Perfect Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

UPDATE 6/14:  I subbed coconut oil for the butter, and made adjustments to amounts.

I've been on a quest since changing to a healthier lifestyle for a good chocolate chip cookie.  For those of you who use whole wheat flour, you'll know that it doesn't turn out the same results as all purpose flour does.  Whole wheat flour still contains the bran and germ so it's heavier and doesn't always lend itself well to light and fluffy results.  So my cookies were always flat.  I typically add a cup or two of a different grain to my whole wheat bread and a few weeks ago I tried adding oatmeal and was shocked at how moist and fluffy the bread turned out!

In my search for a better version of whole wheat cookies I came across a recipe on Pinterest. The picture showed perfectly fluffy cookies. It has equal portions of oatmeal and whole wheat flour so I guess technically it's an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. But next time I make them I am going to measure out the oatmeal and then grind it for oat flour.  My theory is that the oatmeal has a higher % of gluten thereby giving the cookies the needed structure.  And the higher moisture content keeps them moist and fluffy.  The dough was a little on the "gooey" side and I was tempted to add more flour.  I'm so glad I didn't! They came out perfectly!

One change I made was to substitute half the butter for white bean puree.  Bean puree is similar in consistency to creamed butter, but without all the fat.  You shouldn't substitute puree for all the butter, because some fat is needed or the result will be crumbly and dry.  No good for cookies!  Next time I'm going to try subbing coconut oil for the butter half and see how that turns out.

The other change I made was using Sucanat for the white and brown sugars.  Sucanat is very minimally processed so it still contains lots of good vitamins and minerals.  So all-in-all these cookies are pretty healthy but they don't taste like it.  I'm loving this!

3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup white bean puree
1 cup ground sucanat
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups rolled oats, ground to flour
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Cream coconut oil and bean puree for 2 minutes.  Add sucanat.  Beat in eggs and extract.

Stir in dry ingredients and then chocolate chips.

Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool on rack.

Healthier Sugar Cookies

These were surprisingly delicious!!  I've tried healthy versions before and wasn't impressed.  As usual, I blended my sucanat in my MagicBullet.  Otherwise it doesn't "melt" and is grainy.  I didn't have cake flour so I put 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch in a 1/2 cup measure then added white flour to fill, then added the remaining 1/4 cup white flour.  This dough is VERY sticky.  I hesitated in adding more flour to the mix as I didn't want the cookies to come out hard.  But you will need to keep sprinkling flour on your work surface and the dough to keep from sticking.  The recipe states using small cookie cutters.  I wasn't sure if that was just to get a count for yield or if it would effect baking time.  I used all sizes and baked for 6 minutes.  They are so soft and have a good chew and big crumb.  But they aren't crumbly.  I don't know if you need to spray the pan, but with how sticky the dough was, I didn't want to risk it.  I am very impressed and will use this recipe again!  I totally ignored the "healthy" frosting idea and used canned frosting.  I do have a recipe for Sucanat Frosting, but I didn't want to bother with it today.  The cookies are sprinkled with colored sugar for heavens sake!  Any little changes I can make though is good for me.


Adapted from: EatingWell

3/4 cup soft whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup unsifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sucanat
2 tbsp oil
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Set a rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat to 350°F.  Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray.

Whisk whole-wheat flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.  Cook, swirling the pan, until the butter turns a nutty brown, about 1 minute, and pour into a mixing bowl.  Add sucanat and oil; beat with an electric mixer until smooth.  Mix in egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.  Divide the dough in half and press each piece into a disk.

Working with one disk at a time, roll dough on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch.  Cut out cookies with small (about 2- to 2 1/2-inch) cookie cutters.  Place the cookies about 1/2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the cookies in the upper third of the oven, 1 sheet at a time, until slightly golden on the edges, 5 to 7 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare the dough through Step 3; wrap well and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. (If frozen, return to room temperature before rolling out.) Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.

"Healthier" No Bake Cookies

2 cups sucanat
½ cup almond or rice milk
1/3 cup butter
¼ tsp salt
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups regular oats

Mix sucanat, milk, butter and salt in large saucepan over medium heat.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add peanut butter, cocoa and vanilla.  Mix well.  Stir in oats.

Drop by tablespoonfuls (I use my 2 tbsp scoop) onto wax paper and allow to cool until firm.

A Different Chocolate Chip Cookie

My husband found this website on StumbleUpon.  He found the Jacques Torres cookie recipe, but I didn't have bread or cake flour.  She said, "Now, I have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I swear by. I love it, I think it is incredible, and I haven’t changed my mind about that. However, as much as it pains me to say it, these chocolate chip cookies by Jacques Torres are absolutely, without a doubt, the best chocolate chip cookies that I have ever made or tasted in my entire life."  Since I didn't have the needed ingredients, I thought I would try her "swear by" recipe.  They are fantastic!  The outside has a nice crunch but they are soft and gooey in the middle.  I'm guessing that if you made them smaller, they wouldn't turn out the same.  So make them big and enjoy the goodness!!

Compliments of Crepes of Wrath

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (I didn't have chunks so I used chips.  But Sydney says that the chunks is what makes these cookies so great.  After trying them, I can see why.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease or line your cookie sheets.  (I did neither and they came off just fine.)

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together and set aside.

Mix the sugars and melted butter until thoroughly mixed.  Then add egg, yolk and vanilla and mix until creamy.  Add the sifted ingredients and mix until just blended – don’t over beat!  Stir in chocolate chunks by hand.

Drop dough a bit less than 1/4 cup (I used my 3 tbsp scoop) at a time on cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies.  Mine took 17 minutes.

Leave them on the cookie sheet to cool a bit.  This is important!  They will fall apart if you move them too soon.  Once they cool a few minutes, remove the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Makes 10-12 cookies, depending on their size.  Mine made 21.

Oatmeal Cookies

I love this recipe! (Thanks mom!) I've made these cinnamon chips and they were really good. It's a nice flavor and not overpowering. But the cookie itself is the winner!! These cookies have a nice "crust" and are soft and chewy inside. Just how I love them! They are simple to make, just don't over bake! They will be hard and crunchy. Keep them in an airtight container or ziplock bag.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

¾ cup butter
1 cup sucanat
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup flour
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup raisins, cinnamon chips, or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix butter, sucanat, honey, egg and vanilla; beat on medium-high speed about 3 minutes until fluffy. Add salt and baking soda; mix well. Add flour and oatmeal and mix until combined. Stir in raisins.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Don't over bake! Tops will be firm while the inside will feel soft. Cool on cookie sheet about 1 minute then transfer to cooling rack.

Picture Perfect Ginger Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

2¼ cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg white
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar. Beat until smooth, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and molasses until combined.

In medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Add flour mixture to molasses mixture and mix until smooth. Refrigerate for about an hour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Dip balls into ¼ cup sugar and place 1½-inches apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops have puffed up and cracked. Do not overcook! Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are delicious! I've been craving these cookies for a while now and finally found a recipe that I love! After I mixed the batter, I split it and added 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips to one half and 1 cup of walnuts to the other (for my non-chocolate self). This isn't a difficult recipe, so enjoy!

Makes about 6 dozen cookies

2½ cups canned pumpkin
2 cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup applesauce
2 eggs
4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp milk
2 tbsp vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, applesauce and eggs. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by two tablespoonfuls on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Ranger Cookies

I did a bit of research on these cookies and noticed that most have crushed corn flakes or rice crispies in them. I wasn't that brave. So I guess this is just a glorified oatmeal raisin cookie... But hey, it's something different. And in this case, different is good. :)

½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1¼ cup flour
1 cup quick oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375°. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with electric mixer on high about 30 seconds. Add sugars, baking powder and soda; mix well. Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour. Stir in oats, coconut and raisins.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute then transfer to cooling rack.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

I got a Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook today for Mother's Day. These cookies looked really good, so I had to try them! It is an interesting combination of gingersnaps and chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Think chocolate covered ginger... They are delicious! I didn't have fresh ginger, but they turned out great. I think that if I did add the ginger, it would have given the cookies a better flavor and taken to a whole new level. They are slightly crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. Just how I love them! Enjoy!

Makes 2 dozen

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate (I just used chocolate chips)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
½ cup dark-brown sugar, packed
½ cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons hot water
¼ cup granulated sugar

Chop chocolate into ¼-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap. Refrigerate until firm (2 hours or more).

Heat oven to 325°. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Roll dough into 1½-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.