So there are chocolate cookies and there are oatmeal cookies and there are shortbread cookies, but then there are just cookies. I mean, I made cookies without oats, without chocolate chips, but with more ingredients than your average shortbread. So what do I call them? I’d call them buckwheat cookies, but they weren’t bitter or molasses-y as you’d expect buckwheat cookies to be. There was no cinnamon or nutmeg or mace involved. And they weren’t too healthy or even vegan, although they were gluten-free and dairy-free. For the first time I used Earth Balance shortening, which is firmer than Earth Balance margarine, so the cookies actually rose instead of spreading over the bottom of the pan into one 13″x9″, brittle, thin cookie rectangle. These looked like regular cookies.
Whatever the name, just try them. I’m not sold on Earth Balance shortening, since I’m scared to think about what makes it stay so firm and fake buttery like that, but it works. For dairy-free icing it’s a must. The buckwheat in this adds a nice amount of chew that you’d otherwise get from oats in oatmeal cookies, but it’s softer than that. If you want gluten-free oatmeal cookies either use gluten-free oats or quinoa flakes or buckwheat flakes in place of half of the flour.
I also did a “regular” batch of chocolate chip cookies using the same recipe (unadapted) from the New York Times cookbook. I used real butter and flour, but they spread. I don’t know what happened. I have a theory that they spread because I didn’t refrigerate them long enough. 30 minutes was not enough. But come on, how patient can you be for cookies? I generally don’t crave cookies and then am okay with waiting a day to enjoy them. They say people who deny themselves treats are healthier people (they?), but come on, they’re buckwheat for goodness sake. We can’t be total saints.If buckwheat isn’t good enough, I give up.
So the buckwheat cookie version was perfect. They rose and didn’t spread on the cookie sheet too much. I also didn’t flatten them intentionally. Who knows? Either way, make the buckwheat version and skip the regulars for oh-so-many reasons, whether you have to or not.
Chocolate Chip-less Cookies
adapted from the Essential New York Times Cookbook
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup buckwheat and 1 cup white rice flour, plus 1/8 tsp guar gum and 1/2 tsp extra baking soda, sieved)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda (1 3/4 tsp if doing a gluten-free version)
1 scant tbsp kosher salt (!) 1 tbsp is for people who think things like salted caramel are amazing. If you do not, cut the salt down to 1 tsp and it’ll still be plenty)
1/2 lb (or two sticks) butter (or Earth Balance shortening) – about 1 cup, softened (leave it out on the counter while you’re measuring and sieving the gluten-free flours, or soften it in the microwave on low power for 20 seconds or so)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs (or egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs)
1 tbsp vanilla (or scrape the seeds from at least one vanilla bean)
2 cups chocolate chips, optional (in the “regular” gluten-filled version I threw in about 1/2 cup since that’s what I had lying around and I figured I should purge my kitchen)
Sieve that flour (or flours) with the baking soda and salt while your butter or earth balance softens. If it’s not soft enough yet, try the microwave trick. Earth Balance shortening really likes to stay firm and you don’t need to over soften it, but you do need to be able to cream it.
Cream the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until creamy and lightened, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla. Add the flour and mix with your hands until combined. You can also keep mixing with the blender but that’s less fun.
Fold in the chocolate chips (optional) and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, or up to overnight. Then preheat the oven to 325 and grease a couple of baking sheets. Roll into balls and then place 3 inches apart on the sheet (okay, maybe I skipped this 3 inches apart step…), then flatten them slightly. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge while the first and second batches bake. Bake about 14 minutes (but check after 10 because some peoples’ balls are bigger, I hear. Sometimes I myself wish I had more cajones – I would be a more assertive person for sure. Until that day, however, I will keep checking my cookies after 10 minutes. then I will let them cool slightly on the baking sheets and then a rack, and so should you. But if one breaks, feel free to eat it while it’s still warm. I hate it when that happens, don’t you?
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