Best Chewy Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the Best Chewy Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are classic gooey and melty chocolate chip cookies made with Einkorn flour rather than all-purpose flour. They only take a few minutes to put together with no refrigeration required.

❔Why Use Einkorn Flour?

Einkorn flour is an ancient grain, one of the oldest varieties of wheat that was cultivated by humans, and can be used in many baking recipes. There are a few reasons why you might choose Einkorn flour rather than all-purpose flour.

• Protein: Einkorn flour is higher in protein at 11.5-13.5% than all-purpose flour (9-11%) or modern wheat. For comparison, cake flour is typically 7-10% and bread flour is typically 11-13%
• Gluten: Einkorn flour is low on the gluten index. While it does contain gluten, the gluten is weak, and rather than stretching, it tears.
• Nutrition: It is rich in phosphorus, vitamin B6, potassium, antioxidants, and amino acids.
• It is in the same family as spelt and emmer.

🍪 What to Consider When Baking Cookies with Einkorn Flour

Because Einkorn flour has a low gluten index, it needs to be treated differently when baking with yeast or sourdough starter, but it has less of an impact when used in baking drop cookies.

Einkorn flour absorbs less liquid than regular all-purpose flour. All things being equal, a cookie recipe needs more Einkorn flour than all-purpose flour to absorb the same amount of butter and eggs.

Einkorn flour has minimal impact on the taste and texture of the cookies. You would likely never know the difference between a chocolate chip cookie made with Einkorn flour versus one made with all-purpose flour.

🛒 Ingredients:

Below are the ingredients needed to make Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies using Einkorn flour.

• Butter: Softened to a cool room temperature. I use salted butter, but I prefer a saltier cookie. If you typically use unsalted butter, that will work well too. If you have not softened the butter ahead of time, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 20% power for 30 seconds, flip the butter over, and repeat as needed until soft, but not super soft or melted.
• Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: This recipe uses more brown sugar than white sugar for a chewier cookie with slightly more of that molasses/brown butter flavor that you get from brown sugar. For a more classic cookie look and flavor, use dark brown sugar, which has more molasses and a slightly more caramel flavor. However, light brown sugar will work in a pinch.
• Egg: Use a large egg, pasture-raised if possible.
• Vanilla Extract: Use real vanilla extract.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda: For leavening.
• Salt: To balance flavor.
• Einkorn Flour: Use all-purpose Einkorn flour. The Jovial Foods brand of Einkorn flour can be found at Whole Foods or online, where it can also be purchased in larger quantities. Einkorn flour is quite a bit more expensive than standard all-purpose flour.
• Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips: I use Nestle, but most brands will work. For these cookies, it's not as important to buy high-quality chocolate like it is in these Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Chip Cookies or these Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies. You can also use bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate, whatever you’re in the mood for or have on hand. They all work well.

To learn more about these cookie ingredients, see my Guide to Cookie Ingredients or see my complete guide on How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies.

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.

📝 How to Make Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies

Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 1. Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. This can be done with a hand mixer, stand mixer, or by hand.

For more on mixing cookies by hand, see my recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies Without a Mixer.

Step 2. Egg and Vanilla: Add the egg and vanilla extract and combine.

Step 3. Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt: Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt and combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go to make sure all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Step 4. Add the Einkorn Flour: Add the Einkorn flour and combine.

Step 5. Chocolate Chips: Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and combine.

Step 6. Bake the Cookies: Shape 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball for each cookie and place on a cookie sheet or sheet pan, 9-12 per sheet. You can do this by hand or with a cookie scoop. You'll need to make two batches.

Bake at 350°F for 9 minutes. The Einkorn cookies are done when they are just starting to turn brown around the edges, but they are still very soft in the center. They will continue to firm up on the residual heat of the hot pan after taking them out of the oven.

Let the cookies rest for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool fully.

🪄 More Tips and Tricks

• Oven Temperature: Preheat the oven 30 minutes prior to baking. Ovens do not always display the correct temperature and can take longer to preheat than they indicate. To be really sure of the oven temperature, consider buying a separate oven thermometer that gets placed in the oven. It will give you a better understanding of the actual temperature. You can move it around in the oven to see if there are any hot spots.
• Weighing Ingredients: For the best results, weigh your ingredients in grams with a kitchen scale, particularly the flour. There's no standard way for measuring flour by volume, so to get an accurate amount, a kitchen scale is needed. If you don't have a kitchen scale, for this recipe use the dip-and-sweep method.
• When are the Cookies Done: The cookies are done when the edges are starting to turn a light golden brown. The centers will look like they are not fully baked. It can be hard to see in the lighting of the oven, but err on the side of less time rather than more time, especially if you like more gooey cookies.
• Test Cookie: It's always a good idea to bake 1 cookie first before baking a whole dozen, especially when trying a new recipe. This first test cookie will give you an indication of whether the butter is too soft and the dough needs a short while to chill in the fridge, or the oven is running hot and you'll need to reduce the baking time.
• Cookie Upgrade: If you want to upgrade your cookies, use higher quality chocolate. Ghirardelli and Guittard are both good brands that are widely available.

For more tips and tricks, see my Guide to Baking the Best Homemade Cookies.

Storage Tips

• To Store: Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days. After the first day, it helps to gently microwave the cookies before eating (just a few seconds) so that they become soft and melty.
• To Freeze:
  • Freezing Cookie Dough: To freeze the cookie dough, shape the dough into round balls. Place them on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and freeze for 10-15 minutes. Remove the cookie dough balls and place them in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. It's easiest to shape the dough into balls before freezing. It's much harder to take out frozen dough and shape.
  • Baking from Frozen: You can bake the cookies from frozen adding 1-3 minutes to the baking time. Or let the come to room temperature on a baking sheet and bake according to the recipe.
  • Freezing Baked Cookies: You can also freeze already baked cookies, but there's nothing much better than a chocolate chip cookie straight out of the oven.

💖 If You're Interested in More Cookie Recipes, You May Love These:

If you've tried this Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my site, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!