Buckwheat Pistachio, Apricot & White Chocolate Cookies!

What is it about spring and pistachios?! It must be the green—they hardly cross my mind until about March, and then I find them (and color!) especially irresistible. Using salted, roasted pistachios in these cookies balances the jammy sweetness of Turkish apricots and mellow white chocolate, an intriguing flavor and texture combination bound together by a chewy buckwheat oatmeal dough. There’s something wholesome about them, which means that they’re slightly dangerous to have around…they seem appropriate for breakfast, they’re the perfect afternoon pick-me-up, and there’s so much going on that you always need one more bite. Enjoy!

Buckwheat Pistachio, Apricot, & White Chocolate Cookies

yields around 1.5 dozen

Ingredients:

• 100 g (generous 3/4 cup) buckwheat flour

• 3/4 t kosher salt

• 1/4 t baking soda

• 25 g (1/4 cup) tapioca flour/starch

• 1/8 t cinnamon

• pinch of cardamom

• 80 g (1/4 c + 2 T) light brown sugar

• 50 g (1/4 c) granulated sugar

• 90 g (1 cup) old-fashioned rolled oats

• 4 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped

• 60 g (1/2 c) roasted, salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

• 65 g (1/2 c) quartered Turkish dried apricots*

• 114 g (1 stick, 1/2 c) unsalted butter, melted & cooled

• 1 egg

• 1 t vanilla extract

*Turkish apricots are unsulphured, which means they’re darker, softer, and sweeter than the brighter, more “tart” and easier-to-find California variety.

Directions:

1. Whisk together the buckwheat flour, salt, baking soda, tapioca flour, brown sugar, and sugar together in a medium-large bowl. Add the sugar and whisk to combine, manually breaking down chunks of brown sugar if necessary. Whisk in the oats. Finally add the white chocolate, pistachios, and apricots and stir with a spatula to disperse evenly throughout the dry mixture.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour into the dry mixture, and stir until a homogenous dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate (or freeze) for about 2 hours, or up to a few days.

3. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into balls about 1.5” in diameter and set 2” apart on the prepared sheet. Flatten slightly with your palm, and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the tops are puffed and the edges are golden.

Blueberry Cakes!

April 1st! It seemed like March was never going to end. I’ve missed making cakes and frostings—assembling, decorating, delivering. I miss creating custom cakes for your celebrations.

Over the last few weeks of social distancing, staying home, etc., I’ve let go of the pressure to bake and post to social media. I’ve been in an alternating news / toddler induced fog. That said! I’ve made a few breakfast-type baked goods; ideal for snacking, ideal for freezing and microwaving. Casual, delicious, decadent with a scoop of ice cream.

Up first are these blueberry cakes! I baked them in a mini-cheesecake tin for whatever reason; definitely use a muffin tin & liners if you’re more inclined! I have a hodgepodge of various flours in my pantry, so decided to incorporate a few of them instead of leaning solely on all-purpose (you know, so I wouldn’t blow through it all before the next grocery run in 2 weeks). If you don’t already, I would really recommend getting some buckwheat and nut flours into your pantry—they really make a wonderful difference in taste and texture. And this time seems as good as any to experiment!

If you’re not familiar with Wyman’s frozen Maine blueberries, well, I’ll just leave you with this tidbit. I ate an outrageous amount of fresh blueberries during the summer I was pregnant with Lilly in Maine. When Lilly was old enough to try her first blueberry (in KC at this point), she wanted nothing to do with them. I was like, huh, interesting, that’s too bad. But I also didn’t blame her—the fresh ones we got at the store here were bland at best. Flash forward to my finding Wyman’s, and suddenly we have an absolute fiend on our hands who wants nothing but frozen blueberries for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in between. Her desire for these things is beyond—she’ll even chomp through them frozen. And while I’m dreaming of the day we can be in Maine eating them fresh, I am thrilled to have this delicious alternative.

(I find Wyman’s at Whole Foods. They’ve been well stocked, even through the last month; otherwise I don’t know if I’d have been able to blast this secret!)

Blueberry Cakes

Yields 12 miniature cakes or muffins

Ingredients

3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (90 g) rye flour

1/4 cup (30 g) buckwheat flour

1/4 cup (30 g) ground hazelnuts (or almonds)

1 t baking powder

3/4 t baking soda

3/4 t salt

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t cardamom

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks, 170 g) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 c (100 g) granulated sugar

1/3 c (70 g) dark brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 t vanilla extract

3/4 cup (180 g) buttermilk

1/4 cup (60 g) creme fraiche

2 cups frozen blueberries

Raw sugar, to finish

Direction

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners (or grease with butter) and set aside.

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.

Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and mix again.

Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between each addition. Add the vanilla.

Add half of the dry ingredients followed by the buttermilk, scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the remaining half of the dry ingredients, and finally, fold in the creme fraiche with a spatula, being careful not to over-mix.

Use an ice cream/cookie scoop (should be about 1/4 cup capacity) to divide the batter into the prepared tin. Place a palm-full of frozen blueberries onto each, and repeat with another scoop of batter followed by another handful of blueberries. Sprinkle with sugar, and bake for about 15 minutes before rotating the tin, and bake for another 15-20 minutes. They will be done when the tops spring back when pressed lightly.