Buckwheat Bergamot Double Chocolate Cookies + Giveaway!

We're excited to start the new year of Make It Mondays with learning to bake with alternative flours. Alanna Taylor-Tobin is the creator of The Bojon Gourmet an amazing blog that features recipes based around seasonal produce, with whole grains and flours, eggs and dairy from happy animals, and excellent chocolate. Many of her recipes are vegetarian, gluten-free and some are even vegan.

Alanna recently published a gorgeous cookbook called Alternative Baker. The cookbook includes 140 recipes, 14 flours (and helpful information regarding the use of them), 0 glutens and ALL DESSERT. We love this cookbook and are excited to share this recipe for delicious Buckwheat Bergamot Double Chocolate Cookies + a chance for you to win a copy of this cookbook and some terrific baking gear from MightyNest (enter below).

Buckwheat Bergamot Double Chocolate Cookies

These little chocolate pillows are essentially brownies masquerading as cookies, packed with the flavors of citrusy fresh bergamot, nutty buckwheat flour and crunchy flakes of Maldon salt. Whipping the eggs with the sugar lends an airy texture, and plenty of warm butter and chocolate give the tops a pretty, glazed crackle. The trick to the crackly tops is to have the melted chocolate/butter mixture hot enough to partially dissolve the sugar but not so hot as to cook the eggs or melt the chocolate chunks once added. The mixture should feel pleasantly warm, but not scalding hot, to the touch.

If you don’t have access to fresh bergamots, use orange zest in its place. Or you can leave out the citrus altogether and you’ll still have the most divine chocolate cookies imaginable.

NOTE: Makes about thirty 2-inch (5-cm) cookies

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter
• 12 oz (345 g) bittersweet chocolate (60–70% cacao mass), chopped (about 2. cups), plus several chunks for the tops of the cookies
• 1 ½ tsp (1 g) packed finely grated zest from 1 medium bergamot (or orange)
• ½ cup (65 g) buckwheat flour
• 2 tbsp (15 g) tapioca flour
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup plus 2 tbsp (130 g) organic granulated cane sugar
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Flaky salt such as Maldon, for the tops

Directions:

1. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350ºF (175ºC). Line 2 rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Place the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan set over the lowest possible heat. Add 8 ounces (230 g) of the chocolate and the bergamot zest, and melt together, stirring frequently to prevent the chocolate from scorching. Continue cooking until the mixture is pleasantly warm, but not super hot, to the touch. Remove from the heat and keep warm. Sift the buckwheat flour, tapioca flour, and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, place the eggs, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and whip on medium-high speed until the mixture is very light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and stir in the vanilla until just combined, then the warm chocolate butter mixture. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a flexible silicone spatula to fold in the remaining 4 ounces (115 g) chopped chocolate.

4. If the batter is very runny, let it cool for a few minutes until it firms to the consistency of a thick brownie batter. Use a #40 spring-loaded ice cream scoop or 2 spoons to drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Top each cookie with a few chunks of chocolate and a few flecks of flaky salt.

5. Bake the cookies until puffed and cracked and the edges are set, 8–12 minutes, rotating the pans front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Let cool on the pans. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. The cookies are best the day of baking but will keep, airtight at room temperature, for up to 3 days.

GIVEAWAY! Enter for a chance to win 1 copy of the newly published Alternative Baker, a set of stainless steel measuring cups, a set of stainless steel measuring spoons, 4 glass air-tight flour jars and a True Seal cookie storage container. Giveaway ends January 18th at 11:59pm CST.

CONGRATULATIONS HEATHER KASUNICK, the winner of the Alternative Baker Giveaway! Thanks to all who entered.