How Does Whole Grain Hold Up?: Whole-Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't do a lot of whole-grain baking, but the photo of Samantha Seneviratne's "Whole-Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies" in The Joys of Baking looked so alluring that I decided to give the recipe a try. The cookies are made with whole wheat flour and spelt flour.

To make the dough, you beat softened butter with sugar and dark brown sugar until fluffy; add eggs and vanilla; and add all of the dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, spelt flour, baking soda, kosher salt, baking powder, and bittersweet chocolate). I used a #20 scoop to portion out the cookies and I got 29 cookies from a batch. I chilled the dough for a few hours before baking.

My cookies ended up a bit larger than I would have liked (they were almost running into each other when I baked eight at a time on a half-sheet pan), but because I had portioned out the dough before chilling it, I didn't want to re-scoop the cookies into a smaller size. Also, my cookies did not look as nice as the ones in the cookbook photo. Mine looked a bit bumpy and rustic, while the ones in the cookbook look smooth and unblemished. I ate a freshly baked cookie and the edges were surprisingly crisp. 

But I didn't particularly care for this cookie. It definitely tasted like it was made from whole grain and the cookie was not chewy as I would have hoped. By day two, the crisp edges had softened up and the entire cookie was the same uninteresting texture. I mean, if you want to make a whole-grain cookie to feel virtuous, this one will fit the bill and it tastes perfectly fine. But if you're looking for an objectively awesome chocolate chip cookie, I would look elsewhere.

Recipe: "Whole-Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies" from The Joys of Baking by Samantha Seneviratne.