At Last

Theres a sign hanging at a local bakery...maybe you've seen this quote before..."a balanced diet is a cookie in each hand". If you know me, you'd know that I could bake cookies everyday. Rolled cookies are too much of a time investment with little ones around but drop and bar cookies are totally doable. I am especially fond of making a batch and freezing the rest for later. This technique has come in quite handy, as I always have something I can whip up when we have a visitor. I have been waiting for several months to try Kim Boyce's Wholewheat Chocolate Chip Cookies. I first saw the recipe on Orangette's blog, did a quick search online, and saw so many raving reviews! The recipe calls for dark brown sugar, something I don't normally have in stock, and since I had doubts in a 100% WW cookie (I thought it might taste like cardboard), I waited until I had the right kind of sugar.

Wholewheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Adapted from Orangette and originally by Kim Boyce)

Ingredients:
3 C white wholewheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 C unsalted butter (either softened or chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 C lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
~8 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4 or 1/2 inch pieces (note: I used 1/2 of a bar of Trader Joe's pound plus 72% dark chocolate (17.6 oz), which is a little more than 8 oz)

In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon) and set aside. Using a stand mixer, cream butter with sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Incorporate eggs, 1 at a time. Then add in flour mixture until combined. Last stir in chocolate pieces until evenly distributed.

Scoop the dough and form into a ball shape with your hands. Place dough balls on a cookie sheet to chill in fridge. Chill for at least an hour before baking. I found the texture of the cookies to be best when baked after they've been frozen. Freezing the dough helps the cookies to be thicker. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cookies will spread a bit so place dough balls 2 to 3 inches apart and bake until the tops are evenly browned (12-20 minutes, depending on how big your cookies are). Let cookies cool on a wire rack.

Note: I keep forgetting to take a picture and the cookies don't last long enough to take a picture the next day! I shared these with several people and they have been the most well received cookie I've made to date. No one even suspects that they are made with WW flour! Don't get me wrong though, these are in no way a diet cookie!

Update (7/7): a picture from the last batch of frozen dough 