Einkorn is an ancient grain, first cultivated five to ten thousand years ago. It has a slight yellowish tinge and smells a little like corn flour. It is not as dense as today’s wheat and thus one usually needs to use more of it than you would with modern wheat flour. Einkorn has a gliadin to glutenin ratio of 2:1; where as, modern wheat is 0.8:1, and thus some with gluten intolerance who can handle small amounts of gluten have no problem eating it but be careful. You can read more about it here.
Einkorn is finicky, and this recipe was developed for einkorn specifically so swapping it out for regular flour won’t give you the same results. (Hint: Remember the dense bit? This uses far more flour.)
However, if you have some einkorn on hand and are unsure what to make with it, shortbread is a great, easy start. It doesn’t have to rise or be a very certain texture and takes just a few minutes to put together thanks to the minimal ingredient list. The result is a very crisp, buttery, lightly sweetened, light, yet rich, cookie coated in crunchy toasted coconut. It will melt in your mouth. You should make these now.
Toasted Coconut, Vanilla Einkorn Cookies
Servings: yields about 3 dozen cookies
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup salted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose einkorn flour
- desiccated or flaked dried coconut
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cream butter and sugar together in a mixer with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla. Add flour and mix on medium-low speed until a stiff, sticky dough forms.
Scrape bowl down and scoop dough out into about 1-inch balls and roll in dried coconut. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and press down into a thin disk with the bottom of a glass or hands. Cookies will not puff and spread much.
Bake for 10–15 minutes in preheated oven or until coconut is golden brown. Cool on sheet for 1–3 minutes before removing.
Recipe courtesy of Sarah Shilhavy.
Recipe prepared by Sarah Shilhavy and photographed by Jeremiah Shilhavy.
