Chocolate

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

by:
January  9, 2014
4
13 Ratings
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Makes about 20
Author Notes

These cookies are the size of your palm, with thick, chewy edges, soft centers–and big chocolate chunks. It's surprising just how delicious the whole-wheat version of an old classic is. Unlike many of the recipes in Good to the Grain, this cookie is made with 100 percent 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. —Kim Boyce

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Dry mix
  • Parchment for baking sheets
  • 3 cups whole-wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • Wet mix
  • 8 ounces (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4- and 1/2-inch pieces
Directions
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Scoop mounds of dough about 3 tablespoons in size onto the baking sheet, leaving 3 inches between them, or about 6 to a sheet.
  6. 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. 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.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Eloise Ryaby
    Eloise Ryaby
  • Emily S.
    Emily S.
  • Änneken
    Änneken
  • Bronwyn
    Bronwyn
  • durun99
    durun99

25 Reviews

NorthernBites May 27, 2021
Followed the recipe as written, just cut in half. The cookies turned out nicely: crackly tops, evenly browned bottoms, with the perfect crunch on the outer edge & chew in the center. I'd make these again.
 
mika October 13, 2020
I had to throw out the whole batch! Excruciatingly sweet! I used some local, hand milled wheat flour which you could not even taste - such a waste.
 
AdriRP July 8, 2020
Too sweet!!! After a bite I need to take a breath to assimilate all the sweetness. It also has a lot of spread due to the sugar. If you want to use this recipe my suggestion is: cut almost 1/3 of the sugar and double the chocolate. But, to be fair, the salt and sweet contrast on the recipe is very pleasant.
 
Eloise R. April 20, 2020
Easily one of the best chocolate chip cookies ever - I have no idea what the issues were with other peoples cookies, but mine turned out delicious and perfect - I reduced the bake time to 12 - 13 minutes, as my oven can be quit hot and I like them nearly raw in the center. Unbelievable, thank you!
 
Emily S. June 13, 2019
This is a great recipe. SO good. I recommend reducing the baking time to about 12-14 minutes. Any longer, and they can be too dry. Also, I always use a whole 10-oz. bag of bittersweet chocolate chips (62%), plus 3/4 c. of chopped nuts.
 
Änneken June 7, 2019
These turned out crunchy (which I don't like) and I have no idea why. The flavor was great though.
 
Douglas B. December 19, 2017
WOW ! soooooo GoooooooD
I made 1/2 a batch and added desecrated coconut & bobs GF flour
a new food52 fave for me
 
these P. May 14, 2018
How was the coconut desecrated?? I'm very curious.
 
Elizabeth B. April 17, 2020
Personally, I only use consecrated coconut. The flavor is so pure. ;). (couldn't resist)
 
freshbread March 28, 2017
To quote Dee, who may have put it best, "these cookies are crazy good!" It's hard to overstate their tastiness. The recipe appealed to me, in part, because it doesn't require the 24-48 hour dough refrigeration that I've found required by past CCC recipes I've enjoyed. But also, it promised a new and unexpected use for my bag of sprouted wheat flour.

Two notes: I refrigerated the dough for 20 minutes before baking, and they spread-out just the right amount. And I cut the recipe in half, without trouble.

Also! If you make them, you will be happy to know that you can return them to their original, fresh-from-the-oven glory by popping in the toaster oven, wrapped in foil, for 5 minutes on 275... which is what I've been doing for the last several nights. It has been one of the best things about this week. :)
 
MilletteofSd December 8, 2022
Terrific post, love all your notes.
 
macfadden March 23, 2017
I was very suspicious of using cold butter and only combining, rather than creaming it, with the sugar, but followed the instructions. The batter seemed too dry, but again I just went with it, and was pleasantly surprised. The cookies were really very good. My only modification was to leave the dough in the fridge overnight, which I find improves cookies in general and whole wheat ones in particular. I baked them for the shorter recommended time, and once cooled (which I recommend letting them do) they were pleasingly chewy in the middle with a crisp edge.
 
macfadden August 12, 2017
I made these again yesterday and they were even better. I didn't bother letting them rest overnight in the fridge, and only baked them for about 13 minutes. This resulted in a much chewier cookie. Ovens vary and mine may run a little fast, but the moral of the story is that if you want them to be really chewy, just take them out of the oven a little sooner and let them cool completely. I think I may prefer these to my usual white flour recipe!
 
Dee November 2, 2016
These cookies are crazy good! Because the recipe raved about the taste of the flour coming through, I used a locally grown, stone-ground wheat flour. However, the cookies spread like crazy to cover nearly the whole baking sheet. I don't know what was wrong. I would like to figure out this problem before I make them again. Is it possible that the course grind of the flour caused this? Less surface area to absorb liquid?
 
Bronwyn March 23, 2015
I made these twice and do wanted to love them, but couldn't. The cookies did not flatten out but stayed as lumps and were rather hard dry. I checked the recipe and made them again. Same result. I must be doing something wrong bit can't fig out what... Sad.
 
durun99 November 13, 2014
These have supplanted our long-time favorite chocolate chip cookies. Having made them numerous times, here are a few observations, some based on the comments below. (1) They are not too large. If you make them smaller, you are missing out on one of the defining characteristics of these incredible cookies: crisp edges and chewy middles. (2) You may be tempted to substitute packaged chips for handmade chunks (as I have done in a pinch). Resist the temptation. Packaged chips have an added ingredient to help them hold their shape, which defeats one of the purposes of hand cutting the chocolate: the gooey pools of goodness you get if you eat them warm, as Ms. Boyce suggests. Also, hand cutting produces tiny shards of chocolate that get dispersed throughout the dough if you mix as instructed in step 4. (3) I do not find these too wheaty, as one person comments, but I use King Arthur white whole wheat flour (3 cups = 12 ounces for people using a scale), which has a more subtle flavor than traditional whole wheat flour.
 
durun99 October 17, 2018
We still love these cookies, but we have since returned to our original favorite, Katherine Redford's Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are the holy grail in my family's collective opinion.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1994/07/13/stirring-tales/cb8ad126-b32b-4beb-9eff-a443b1437cc3/?utm_term=.f4eecd6a6195
 
Goldie February 6, 2014
I love these cookies and they are now our family's go-to cookie recipe. Delicious, nutty and totally more-ish. I make them smaller than she recommends but apart from that, I totally follow the recipe. I have some in the oven right now!
 
Donna S. January 31, 2014
any nutritional info available?
 
Stephanie G. January 30, 2014
These are the only chocolate chip cookies I make since buying this book. I think they taste divine.
 
jedi January 28, 2014
I really didn't like these. I liked the concept, but, the whole wheat (used King Arthur) overpowered any of the "dessert" aspect. Somehow the sweetness just didn't come through for me, and there was a bad taste at the back end. I don't mind using some whole wheat flour in recipes, but the white flour does help the balance.
 
ONaturelle January 25, 2014
crcmen; cut the cooking time to between 14 - 15 minutes if you're using coconut oil.
 
crcmen January 24, 2014
Wow…I'll have to try it your way!
 
ONaturelle January 24, 2014
I'm calling this concept a mega-winner. Because we're watching carbs, I immediately cut the sugar. I omitted the white sugar completely, instead adding JUST 1/1/4 cups of dark brown sugar. I also substituted coconut oil for the butter. I used Venezuelan 70% couverture pastilles. The result was startling. I've never made a cookie with whole wheat flour. I'm so chuffed; I can't fathom anything better!
 
crcmen January 23, 2014
I found these cookies had very little flavor, were a bit too greasy and are just too large.