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Double Chocolate and Hazelnut Sourdough Cookies Chocolate, buckwheat, and sourdough are a beautiful partnership and I seem to use them together in many bread, cake, and cookie recipes. I tested this cookie idea five times. Each time, I would change one small variable to see how it would affect the overall texture. I could have easily shared all the variations as they were all great on their own right. I settled on this one. This iteration has a very thin crust with a gooey and soft interior. They spread really nicely in the oven giving you some small cracks. A few notes about this recipe: - Melt your chocolate in a water bath by placing the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot with simmering water. Or alternatively, melt in the microwave by heating at 20 seconds at a time and stirring in between. - You can mix the dough by hand with a wooden spoon. Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature and your butter is very soft but not melted. If using a stand mixer, be sure not to cream the butter and sugar too much (as you would for a cake). We don’t want the dough to become too aerated. - When making cookies, it’s important that the ingredients are at room temperature. If you store your starter in the fridge, measure what you need and leave it out for an hour or so. If it’s too cold, it can seize the chocolate quickly. - I used vegan butter in my testing but would work equally with unsalted butter. My preferred brand of vegan butter is Miyoko’s, but I have also used Earth Balance baking sticks. I will have a recipe for cultured vegan butter in my next book Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple. - I tested this recipe with coconut palm sugar, light brown sugar, and brown monk fruit sugar. All worked well but the coconut sugar added another layer of caramel notes that I enjoy. I list the coconut sugar in the recipe below but you can use brown sugar if that’s what you have on hand or brown monk fruit sugar if you are sticking to a low carbohydrate diet. - To make the recipe vegan, lightly whip 1 tablespoon of aquafaba and use in place of the egg yolk. - I call for toasted hazelnuts, but you can also use chopped walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts, which I don’t toast before adding to the dough. - I use a 1.5-inch ice cream scoop (abut 3 tablespoons) for my cookies which gives me 40g of dough, approximately. If you don’t have an ice cream scoop, use a tablespoon and round the dough using your palms. Remember that if your cookies are smaller, you will have to reduce baking time. - You can freeze the raw cookie dough. Simply scoop it into portions and place in an airtight container to freeze. I bake frozen cookies without thawing them first, but do add a couple of minutes to baking time. - Baking time is crucial for cookies and can vary slightly depend on the oven and size of cookies. I give a range of time, but I recommend that you start checking on them at 9 minutes and keep a close eye on them. The edges should be set but center feel soft. The cookies continue to harden and dry out as they cool on the hot baking sheet so I prefer to pull them out when the center looks a bit under baked. - The cookies will be great the next day too. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature. - You can buy roasted and skinned hazelnuts, but if you are going to toast them yourself, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 325F for 15 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Carefully transfer the toasted hazelnuts to a clean kitchen towel and rub to loosen their skins. Makes 14 cookies 4 ounces (115 g) 70% chocolate, coarsely chopped 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (120 g) buckwheat flour 2 tablespoons (15 g) unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup (115 g) vegan butter or unsalted butter, room temperature 2/3 cups (135 g) coconut sugar (see headnote about sugar substitutes) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 cup (70 g) unfed sourdough starter (see headnote about temperature) 1 large egg yolk (see headnote for vegan substitution) 1/2 cup (75 g) toasted and skinned hazelnuts, coarsely chopped Flaky salt, for sprinkling (optional) 1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate over a water bath or in the microwave. 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 3. Combine the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Do not beat until it’s light and airy, only until the butter and sugar are creamed. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. 4. Add the sourdough starter, egg yolk, and melted chocolate and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is incorporated. Add the hazelnuts and mix until the dough comes together. 5. Scoop the dough onto the baking sheets leaving 3 inches in between cookies. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of flaky sea salt, if desired. 6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set but the center feels soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes or until they can be picked up without falling apart. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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