Aran’s Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies
From Aran Goyoaga’s new baking book, these buckwheat & chocolate crinkle cookies are spiked with almond butter, gluten-free, and the perfect cross between a brownie and a cookie.
Many of you know that I consider Aran Goyoaga a close friend and colleague. We first messaged each other over a decade ago, and made an effort in the years since to get to know each other. We’ll meet up if we’re in the same city, and travel together on occasion. I love hearing about what Aran is working on and enjoy catching glimpses of her work-in-progress. She works on a lot of cool (beautiful!) projects, but recently she has been writing and photographing a book that is exceptionally close to her heart. A baking book. 
Cannelle Et Vanille Bakes Simple is the culmination of Aran’s deep knowledge of baking. She mailed me an early copy of the book and I walked straight to the oven and dialed it to pre-heat. Cookies were going to get baked, pronto. I’ll tell you more about the book down below (and share some pics), but the first thing you need to know is that these puddles of fudge-y goodness were amazing. They’re her Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies, and Aran says about them, “…these cookies are crispy and gooey at the same time- a cross between a brownie and a cookie.”
The flavor! I love the chocolate-buckwheat combination which adds depth and dimension working alongside a good amount of brown sugar. They’re delicious. If you rarely explore the realm of flours beyond general all-purpose flour (and want to!), these cookies would be a great place to start. Also, if you’re looking for a great gluten-free cookie recipe to take for a spin, these fit the bill. They were the first thing I baked and were much loved at the potluck I took them to.
Variations // Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies:
- Double Chocolate Fennel-Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies: Aran makes her cookies with a teaspoon or so of crushed fennel seeds. I couldn’t find my fennel seeds (in any of my seven spice drawers LOL), so we went for straight chocolate & buckwheat for this round. Though I imagine the anise-scented fennel seeds with the chocolate would be wonderfully fragrant and special.
- Espresso Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies: A bit obvious, but if you love a coffee-chocolate combination add a tablespoon of finely ground espresso beans with the cocoa powder.
- Black Cocoa Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies: I can imagine replacing 1 of the 3 tablespoons of cocoa called for in this recipe with a black cocoa, making note, and dialing it up from there if you love the richness of black cocoa as much as I do.
Below are a few snapshots of the interior of Cannelle Et Vanilla Bakes Simple. The photography is stunning, as is the beautiful book design. I’ll weave in some thoughts between some of the spreads below.
Who is this book for? This is the book I would buy for anyone wanting one fantastic, substantial deep dive into gluten-free baking. It's all here. You’re covered on the sourdough front. GF Breads, baguettes, brioche, bagels, babkas? Check. Cakes, pie dough, scones, shortbread, thumbprints? All there. I also love the inclusion of a holiday baking section as the final chapter in the book. Linzertorte! Hot cross buns! Rugelach! Challah! Alternately, if you’re a baker wanting to explore the wonderful realm of baking with alternative flours you’ll find much inspiration here as well.
Cannelle Et Vanilla Bakes Simple will be available October 26, 2021 and my pro-tip here is this - if you think this is a book you might want to give as a holiday gift, pre-order it now. I suspect it will sell fast. I’m not just saying that as a friend of Aran’s, I’m saying it as someone who is buying multiple copies to give to friends and family with gluten-sensitivity because it covers so much in a beautiful package.
Beyond the book, if you're interested in more Aran goodness you're in luck. She has a fantastic Instagram account, and you can keep track of her events and new projects on her site. 
Before I sign off, just know that there is a lot of chocolate in the archives, and plenty of gluten-free recipes as well. Here's where you can find more chocolate recipes, as well as lots of cookie recipes: Don’t miss these favorites: my all-time favorite brownies, this flourless chocolate cake, please please please make this chocolate pudding, and don’t miss out on this chocolate devil’s food cake.
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Double Chocolate Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies
I used a small flea market-find ice cream scoop to place the dough on the baking sheets here. It makes for wonderfully uniform cookies. Keep your eyes peeled!
- 8 ounces / 225g 70% chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided
- 1/4 cup / 55g unsalted butter or dairy-free butter
- 3 tablespoons almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup 200g light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup / 105g buckwheat flour
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
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Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Fill a medium saucepan one-quarter full with water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. In a large heatproof bowl combine 7 ounces (200g) of the chocolate, butter, and almond butter, and place over the simmering water. Stir until the chocolate is nearly all melted, then remove from the heat. Stir again after a minute or so, the residual heat will continue to melt the chocolate.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla and beat on high speed until the eggs are pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Pour in the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until thick, another minute or so.
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In a small bowl, stir together the buckwheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold this into the batter with a spatula. Scoop 1 1/2-tablespoon mounds of dough onto each baking sheet, leaving 2-inches of space between. Lightly press small pieces of the remaining chocolate into the top of each cookie.
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Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are crispy but the centers are soft. These are cookies you want to be careful not to overbake. They might look a little underdone, but they will set during cooling. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes, or until you are able to pick the cookies up without them falling apart. They will keep for three days in an airtight container.
Makes 16 Cookies.
Adapted from Cannelle Et Vanille Bakes Simple: A New Way to Bake Gluten-Free
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Comments
Made a double batch sensing these would be delicious. I had to use some bitter sweet chocolate chips because I ran out of good chocolate. They were delicious & beautiful!
Yay! So happy you enjoyed them Judy.
These are amazing! Unique combination of cookie and brownie and the buckwheat gives this a nice touch. A sprinkle of salt flakes on top would work well before baking.
Thanks Lulu!
Really good!!! I have to do a low carb version for hubby (T2D) - and subbed 1/2 cup allulose and 1/2 cup Golden Lakanto monk fruit sweetener. It made the cookies more like a cake, since brown sugar caramelizes to create that chewy texture. I'll experiment though, see if I can get it. I had a bunch of fennel seeds for my fermenting, so ground and added the lovely fennel. Yum!!
I put my dough in the freezer for 15 min and they came out fluffy and perfect
Thank you Heidi for your generosity in sharing this fabulous recipe: I forgot to hold back an ounce of chocolate and melted it all ... nothing harmed! I was out of almond butter so I used Fix & Fogg's "Oaty Nut Butter" and they were incredible. Based on some previous reviews, I tucked the raw dough into the fridge for about 15 minutes, stirred it once more, and found that it resulted in a more cohesive batter. Yes the cookies still spread but not overly much. Yield: 24 perfect crinkles!
Love hearing it Dorina!
Thank you Heidi! Green Kitchen Stories also reduced their sugar to 3/4 cup, which still seemed to result in the spread and chew factor. So I bet you're right, that my issue was the combo of using less sugar and coconut sugar v brown. Will give the brown sugar a go. Thanks for your feedback.
Mine didn't spread either and they were also (dissapointingly) cake-like. Measured everything with a scale, used light buckwheat flour, and 3/4 cup coconut sugar instead of 1 cup. But I cooked at 375 fan for 8 minutes. My oven does not cook hot/fast. Even so, do you think it's an oven temp/duration in oven issues? I know your and Aran's recipes are always spot on. Help!
Hi Katie - hmm. I hate to guess! It's always so tricky from oven to oven. I've been baking these with natural brown sugar, and get the spread. I wonder if its the combination of coconut sugar and reducing the sugar by 25%...? That would be my first guess based on your note. Any chance you've tried these puddle cookies? Also GF, but definitely not shy on the sugar front. Another reliable spreader for me.
This recipe came out to 25, not 16 cookies, even at the recommended 1.5 TBS scoop rate. Mine were a rather pleasant mix of buckwheat graininess and chocolate, but a tad dry, although out they came at eight minutes. Heidi, was this because I had no almond butter, just used real butter? Please let me know - I'd like to serve up another batch at Thanksgiving.
Hi Owen, thanks for the note! So, yeah - perhaps bump up the size of your scoop just a touch, and try the almond butter (or another nut butter). I suspect the different fat percentage in the butter vs. nut butter might be the difference, but haven't tested with butter. Alternately, if you want to skip the nut butter, these Chocolate Puddle Cookies, are similar in spirit and super fudgy.
Hm, my cookies were good, but they didn't look like the photos at all. They were more like brownies, taller and cake-like. I wonder what I did wrong?
Hi Jeanne - hmm. Assuming you didn't make any substitutions, I'd maybe confirm your oven temp is correct? I've baked these a number of time now and always get the spread...
I misspoke! the Theo's 70% chocolate bars have stayed soft even after the cookies cooled! YUM!! i guess i will be adding the chocolate chards!
OMG!!!!! THESE ARE SO DELISH!! Best cookies ever!!! I used garbanzo flour instead (thought I had buckwheat), only 3/4c. sugar and peanut butter instead of almond. Next time i don't think i'd add the extra chards of chocolate bc I'm not a fan of hard chocolate in soft cookies and they're oh so chocolatey already!.
And they're delicious! Nice and bittersweet!
Hi Heidi! Thanks for this gorgeous recipe! Could you tell at which temperature (celsius) I should preheat the oven? Thanks!
Yikes! It got cropped - apologies! 375F on parchment. Updating now - thanks for the heads up. xx, -h
I've been (im)patiently awaiting my pre-ordered copy of this book for months! What a delight to see this post from you today. Going to go bake these right now! Thank you for sharing :)