Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rumor has it that whole grains are a damn sight better for you than grains stripped of all nutrition. Makes sense to me. But eating whole grain foods when you much prefer the taste of foods made from white flour is not an easy feat. At least not for me. However I've been doing my best to incorporate whole grain foods into my family's diet, with mixed results. The whole wheat pancakes are decent...as are the whole wheat pizza crusts (the trick, as with all whole wheat baking, is to use whole wheat pastry flour). The whole wheat (or alternative grain) pastas have been ok...spelt and kamut are pretty yummy...but the fresh wheat fetuccine was a tad too gluey for me. The ancient grain bread (made of spelt) really sucked however the tortillas weren't bad at all.

Anyway, you get my drift.

So lately I've been trying to sub whole wheat flour in recipes that typically call for white flour. And for pastries, cookies, and the like, I've also been attempting to see just how much sugar I can cut out without completely screwing up the taste. Again, results have been mixed. But I recently hit the jackpot with a modified chocolate cookie recipe courtesy of 101 Cookbooks (who snagged the recipe from one of my favorite cookbook authors, David Lebovitz). I didn't go 100% whole wheat as I wanted to make sure the flavor, texture would work for these cookies (it did). And I managed to reduce the sugars by 1/4 cup each and I promise you won't notice a thing.

Here's the recipe! If you do make these, let me know how it worked for you and what, if anything, you adjusted. Some day I will give these a try again and go whole hog with the ww flour. Until then...

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

As you might imagine, I try to use all organic ingredients when possible (even the chocolate chips). I know, sounds crazy, but it frankly makes me feel better knowing there aren't a lot of nasty chemicals in the food and that my chocolate chips aren't just a mixture of dye, high fructose corn syrup, and cocoa flavoring. It's also a good idea to get your hands on a aluminum-free baking soda/powder if your regular brand isn't already. Will all this make a difference to the flavor? I think it does but I'll let you decide for yourself.

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) (115 grams) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch (1cm) pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (175 grams) whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
semisweet chocolate chips (as few or many as you like)
1 cup (130 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)

Adjust the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 300F (150C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon (5cm) balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches (10cm) apart, on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Make about 20 cookies.