Gluten free, high altitude buckwheat chocolate chip cookies have a nutty, wholesome flavor and texture, with crispy edges and chewy centers. They’re made with brown butter and dark chocolate chips, which enhances the nuttiness of the buckwheat flour. These delicious cookies are easy to make, and adaptable for making gluten free, or mixing the buckwheat flour with all-purpose flour for a more tender cookie.
Looking for more high altitude cookie recipes? You might love these chocolate white chocolate chip cookies, caramel stuffed chocolate chip cookies, and brown butter chocolate chip cookies.

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What is Buckwheat Flour?
Buckwheat is actually not a grain, but a fruit that is closely related to wild rhubarb. It’s a hardy plant that thrives in difficult conditions and poor soil. The seeds are dried, and then ground into buckwheat flour. It has a nutty flavor and hearty texture. And since it’s not a grain, it’s naturally gluten free, making it a good choice for those who are avoiding gluten in their diets.
Buckwheat flour is widely used in many countries today. Japanese soba noodles, Russian pancakes or blinis and French galettes are all made from buckwheat.
Light Buckwheat Flour
Light buckwheat flour is made with hulled buckwheat. It’s sometimes referred to as “fancy” buckwheat flour, since it’s lighter, softer and more powdery with a less assertive flavor.
Dark Buckwheat Flour
Dark buckwheat flour is made from unhulled buckwheat, with more fiber and dark flecks throughout from the hull. Its flavor is nuttier and stronger, and the darker color will result in darker baked goods, too.
How to Substitute All-Purpose Flour with Buckwheat Flour
Since buckwheat doesn’t contain gluten, the ground flour doesn’t provide the same structure and strength to baked goods as all-purpose flour does. This would be especially disastrous with delicate baked goods like cakes, but is less problematic in heartier, denser treats like cookies.
The flour is also somewhat coarse and gritty, so it’s recommended to only substitute 25-30% of the all-purpose flour in a recipe with buckwheat flour. However, this is only a recommendation. If you love the taste and texture of buckwheat, then there’s no reason you can’t use even more in your cookies.
Gluten Free Baking with Buckwheat
In developing my recipe for today’s buckwheat chocolate chip cookies, I tested my recipe with 25% buckwheat flour as well as 100% buckwheat flour. The cookies I photographed are the ones I made with 100% unhulled buckwheat, so they are completely gluten free. And while they do have a coarser, sandier texture (and of course, a darker color), they were absolutely delicious. Hearty, nutty and a little rugged, with wonderful flavor from the brown butter and chocolate chips, they were a really great cookie. My four-year-old, who can be quite picky about anything that looks different, loved them.
If you prefer a softer texture that’s more similar to a classic chocolate chip cookie, and gluten isn’t an issue for you, then I would suggest using 25% buckwheat flour with 75% all-purpose flour. You’ll get all the flavor and nuttiness of the buckwheat combined with the tenderness of soft wheat flour.
To keep the recipe gluten free, try mixing the buckwheat flour with measure-for-measure gluten free flour and/or almond flour.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Buckwheat Flour. Gives these buckwheat cookies a nutty flavor and hearty texture.
- All-Purpose Flour or Gluten Free Flour. Mix with the buckwheat flour to give the cookies a softer, more tender texture.
- Unsalted Butter. The butter adds richness and flavor. In this cookie recipe, we’ll be browning the butter first to give it a deep, nutty flavor.
- Granulated Sugar + Dark Brown Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Egg. Binds the cookie dough together.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Baking Soda. Leavens the cookies so they puff up a little as they bake.
- Salt. Coarse Kosher salt in the cookie dough balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors. A sprinkling of flaky Maldon salt on top is the perfect finishing touch.
- Chocolate Chips. Use milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, whichever you like best.
Instructions
Brown the Butter.
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling occasionally, until the water evaporates, and the butter forms fragrant, nutty brown solids at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the hot butter into a bowl, scraping all the browned bits off the bottom of the saucepan with a spatula.
- Cool the browned butter for about 1 hour. It should be cooled to room temperature, but still be in liquid form.
Make the Cookie Dough.
- After cooling the butter, stir in the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- Combine the flours, baking soda and salt. Add to the bowl, and stir just until the dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Shape and Chill the Dough.
- Use a cupcake/ice cream scoop to portion the dough into 15 portions. Roll into balls, and if you like, press a few extra chocolate chips on top of each ball.
- Place the dough balls in an airtight container and freeze for 1 hour.
Bake the Cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 350, and line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Place the frozen dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake on the center oven rack for 13 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, but the centers are slightly underdone.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the flaky finishing salt, if desired.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
How much buckwheat flour should I use?
- For a softer, more tender chocolate chip cookie, I recommend 25% buckwheat flour with 75% all-purpose flour or gluten free flour. However, in this recipe you can use all the way up to 100% buckwheat flour for a heartier, coarser cookie.
What kind of buckwheat flour should I use?
- You can use either dark buckwheat flour or light buckwheat flour, and both will make a delicious buckwheat chocolate chip cookie.
Does the cookie dough need to be chilled before baking?
- Yes, since this recipe uses browned butter, and mixing the dough while the butter is still liquid, you’ll need to cool the browned butter for 1 hour before making the dough. Then you’ll need to freeze the dough balls prior to baking, or the warm butter will cause the cookies to spread too much in the oven.
How should I store buckwheat cookies?
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for 3-6 months.
- You can also freeze the dough balls in a freezer bag for 3-6 months.
How do you make perfectly round cookies?
- The perfectly round shape is thanks to a technique called “cookie scooting”, made popular by Cloudy Kitchen. When you take the cookies out of the oven and they’re still piping hot, immediately use a round cookie cutter (it should be larger than the circumference of the baked cookies) and “scoot” it around the hot cookies. This pulls in any uneven edges and gives the cookies a nice round shape and thick edges.
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High Altitude Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF)
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup buckwheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten free measure-for-measure flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ½ tsp flaky finishing salt, such as Maldon
Instructions
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, swirling occasionally, until the water evaporates, and the butter forms fragrant, nutty brown solids at the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and immediately pour the hot butter into a bowl, scraping all the browned bits off the bottom of the saucepan with a spatula.Cool the browned butter for about 1 hour. It should be cooled to room temperature, but still be in liquid form.
- After cooling the butter, stir in the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the bowl, and stir just until the dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Use a cupcake/ice cream scoop to portion the dough into 15 portions. Roll into balls, and if you like, press a few extra chocolate chips on top of each ball.
- Place the dough balls in an airtight container and freeze for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350, and line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Place the frozen dough balls 3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake on the center oven rack for 13 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, but the centers are slightly underdone.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the flaky finishing salt, if desired.
Notes
- For Perfectly Round Cookies: Immediately after taking the baking sheet out of the oven, use a round cookie cutter (it should be larger than the circumference of the baked cookies) and “scoot” it around the hot cookies. This pulls in any uneven edges and gives the cookies a nice round shape.
- Storing Cookies: Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for 3-6 months.
Hi Heather,
Can I use Wholemeal or Whole-wheat flour instead of Buckwheat flour? And if it’s possible, how much should I use?