My money’s on buckwheat

Things to ignore when considering these cookies:

• the putrid grey-green tint of the dough;


• the addition of a leavener (baking powder) which effectively discredits the shortbread claim; and


• that little voice inside your head that tells you baking with buckwheat flour (sarrasin or blé noir) is ill-advised and downright weird.

In return you’ll get an unusual – but oddly addictive – cookie with:

• a cute little domino shape;


• a delectable sandy texture perfect for shortbread; and


• a nutty flavour that you can’t quite put your finger on.

Gambling on buckwheat: it's a risk worth taking.


Buckwheat Domino Shortbread

150 grams buckwheat flour
50 grams all-purpose flour
25 grams almonds, chopped super finely
50 grams white sugar
50 grams brown sugar
115 grams butter, at room temperature
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Maple Frosting (Optional):

1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or more to create the desired consistency)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla or maple extract

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix until smooth.

In a small bowl, combine the flours, nuts, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a fork until the dough begins to come together. If necessary, use your hands to blend the ingredients.

Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Create the dominos by using a fork to prick the dough in short columns that run parallel to the short side of the loaf pan.

Chill in the freezer, covered, for 20 minutes before baking for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately cut into dominos without removing the cookies from the pan.

Let cool before eating and frosting. Store in a metal tin at room temperature.

Note: There's not much domino action visible in the photo, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. Apologies to the North Americans for the metric measurements!

Source: Adapted from this recipe posted at R khooks.