious cookie with buckwheat. And leave it to you to make your own delicious batch and present them so beautifully. 🙂 Many thanks, my friend.

  • Alexa

    2008/12/16 at 5:44 pm Reply

    Those cookies look wonderful, Deeba. I bake a lot with buckwheat for my gluten free creations. I love the earthy taste of it. It is underused in my opinion. Thanks for the post.

  • Simran

    2008/12/16 at 6:48 pm Reply

    Hey Deeba! I know Kuttu ka atta but never knew it was buckwheat. Thanks for telling me; now I can try my hand at blinis.

  • Nurit "1 family. friendly. food."

    2008/12/18 at 2:22 am Reply

    Wow, these cookies look so good. I love all the picture combinations! Very cool.

    Thanks for visiting my seattlepi.com blog.

  • Jeanne

    2008/12/19 at 4:09 pm Reply

    I don’t think I’ve ever cooked with buckwheat, but it I do love buckwheat crepes, so maybe it’s time I started! Love the sound of these cookies – and really loved reading about your memories of Russia 🙂

  • muralimanohar

    2008/12/27 at 11:14 pm Reply

    We use buckwheat for our fast days, too, but I never thought of making *cookies* with it!! This, I have to try. 😀

  • Dodge Middle East

    2009/11/24 at 12:58 pm Reply

    Thanks for the clear description of the cookies as well the fabulous pics.Keep going the same way.good luck!

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