DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BUCKWHEAT-FENNEL CRINKLE COOKIES

One of the first truly remarkable cookies I learned to bake when I became a professional cook twenty years ago was a chocolate crinkle cookie, which we made in the tiny pastry kitchen at Savoy restaurant, a then three-star restaurant in New York City where I cooked and baked under Peter Hoffman, a true pioneer. We made two perfect cookies which appeared on the menu night after night, along with a seasonal pastry and three delicate sorbets. Later, at Cafe Boulud, where I worked the pastry line, I learned the recipe for two more perfect cookies—the recipes for which I jotted down in a tiny notebook that I now keep in a safe, like a brick of gold.

Bad cookies are a dime a dozen, but truly great ones come from truly great, thoughtful bakers. Bakers who don’t want to eat sugar just because. Bakers who want you to feel treated without tipping the scales. Bakers who know your time and ingredients are precious and when they give you a cookie recipe, it’s going to be truly worth it.

My friend Aran Goyoaga is such a baker.

You probably already know Aran’s work and her books—her last, Cannelle et Vanille, is still a favorite, two years after its launch. Her recipes and photos alike are beloved, and rightly so, but if you have any nostalgia and ache in you for family life, for an old world, for depth—read her words, too. You won’t be sorry.

Aran was kind enough to share a recipe with us here—an exceptional chocolate crinkle cookie—the recipe for which will be joining the ranks with my other treasures. I hope you’ll try it, and I bet you’ll agree—it belongs.

READ ON FOR THE RECIPE. 💕 LINK BELOW FOR ARAN’S BOOK.

Aran’s Double Chocolate Fennel-Buckwheat Crinkle Cookies

Excerpted from Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple: A New Way to Bake Gluten-Free by permission of Sasquatch Books.

My grandmother loved a sliver of chocolate with a cup of aniseed tea, similar in flavor to fennel, after lunch. If you are intrigued by the combination of flavors, I encourage you to make this recipe. These cookies are crispy and gooey at the same time—a cross between a brownie and a cookie. 

MAKES 16 COOKIES

1 to 1½ teaspoons fennel seeds

8 ounces (225 g) 70 percent chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided

¼ cup (55 g) unsalted butter or dairy-free butter

3 tablespoons almond butter

2 large eggs

1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¾ cup (105 g) light buckwheat flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1.    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Crush the fennel seeds to a powder in a mortar and pestle or clean coffee grinder.

2.    Fill a medium saucepan one-quarter full with water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. In a large heatproof bowl, combine the fennel, 7 ounces (200 g) 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. The residual heat will continue melting the chocolate.

3.    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 very thick, about 5 min-utes. Pour in the melted chocolate and beat on medium speed until thick, about 1 minute. 

4.    In a small bowl, stir together the buckwheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold this into the batter using a spatula. Scoop 1½-tablespoon mounds of dough onto each baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between. Lightly press small pieces of the remaining 1 ounce (25 g) chocolate into the top of each cookie. 

5.    Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are crispy but the centers are soft. Be careful not to overbake. They might look a little underdone, but they will set while 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 3 days in an airtight container.

©2021 by Aran Goyoaga. these images belong to Aran Goyoaga, and should not be pinned or posted without attribution.