Einkorn is the great-great-great-great-great-(you get the picture)-grandmother of all other wheats. It’s the oldest wheat variety out there. It’s also high in protein, iron, thiamine, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and the antioxidant lutein. “It tastes bran-y,” says Roxana Jullapat, the author of the cookbook Mother Grains (out April 2021). “It can get a little milk-chocolaty too. Shortbread is a good canvas for it because it brings out that richness. And einkorn loves butter.” Make sure to use einkorn flour labeled “whole grain,” which has been ground with the whole kernel (that’s where all the nutritious goodness and flavor is). All-purpose einkorn flour isn’t the same. Jullapat’s favorite einkorn is from Grist & Toll, a whole-grain mill in Pasadena, CA.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes about 12
Ingredients
Special equipment
Preparation
Step 1
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 300°. Pulse brown sugar and powdered sugar in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse just until combined. Add einkorn flour, all-purpose flour, and salt and pulse until dough comes together. Turn out onto a clean surface; press into about a 6"-diameter disk.
Step 2
Place dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll out to a ⅓"–½"-thick round. Remove top sheet of parchment and punch out cookies with larger cutter. If using smaller cutter, punch out center of each cookie. Carefully transfer cookies to a large parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 1" apart. Reroll scraps; punch out more cookies.
Step 3
Bake cookies, rotating baking sheet front to back halfway through if browning unevenly, until golden and firm around edges, 25–35 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet.
Do ahead: Cookies can be baked 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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