Ladies and Gentlemen, This is Cookie Number 5 (Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies)
One of my favorite baking goddesses (I have many) is Alice Medrich. Yes, that Alice, Chocolate Maven, Dessert Queen and creator of quite possibly the best damn lemon bars ever. Don’t get me started on her Snickerdoodles, so good. Cookie number 5 is from her book, Pure Desserts, a shortbread cookie with a twist-Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookies.
If you have been following 3jamigos you know that I fall in the shortbread camp for my favorite type of cookie. Buttery goodness in bite-size morsels with a hint of sweetness, sign me up. Well lucky me, this cookie falls in that camp-buttery, slightly sweet, tender, nice sandy texture, and a cool, slightly bluish brown hue. The cookies get kicked up a notch with the addition of cocoa nibs. This adds a subtle hint of chocolate at the finish. The color and slight earthiness from the buckwheat and the “is it chocolate or isn’t it?” from the nibs, are a cookie mindblower.
So if you are looking for a shortbread that is a little different but still buttery delicious, put this one on your list.
Bonus: Easy to make.
Do not overbeat when creaming the butter and sugar which will incorporate too much air into the dough (I might have done this which accounts for the puffiness and soft edges). The mixture should be smooth and creamy. Add flour and beat until it comes together, don’t overmix.
The dough can be shaped into a log, chilled and finished as slice and bake cookies. The dough can be stored in the fridge or freezer so you have freshly baked cookies when family and friends drop by. Everyone will think you are a badass baking queen.
Or you can get fancy-schmancy and roll out the dough and cut out cookies for a more festive look. Put the dough in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and roll to the edges. This will give you a sheet of dough about 1/4 inch thick, perfect for cutout cookies. I used a fluted metal cutter which may work better than a plastic one as you have to cut through the nibs. To add festive bling, sprinkle the cookies with sanding sugar and a touch of flake salt (like Maldon) before baking. That takes these cookies to the “bend and snap” (Legally Blond-remember?) level of attention.
Chill the dough after cutting out the cookies, the edges won’t spread as much. I was having oven issues so the edges ended up less defined. But still yummy!
Okay, not hooked yet? Still looking for a classic shortbread, try this one, my favorite traditional Scottish Shortbread or Bouchon’s Shortbread.
Nibby Buckwheat Butter Cookie
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
- 1/3 cup cacao nibs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- 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 nibs 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 dough into a 12 by 2 inch log. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or, preferably overnight. Or place dough in a gallon ziploc and roll to the edges of the bag. Dough will be about 1/4 inch thick. Chill thoroughly before cutting out shapes. These cookies do puff and expand a bit so also chill dough after cutting to ensure crisp edges.
- Position the racks in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets.* Or follow instructions for cut-out cookies.
- Optional: Sprinkle cookies with a bit of sanding sugar and an even tinier bit of flake salt like Maldon before baking.
- Bake until the cookies are just beginning to color at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet from front to back halfway through the baking.
- Cool the cookies in the pans on a rack, or slide the parchment liners carefully onto the rack to free up the pans. Let cool completely.