I can’t remember which blogger first put this book about baking with whole grain flours on my radar, but I was sufficiently intrigued to jump onto my library’s website and request it immediately. Good to the Grain devotes each chapter to a different type of grain, including I confess a few I hadn’t previously heard of (teff flour anyone?). The first chapter was well within my comfort zone though with its focus on whole wheat flour. I’m more likely to use my stash of whole wheat flour for homemade breads than anything else, so it was fun to branch out a bit with my baking. I decided to start out with the basics – chocolate chips cookies! I’ve found that I prefer white whole wheat flour to regular so that’s what I keep in my house and it’s what I used in this recipe.
My cookies are thicker than the ones in the book and others I’ve seen on food blogs, mainly because I made the dough one night, scooped it into mounds on baking sheets and stuck them in the fridge to be baked the following day. If you prefer thinner cookies just bake the dough immediately after putting it together. The first thing I noticed about this dough was its fragrance: stronger than any chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever made and slightly nutty. Once the cookies were baked, the fragrance had mellowed a bit but they retained the nutty, earthy flavor. They are generous in size and wonderfully soft. My favorite thing about them was the pairing of the bittersweet chocolate and the whole wheat flour. When it comes to “regular” chocolate chip cookies I usually eat around the chocolate (weird, I know – I’m all about the dough), but I couldn’t get enough of the chocolate in this whole wheat version. I liked the cookies best warm from the oven, so I wound up reheating the leftovers in the microwave for about 10 seconds before eating them. Even Shane gave these cookies a thumbs-up, which is saying something as he’s really not a big fan of whole grains.
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce
3 cups whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 350 F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and both sugars on low just until blended, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour to the bowl and, with the mixer on low, beat until the flour is just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Finally, add the chocolate to the dough and mix on low just to evenly distribute it.
Use a large cookie scoop to portion about 3 tablespoons of dough into a ball for each cookie, spacing them approximately 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until the edges are set and the tops have cracked and browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a minute or two before transferring them to wire racks.
Yields about 20 cookies
I”ve made cookies with whole wheat flour and I love them! The hubs doesn’t mind either. These look great!
Delicious looking cookies. I see more and more recipes showing up for whole grains and WWF. Thanks for sharing this one. Will have to try very soon.
Glad Shane liked them, too.
I’m going to have to pick up whole wheat white flour soon and try these. I love chocolate chip cookies best served warm with homemade vanilla ice cream. It reminds me of my favorite vacation place.
Need to get into the whole wheat flour craze very soon…these might be just the thing to do it with…guys tend to be suspicious of whole wheat listings at times, but no one can refuse a cc cookie around here, well, no one but me. These look wonderful!
Since the discovery of chocolates, a lot of people have been crazy about it. In fact, in today’s world, people are still craving for great tasting and fine chocolates from different parts of the world. You have to consider that everyone loves chocolates.
That book is definitely on my radar too – good to see another positive review of it! Oh, and I eat around the chocolate too 😛
White whole wheat – I’ve seen that somewhere (King Arthur)? I’ll have to search it out – since these LOOK fabulous (and healthy). I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a CC cookie – and it’s great when someone comes up with a variation that’s healthy!!!
Heidi over at 101 cookbooks has been regaling this cookbook for a while now! I am obviously going to have to get it. These cookies sound great…I can’t believe they’re whole wheat!
I can’t wait to try these! I’m leaving this page up on my laptop tonight so when I get up tomorrow, it will remind me that I need to make these immediately!
I just added your page to my bookmarks because I have not yet found a recipe that I liked using whole wheat! We love our Kamut Khorasan Wheat in things since it is so nutritious and these would be great to try. I have not heard of teff? Have you tried Kamut?
Oh I love using whole wheat flour in cookies, especially white whole wheat flour. Can’t wait to give these a try!
@smilinggreenmom – I haven’t tried kamut but I had at least heard of it. I have a feeling I’ll be attempting lots of new things with this book!
I want to try whole wheat flour, but worried that my cookies will come out as bricks. I don’t think white whole wheat flour is sold where I live.
I’ve made these cookies before and was surprised how good they are! I do like chilling dough before baking cookies and I like trying different flours in cookies!
The whole wheat cookies look fantastic! I just bought “Good to the Grain” since I seem to be seeing rave reviews about it everywhere. I haven’t made anything yet, this looks like the perfect recipe to start with.
These look great! Love chocolate chip cookies:)
These look great. I need to see if I can get a copy of Good to the Grain from the library. I have the KAF Whole Grain Baking Cookbook, which I love, but I would love to have another whole grain resource!
I actually saw this book posted about on Smitten Kitchen a while ago.
I’ll have to try these. I have KA whole wheat flour waiting to be used up!!
cold butter? how well will that blend with the sugar and eggs?
I know it sounds weird to use cold butter, but that is what the recipe calls for, and it worked out well for me.
These look amazing! I made peanut butter cookies with whole wheat flour today. Any idea what the difference between white whole wheat and red whole wheat is?
♥ Leia
@Leia – Here’s a great page of info about different flours from King Arthur Flour: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flour/home.html
I just made these again today…they’re a huge favorite. 🙂
Hi Tracey! I don’t think I’ve ever commented but I love your blog. I usually come to it after seeing a pic on photograzing. I was looking to make whole wheat choc chip cookies and your recipe came up. I just made and they are fantastic! I love the taste and texture. Just wanted to say thanks!
hi tweaked and tried your cookies..turned out wonderful…
check them out…http://baketitude.blogspot.in/2012/04/chocolate-chip-cookies-with-whole.html