Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies--They're More...Cookie-ish
At first I couldn't figure out if this was worth it to share, but the more of these I ate (and that was a LOT) the more I realized that yes, this needs to be written up. And especially from me, since I'm appreciated around here more for my enthusiasm in the kitchen than for my results. So if I'm willing to print results, that's really saying something.
Most people search recipes that sound like they'd produce the best food. I search and refine my searches in order to find something that will work with what I have in the cupboard, because I can't be hauling my 2- and 4-year-old to the store. They don't like us at the store. So I was stuck home again with bad flu viruses all around and decided fresh cookies would go a long way to lift our (MY) spirits. But I quickly found I didn't have any of the usual flour. I always have Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Flour around. Couldn't I substitute? This is how I get into trouble. Finally I've learned that, no, you can't just substitute. (That would be a very handy guide to have, authored by me, so maybe I'll get around to writing it: Ingredients Never To Substitute for Other Ingredients, and Why). So a Google on "Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies" got me a recipe very quick in the lineup. It required very few ingredients, all of which I had. And of course, all the credit here goes to Betty Crocker. In addition to having this recipe on www.bettycrocker.com, they have lots of coupons you can print out for groceries. That's cool.
These cookies taste thicker, richer, more substantial, just more cookie-ish. I wondered if I'd once again be considered a nerd who was trying to ruin a good sugar fix by stuffing a whole grain into it, but dangit, no, these are just plain better tasting to me than other cookies. See if you think so. I'll print my version instead of Betty's since I used Bob's Red Mill flour instead of what she called for, and since I cut down the chocolate chips and added pecans. Some like their cookies to be mere vehicles for chips and nuts. I like more doughy cookie in my cookie.
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 3 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 big handful semisweet chocolate chips
1 small handful chopped pecans
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.
*Last suggestion: really do take these out after 8 minutes. They will continue to cook on the pan, so go ahead and get them out so they'll stay soft over time instead of crunchy...unless you like them crunchy.
--Sweet B
Nat Sattayapornphisut on February 16, 2009 at 09:28 AM
Yummy.....
I want that cookies......!!
DELICIOUS......!!
HopeSew on February 17, 2009 at 08:34 AM
Do you use the electric mixer or do all by hand?
I can see what you mean about the texture of the cookies. We switched to the whole wheat pop tarts for the same reason. We're not fooling ourselves about any purported "health benefits." (They're pop tarts!) We just like the texture better than the pasty regular ones.
Jules @ Lovely Las Vegas on February 17, 2009 at 08:52 AM
I agree! Whole wheat makes almost all carbs more rich and hearty and deliciou. I can't even remember when I last made cookies... but stumbling across this recipe is making me get out the baking supplies : ). With whole wheat flour, of course.
Sweet B on February 17, 2009 at 10:19 AM
HopeSew, I use an electric mixer for the first step but when it's time to add the flour, I switch to a spoon and do the rest by hand. Otherwise the flour would disperse all around the kitchen. Plus, this dough is very very thick and stiff. A beater would probably just hang.
RecipeGirl on February 17, 2009 at 01:10 PM
Cool! I'm always looking for whole wheat baking recipes to play with :)
HopeSew on February 18, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Thanks, Sweet B. Looking forward to trying this recipe. :)
ASweetBFan on February 19, 2009 at 04:08 PM
I can vouch for the fantastic-ness of these cookies, as I have eaten a few of them (and would've eaten more if SweetB hadn't hid them from me). When working at my office, I occasionally walk across the street to get a latté, and I usually get a chocolate chip cookie to go along with it. I'm always mildly disappointed in the "store-boughten" cookie, as it's never as good as what I've got at home. SweetB's chocolate chip cookies put the café's—and, really, anyone else's—to shame.
Try these cookies!!!
Joan on February 25, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Are you using Whole Wheat flour or Whole Wheat Pastry Flour? I have a similar bag of Bob's Red Mill Flour on the shelf, just hoping to avoid calamity.
tom on February 25, 2009 at 02:51 PM
wow whole wheat cookies who would have thunk it. this might go over well at the gym!lol www.morethanpepper.com
Sweet B on February 26, 2009 at 08:51 PM
Hi Joan- My flour is not pastry four. Just plain stone-ground whole wheat flour. But if you substitute with pastry flour, do write at length about any calamities, as we all love to hear them and can share your pain.
Consuelo Davis on March 05, 2009 at 01:16 PM
Today I was thinking..."I have to find a nice cookies recipe to make to my twins. Your recipe sound perfect. I must try. X
cookinglady on April 03, 2009 at 08:19 PM
I tried the recipe. It was good, but I had a problem with the cookies getting very very flat. Do you know what I could have done wrong? Thanks!
Sweet B on April 08, 2009 at 06:42 PM
Cookinglady, do you live in a high altitude? When I lived in a beautiful cabin on a mountain in Montana, my cookies were always so flat that we started calling them "cockies" instead. "Dang! B made cockies again everybody." My only other thought is whether you used margarine or a butter/margarine substitute. Do you have an intolerance to regular butter? If so, I'm not sure what to suggest using (maybe some of the other readers have?) but if not, then try using 2 sticks of old-fashioned butter and see if you have the same problem. Because I cannot fathom these thick cookies turning out "very very flat."
Mama Kalila on July 28, 2009 at 08:25 PM
Thankyou! I'm hypoglycemic and apparently that means no white wheat.. which you can imagine stinks for cooking. We're having to get inventive here lol. Thankfully I prefer it in bread anyway, so its not a huge issue there... anyways.. I was looking for a good cookie recipe w/ it and think I'm going with this one. Btw, if you're ever interested... I tried a choc cake one w/ wheat flour and it turned out good!
Melissa on November 12, 2009 at 02:03 PM
My cookies also came out very very flat, but I did use a butter substitute to save fat and all that. I don't particularly care, and neither do my kids, cause flat or not they are DELISH! We are cutting a lot of carbs out and this was my first foray into baking with wheat flour, and I must say I am a convert! Thanks for the great recipe!
baker_aj on December 07, 2009 at 04:08 PM
I have tried and tweaked this recipe several dozen times for several months now and Love Love LOVE it!
FLAT COOKIES: use less butter. I just realized on tweak number 7 or 8 that I have been using HALF the amount of butter the recipe calls for all along. The results were thick hearty cookies that were fantastically different than anything I'd ever made before. When you use half the butter they don't spread much during baking and remain very thick and mmm good - and think of the fat grams you're saving by not using so much butter! I recommend cutting it in half or by a third and see how you like it.
Fewer Calories: I tried a few batches with Splenda White & Splenda Brown sugars to reduce the calories. The result was a very noticeable flavor change, but not necessarily a bad one. I also used apple sauce instead of butter. I think I need to find a good ratio of apple sauce to butter and use both because this resulted in the largest flavor change that still needs to be worked out. Again, not bad tasting, just different.
Dynamic Taste: I picked this up off of NPR: add a little Sea Salt (big granules) to the cookies before baking but after putting them on the pan. Just a few grains per cookie on the top. This REALLY changes the dynamic of the cookie with sweet chocolate and the sweet dough from so much brown sugar in contrast with just a touch of Sea Salt on the top. I would say this is the NUMBER ONE compliment I get in my cookies.
Lastly: While I like nuts and all, I consistently change this aspect of the recipe and love it. Use large chocolate chunks (Nestle has a ready bag) and butterscotch chips. About 1 1/2 handfuls of each - I originally thought how could too much chocolate be a bad thing, and just dumped tons in there, but it really got to be overwhelming. About 1 large handful each or 1 1/2 regular handfuls each (play with it, you can't go wrong really) -- now, if you REALLY love them, use Hersey bars (much more expensive, but it pays off) and make your 'chocolate chips' one little square of the candy bar. You'll need about 3 bars...ish. depending on how much you like chocolate : )
Sorry that was so long, but I thought I would share my success. These cookies have become my NUMBER ONE favorite to make and eat. Enjoy!!!
Koblog on February 28, 2010 at 07:03 AM
Alton Brown spends a lot of time explaining how the gluten content of various flours seriously effects the baking outcome. Can't really say why your particular cookies are having problems, but something is not "reacting" in the chemistry.
I don't think baking soda goes bad the way baking powder does. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate and is pretty stable.
Baking powder is an inherently unstable mixture of dry baking soda (a base) and Cream of Tartar (a dry acid). When mixed with water, baking powder produces carbon dioxide gas (like yeast does) and causes the rise. Baking powder goes bad on the shelf because water from the air causes it to "go off" and lose effectiveness.
Baking soda will need an acid to generate the gas.
Both recipes (yours and Betty's) have no obvious acid in it, so the soda must be reacting (or not reacting) with another ingredient.
Nicole Lockwood on April 22, 2010 at 08:04 PM
These are sooo good that I had to give you a shout out in my own blog. Keep the recipes coming!
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