“Whole wheat chocolate chip cookies?” you may ask, and surely gasp in chocolate-chip-cookie-purist horror, “Surely not!” But it’s true! I’ve tested these on numerous unsuspecting friends, family, and coworkers and no one made a peep about the wheaty, hippie-mamma nature of these cookies. Upon disclosure of the secret I received blank stares, looks that soon caused them to slow their rabid chewing look, look at the ceiling, squint their eyes in intense focus, and then – “Nope, can’t taste anything wheaty. That’s so weird!”
Given my recent proclivity towards natural cooking and baking, some weren’t at all surprised at the test-subject nature of the prank. I highly recommend baking these and not divulging the secret until you’ve received lustful words of thanks. These cookies are as delicious as nectar is to a BEE. The whole wheat simply gives the cookies a firmer, more substantial crumb (i.e. these are not wimpy, Chips-Ahoy cookies) and the massive chunks of bittersweet chocolate, as my sister said, “take them to a whole other level!”
I know I’ve become a bit repetitive with my endless adoration of Good to the Grain (yeah, I know, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon) but isn’t that an indication that it is, indeed, time to add it to your cookbook library if you haven’t already?
Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
8 oz (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ chunks
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
8 oz high-quality bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped to the size of your liking!
1.) Place one rack in the upper third of the oven and the other in the bottom third. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.) In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer until blended; 2 minutes or so. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition. Use your spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl throughout. Mix in vanilla.
3.) Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt directly into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Blend until just combined. Add chocolate and use your hands to evenly disperse.
4.) Using an ice cream scoop spoon little mountains of dough, approximately 3 tablespoons in size, onto the baking sheets. Leave a few inches between each mountain. Bake for 15-20 minutes, swapping the top tray with the bottom tray halfway through. The cookies are done when they are lightly browned and the edges are beginning to set. The cookies will still be very, very soft and gooey when they’re done, and you will have to be careful when moving to a cooling rack. It is essential to not overbake these – resist the temptation to bake them longer than 20 minutes.
This recipe was very slightly adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. Published by Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, New York; 2010.