Teff Flour + Fleur de sel Chocolate Chip Cookies

I find it hard to settle.

Making decisions has never been my strong suit. Whether we’re talking about a pair of department store jeans, going blonde, what to do with an hour of free time, or what to do with my life after graduation, I change my mind a minimum of 3 times before something finally happens… Or doesn’t. One way or another. I'm inclined to believe this is because I want to do, see, learn, and experience everything. How to fit three lifetimes into one?

Tried-and-true recipes are no exception to this rule. Take the chocolate chip cookie, for example. I’ve written on this before: everyone has that one recipe that steals the show, takes the cake, every time and without fail. 

But I just can’t let it be. I can’t settle. If I haven’t taken a recipe I love, rearranged the parts, and put it back together in a while, I get fidgety. If I’m not creating, testing, manipulating, and making a mess, I’m not truly happy. 

That said, I’ve taken to experimenting with gluten-free flours again, and I picked up a bag of teff flour at Whole Foods the other day. Its earthy aroma, sandy texture, and high protein content made it a wonderful addition to a batch of cookies – to which I also added some coconut palm sugar and fleur de sel. Recipe below.

There’s been a lot of great eating and cooking over the past few weeks. Elliott and I have tried to visit every farmer’s market in the greater south bay on the weekends, and so far we’ve made it to downtown San Jose, Campbell, Saratoga, and Los Altos. We also stopped by a lively Greek festival at the St. Nicholas church last weekend, complete with Greek beer, wine, pastries, coffee drinks, crafts, and dancing. 

And let us not forget the trip to Harley Farms in Pescadero for some fresh, delicious goat milk cheese. Their ricotta is my favorite, closely followed by the lavender-honey chevre. I highly encourage you to take the short drive to Pescadero if you ever have the chance… it’s baby goat season!

This Saturday starts my graduation/summer traveling adventure. First stop is Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a week… then home for a little over 24 hours… then off to ITALY for 10 days. I can’t wait to share it with you.

Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookies :: Makes about 12

8 Tbsp. butter, room temperature

3/4 cup coconut palm sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg. room temperature

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

1/4 cup teff flour

1/2 tsp. fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 cup dark chocolate chunks 

1. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and mix in.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, teff flour, fleur de sel, and baking soda. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 or 4 increments, mixing thoroughly after each one. Add chocolate chunks and stir to mix in.
3. Place dough in the center of a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold over lengthwise (hot dog style) and gently roll out to a 12-inch log. Fold up the ends and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350’. Grease a baking sheet with butter or nonstick spray. Unwrap cookie dough and slice into 1/2-inch rounds, placing about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet. Press gently with the bottom of a cup or glass – the cookies will not spread much. Sprinkle lightly with more fleur de sel. Bake for 11 minutes, until edges are firm and lightly brown, and center still looks a little wet. Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and serving.

Store in an airtight container.