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Swoon-worthy buckwheat almond shortbread cookies are equal parts treat and energy snack! Made with buckwheat flour, almond flour and coconut, they are vegan, gluten-free & low in sugar. 
Bake a Batch of Power Cookies
I love my afternoon cup of tea; its a long-standing family tradition to stop everything and savor a cup…or two…or three. Part of the love is that “tea time” is also code for “let’s eat cookies.” The anticipation of tea + cookies makes every afternoon brighter.
But since I am also both a fitness instructor and fitness enthusiast, I need cookies that do double duty as treat and power snack, especially on the days I teach evening spin classes or head out for a run with my running group.
That’s why I created these wholesome lovelies: Buckwheat Almond Shortbread Cookies.
In place of traditional cookie ingredients–white flour, white sugar, butter, and eggs–these cookies are packed with nutrient-dense superfoods, including the following:
- Buckwheat flour
- Almond flour (or almond meal)
- Unsweetened coconut
- Virgin coconut oil
- Coconut palm sugar (an unrefined sugar)
What are the Health Benefits of Buckwheat Flour?
It’s likely that you already know some, or many of the health benefits of almond flour (rich in healthy fat, notably vitamin E, low in carbohydrates, high in protein, a good source of fiber, and rich in a variety of micronutrients). Baking with almond flour is pretty dreamy, too; it has a natural sweetness and produces delectable sweet and savory options.
Chances are, buckwheat flour is a less familiar ingredient. Let’s start to change that, right here, right now!
Buckwheat flour is simply ground buckwheat groats, and, like almond flour, it is packed with nutrition. Notably, it is:
- Gluten-free (despite the name, it is related to rhubarb, not wheat)
- Very high in fiber
- An excellent source of low glycemic index carbohydrates (i.e., no blood sugar spikes)
- High in protein (contains all of the essential amino acids)
- High in minerals and antioxidants (including copper, manganese, phosphorous, iron, & magnesium)
What is the Flavor of Buckwheat Flour?
Buckwheat flour adds earthy, nutty flavor to baked goods (yes, please :). If you are used to all-purpose flour, it can be a little bit strong, or even faintly bitter. That is more likely the case with recipes that use buckwheat flour as the only flour.
In this recipe, I’ve combined the buckwheat flour with almond flour and ground coconut flakes, both of which have a faint sweetness that balances the buckwheat flour in toasty, nutty harmony.
These cookies are not traditional “shortbread” by any means, but they will remind you of a wholemeal shortbread in both taste and texture.
Moreover, these untraditional shortbread are unqualified power food, so be sure to grab one for pre- or post-workout fuel (tea, or no tea!)
Happy baking!
More Great GF & Vegan Buckwheat Recipes:
Buckwheat Almond Shortbread Cookies (Vegan, Grain-free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut
- 1 cup buckwheat flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar, (or use brown sugar)
- Optional: 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted, (see notes for options)
- 1 tablespoon warm water, (more, as needed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, process the coconut until it resembles a fine meal. Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in the buckwheat flour, almond flour, coconut sugar, optional cardamom, and salt.
- Add the melted coconut oil, water and vanilla to the bowl; stir well until completely combined into a cohesive dough. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Using a medium size cookie scoop (or measure out 1 and 1/2 tablespoons), portion the dough and roll each portion into a ball. Space the balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Using your palm or the bottom of a glass, flatten each ball into a round.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 11 to 15 minutes until just barely set at the centers and the edges appear crisp and golden brown (do not overbake–the cookies will firm up more as they cool).
- Cool 1 minute on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
Oh wow, these cookies are heavenly! I’m a sucker for shortbread-like cookies and these do not disappoint: buttery, delicate in flavour and just all around delicious.
Wow, Iggy, what a great review, thank you so much! I am so happy you like the cookies 🙂
Hi, The title said “Buckwheat Almond Shortbread Cookies” and I was eager to check and make it…till the moment I read that 1/3 of the ingredients are coconut (meal, sugar and oil). The cookies may be delicious but they are labeled misleadingly.
Hi Ral,
I am sorry you are disappointed to see coconut in the recipe. The two flours in the recipe (1 cup each) are buckwheat and almond flour. You do not have to use use coconut oil (you can use vegan butter) or coconut sugar (it is an unrefined granular sweetner, but you can use brown sugar, as noted). All the best.
Delicious cookies with a cup of tea and not too sweet, we loved them! I added one tablespoon of ground flaxseed and increase the water to 4 tablespoons based on the other comments that they were a bit crumbly, and they turned out very nice. Held together, and had a nice snap to them. Will make these again!
I am so glad that you like the cookies, Meg. And thank you for sharing your adaptations 🙂
Made these yesterday, using all the optional ingredients too. Tasty, but crumbly..I doubt they will stay in shape without the coconut oil and I had to add maybe quarter cup of water. I could not flatten them much, so even tho’ I baked them for 20 mins, still soft.
Hi Anjali,
I am sorry to hear the cookies did not hold together. May I ask if you weighed your ingredients? Or did you use volume measurements? It could be that the flours were overpacked (easy to do with volume measurements)
Just found your recipe and will make them today. Many thanks! Trying to find a a yummy recipe to replace my hubby’s Metamucil brand fiber “cookie”. Wondering if I might flax to up the fiber in this version? Thoughts on additional liquid necessary?
Thanks
Hi Deborah! Yes, I bet you could add some flaxseed meal, then perhaps just add enough extra liquid to make it come together into a dough.
I doubled the recipe and made the balls slightly bigger (~2Tbsp vs 1 1/2) so only got 40 cookies. When I pressed them down with the bottom of a 1/2 cup measuring cup, they were about 2 1/2” across and 3/8” thick. They seemed cooked at 11 minutes. My question is how did you get the edges so smooth? Your photos show beautiful rounded biscuits and mine were pretty ragged. Do you think the dough could be rolled in waxed paper, cooled (or even frozen) then sliced for more uniformity? Good taste and substantial snack.
Hi Kelly! I wet my finger and smooth the edges and tops — especially for taking photos 🙂 and yes, you can definitely chill the dough and slice it !
Amazing cookies! They really do feel like shortbread!
I had a hard time getting my cookie dough mounds to flatten so I put the dough back in the bowl and added a little bit of almond milk and that worked. The cookies are very good, thanks.
Is it possible to substitute rice flour for the almond flour?
Hi Lenora, I am not sure, that might work. But I suggest adding a bit more fat to the recipe (the almond flour adds a lot os natural fat, so to make up for it, add a bit more fat).
Delicious and easy, thanks. I had never done a combination of buckwheat and almond before so now I’m thinking I need to try experimenting with the combination in some other baking. I am hoping that you will come up with some more combinations too! Thanks!
OMGosh…lovely tasted…added the cardamom…I found that they are very fragile…like not enough to bind the ingredients. Anyone have any thoughts? That said, I enjoy the delicate flavors and quality ingredients! Thank you!
My cookies did not look any where near as good as yours but it doesn’t matter since they are soooo yum! Thank you for this recipe!
These are really delicious. I used swerve brown “sugar” to replace the coconut sugar and they came out great.
TThese are great cookies. My husband and I enjoy them, and my toddler loves them!
I cannot eat coconut so I used melted vegan butter and more almond flour (about 3/4 cup) to replace the ground coconut. They came out great!
Excellent recipe, thank you.
I really like these cookies. I have not done much baking with buckwheat flour but I am looking forward to doing more now that I know how delicious it can be.
Really good cookies, thanks! So much better than any gluten-free cookies I have bought from the store or even fancy bakeries.
Hi Camilla, dropping a note to tell you how much I love these cookies! You are right, they are a shortbread style cookie in thier own way. I have only used buckwheat flour for crepes so thank you for this recipe for the flour.
Love these cookies! I’ve been a fan since I saw you on Food Network with your winning exotic spice cookies years ago (which I make and love, too). I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
YUM! These look so good, cannot wait to try them