Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields about 20 cookies

by Kim Boyce
from Good to the Grain
Last Edit Date: 8/4/2010 1:54:41 PM

These cookies are the size of your palm, with thick, chewy edges, soft centers, and big chocolate chunks. It’s surprising just how delicious this whole-wheat version of an old classic is. This cookie is made with 100% whole-wheat flour, which gives it a distinctive, nutty taste. Use a good bittersweet chocolate for these cookies, as the flavor of high-quality chocolate pairs best with whole-wheat flour.

more about:

For the dry mix:

3 cups whole-wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. kosher salt

For the wet mix:

8 oz. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4- and 1/2-inch pieces

Place two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Although you can butter the sheets instead, parchment is useful for these cookies because the large chunks of chocolate can stick to the pan.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl any bits of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.

Add the butter and the sugars to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, mix just until the butter and sugars are blended, about 2 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined. Mix in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and blend on low speed until the flour is barely combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the chocolate all at once to the batter. Mix on low speed until the chocolate is evenly combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then scrape the batter out onto a work surface, and use your hands to fully incorporate all the ingredients.

Scoop mounds of dough about 3 Tbs. in size onto the baking sheet, leaving 3 inches between them, or about 6 to a sheet.

Bake the cookies for 16 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are evenly dark brown. Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment, to the counter to cool, and repeat with the remaining dough.

Make Ahead Tips

These cookies are best eaten warm from the oven or later that same day. They’ll keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. For freshly baked cookies anytime, you can refrigerate some of the dough for later. Be sure to scoop out balls of dough before chilling, as the cold dough is too difficult to scoop. Also, remember that cookies baked from chilled dough will be thicker than those made from room-temperature dough. This dough--scooped, chilled, and wrapped in plastic--will last in the refrigerator for one week, assuming it doesn't get eaten first!

Photo: Quentin Bacon

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by Onirazael, 9/26/2012I gave this a 1 because it is a SHAMELESS attempt to give the illusion of a healthier alternative. Also if you are going to do that DO NOT take out the original. SHAME on you!!

by brava313, 5/10/2012Scrumptious! I substituted 4 oz. of (cold) sesame tahini for half the butter. Maybe for this reason, the dough was quite pliable, and the cookies spread nicely in the oven. The tahini gave the cookies a slightly bitter taste, like that of halvah. Instead of chopping up chocolate, I used 8 oz. of Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips. Lacking a stand mixer (and having arthritic wrists), I used a hand-held mixer, at medium speed, to cream the butter and sugar. (I think it took about 10 minutes.) All in all, though, this was an easy recipe and well worth the effort. The cookies were soft and chewy, as promised (though possibly sweeter then absolutely necessary).

by IL, 4/10/2011Made by my daughter. Good but not the best chocolate chip cookies.

by madamel2000, 4/2/2011This cookie has just about everything one could want in a crisp chocolate chip cookie. Everything except enough chocolate chips, a shortcoming easily remedied by doubling the amount indicated in the original recipe. I used a 60% cocoa chip which provided great, dark chocolate flavor. I also added about a cup of chopped nuts - walnuts, almonds, pecans, whatever. They're great while still warm, but fantastic once cooled, as well. The group with which I shared them, lest I eat them all, raved. You will, too!

by Wenda, 3/23/2011What a fabulous chocolate chip cookie! And a lot healthier than the normal cookie. I did make some changes: I used King Arthur Flour - Unbleached WHITE Whole Wheat Flour -- it's not pure white, but it's lighter in color than regular whole wheat which in turn creates a lighter color cookie. I also added 3 tablespoons of Whole Ground Flaxseed Meal....it adds nutrients without any taste, at all. Great way to sneak some good stuff into your kids' tasty treats without them even knowing. After mixing, I refrigerated it for a couple of hours. Then cut the mix into 3 tablespoon sized blocks and rolled them into a ball. I otherwise followed the recipe exactly and I created 33 nice sized cookies.

by _eileen, 3/23/2011I just made these cookies and they are spectacular! Using an excellent quality chocolate is very important. I'm in a tropical climate without A/C and I put the batter in the fridge between each batch, which helped to keep the cookies from spreading so much, as did using a silpat sheet (no parchment available). I also made them smaller, 1Tbsp each and cut baking time to 8 min. Next time I might try substituting a bit of applesauce for some of the butter to make them slightly healthier.

by bklyngal, 3/22/2011I too found that these cookies did not spread and they almost had a sawdust consistency. I probably would not make this recipe again.

by pastamasta, 3/20/2011Surprised at how tasty these cookies are! I used Anita's Organic Fine grind whole wheat flour. The fine ground flour gave it the same consistency of white flour. Delish!

by Linda123, 3/19/2011I bought this cookbook and have made these cookies several times. I think these are some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. They have a nutty and almost caramel flavor with nice crispy edges. Be sure to use good quality chocolate, I used Scharffen Berger 70%.

by JamestownLiz, 1/25/2011I love these cookies. I disagree that they are indistinguishable from cookies made with white flour - they are different, but they are really good. They are not too sweet and the taste and texture are interesting - a bit crumbly. I have made them twice and will make them again. I've used Splenda and polyol-sweetened chocolate chips with good results.

by AbbyD, 1/5/2011These cookies are great! I love baking chocolate chip cookies and this recipe is just as good! You don't notice the whole wheat flour and the Bittersweet chocolate is perfect! Just the right amount of salt too!

by mowgli, 12/17/2010I didn't like these at all. A big waste of expensive chocolate. The 3 TBL of cookie dough is way too much and they didn't spread at all - they were basically hockey pucks that I threw away with almost no flavor - a big disappointment.

by Lupini, 8/27/2010I am always looking for good whole grain recipes. Regular chocolate chip cookies are too sugary. These are great. You wouldn't know they were whole wheat. I used a good Swiss dark chocolate and added dried raspberries as well. A great recipe as a base for lots of variations.