Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies



When I was growing up, there was always a health-consciousness in our family. That doesn't mean we always ate healthy (hot dogs were my favorite food!) but the idea of eating healthy was always there. We would go to health food stores, we took vitamins, and my dad exercised a lot. When I was 20, I came home from college and announced that I was becoming a vegetarian. My dad had just found out he had high cholesterol so he thought it was a great idea.

Since then, I've researched all different kinds of diets and have tried out several different healthier options. Right now I'm on a whole grain kick. I figure if I can take the white flour out of our desserts, then we can still have them without me feeling so guilty, right?

Last night, Kay and I made these cookies out of the King Arthur Flour cookbook and we were thrilled with the results. Most of the recipes I've come across substitute part of the white flour with whole wheat but this used all whole wheat. We are big "lick the bowl" kind of people when it comes to desserts and I knew when this dough passed the raw taste test that the cookies were going to be a success!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 oz margarine

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp espresso powder (you can omit if you don't have any)

1/8 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 oz light corn syrup

1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 egg

4 1/2 oz whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

In a saucepan, melt the margarine. Stir in the brown sugar. Heat until it is starting to bubble. Remove from heat and transfer it to a large bowl and allow to cool about 5 minutes.

Stir in the vanilla, baking soda, espresso powder, baking powder, corn syrup, and vinegar. Add the egg and beat well. Stir in the flour and then the chips. Cover the bowl and refrigerate 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

3 dozen cookies.

Kay: These tasted just like regular chocolate chip cookies. I told my mom, "I hope some of these are left on Wednesday so I can take them when I go ice skating with my school." We had to tell my dad not to eat all of them!

Mom (Dana): I loved these. I didn't expect them to be so good but I actually think these might be my favorite chocolate chip cookies.

3 comments:

javagirlkt's cookin' said...

these look amazing! mmmmm, not a lot of stuff beats homemade chocolate chip cookies.

your monkey bread looks awesome too. i remember making that stuff with my mom back when i was in elementary school. i almost forgot about the stuff!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

The cookies look real good! Were there enough left over for ice skating? I don't think they would have lasted long in this house!

Champsleeve said...

I was really afraid that I was ruining chocolate chip cookies by trying a whole wheat version! Our surprise probably made them taste even better!

There were some left over for skating, but not many!

-Dana