Millet Cookies

Sometimes, I get inspiration for a new cookies recipe based on what I have that I want to get rid of. I had some corn flour and freeze-dried corn so I made Momofuku Corn Cookies last week for choir. I had forgotten how WONDERFUL they are! If you have not tried them, take a look at the recipe on my blog.

This week, I decided to get rid of some millet  we have had around for a long time. I don’t even remember why I bought it. When you go online and look for cookies containing weird things, you almost always end up in the “health food” or “gluten-free” worlds. That was certainly true as I looked for a millet recipe. Most that I found called for millet flour, usually as a gluten-free replacement for wheat. This recipe caught my attention because, as you can tell by looking at the ingredients, it is neither “health food” nor “gluten-free.” The millet is also roasted and used whole, rather than ground into flour. That interested me and I was not disappointed.

Close up of millet grain.

A great looking dough ball!

And an interesting-looking cookie!

Recipe By:

cakespy.com

Yield:

30

Ingredients:

1 cup millet
1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped*
1½ cups whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Toast nuts and millet on a baking sheet while the oven heats. Because they toast at different rates,  scatter the cashews on the sheet and let them toast for about 5 minutes. Add millet, then let the whole tray toast for five more minutes.**

3. Remove from  oven. Set aside to cool.

4. In a medium bowl, sift together  flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

5. Cream butter in a stand mixer until nice and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and continue to mix until it becomes fluffy again, 3 to 5 more minutes.

6. Add  eggs one at a time, briefly mixing after each addition until incorporated. Stir in vanilla.

7. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing as minimally as possible until everything is incorporated.

8. Add millet, cashews and chocolate morsels. Fold gently into the dough until evenly incorporated.

9. Scoop 2 tablespoon balls of dough onto prepared baking sheets.

10. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until toasty on the edges and set in the center. Remove from oven. Let cool on the baking sheet for a minute or so before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Notes:

* My Nob Hill didn’t have raw cashews so I bought roasted, unsalted nuts and only roasted the millet.

** I kept waiting for the millet to look or smell toasty but even after 15 minutes that didn’t happen. Next time, I would just toast them for 5 minutes and be done. Does that much toasting even make a difference? Good question for future experimenting!