I’m a big fan of always having something sweet on-hand in the house, at work, in the car, in your bag, while waiting in line, … you get the picture. Needless to say, it’s hard to beat the delicious simplicity of a freshly-baked, golden-brown chocolate chip cookie. Even better, what about one that stays soft and chewy after it cools? Better yet, what about one that has a subtle nutty flavour?

You’ll be happy to know the elusive cookie I am describing exists! It also happens to be one of the easiest chocolate chip cookie recipes I’ve ever tried. Something that has often held me back when baking is bringing my eggs and butter to room temperature (for most recipes, this is highly recommended and almost always required!). Fortunately, this magical Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe uses cold butter – straight out of the fridge! And it turns out great!

Did I mention this recipe also uses whole wheat flour? It makes eating a chocolate chip cookie feel slightly better for you, if that’s something that holds you back from indulging.

Like most recipes, feel free to make this one your own! After baking these cookies a couple of times, I started experimenting by adding different spices: a few dashes cinnamon, a sprinkle of nutmeg, a heaping teaspoon of cardamom… whatever you prefer! In my books, you can never go wrong by adding cardamom.

I stumbled across this recipe through one of the food blogs I follow. I plan to explore more of Baking Society’s recipes, especially if they all turn out as delightful as this one! It makes sense why it’s referred to as The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Hold on to your healthy hats, ‘cause here we go!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe via Baking Society

Yield: about 22 large cookies

Ingredients:

Dry

• 3 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 ½ tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsps kosher salt

Wet

• 1 cup / 2 sticks / 8 ounces cold unsalted butter cut into chunks
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsps pure vanilla extract (plus a dash more if you’re feeling saucy)
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into ½ inch pieces (or 1 heaping cup of semisweet chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Adjust oven racks to be in the upper and lower third of the oven. Preheat to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. You will likely have leftover bits of grain in the sieve – pour this back into the bowl!
3. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or use a handheld mixer with regular beater attachment). With the mixer on low speed, mix just until the butter starts to come together – about 30 seconds.
4. Add the sugars to the butter and mix until blended – about 1.5 to 2 minutes.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until each is combined.
6. Mix in the vanilla.
7. Add all of the the dry mixture to the bowl. Mix on low speed until the flour is barely combined – about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate any leftover flour.
8. Add all of the chocolate (chips or chunks) the batter. Mix on low speed until the chocolate is evenly combined. My stand mixer definitely struggles at this step. If you’re not confident your mixer has enough power, then transfer the batter to a work surface and mix in the chocolate with your hands.
9. Using an ice-cream scoop, scoop mounds of dough roughly 3 tablespoons in size (a bit bigger than a golf ball) onto the baking sheet, leaving 3 or so inches between them. For a standard cookie sheet, this will be about six to a sheet. For the bigger, half-sheet size, I try and squeeze 10-12 on so I can get an entire batch baked in one go. If you try this approach, expect them to expand and come together during baking.
10. Bake the cookies for 16 to 20 minutes (mine were in for about the full 20), rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are evenly dark brown.
11. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool. Repeat steps 9 to 11 with any remaining dough.
12. You’ve worked hard at this, so reward yourself with a warm, gooey, melty cookie. The original recipe says they’ll keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days, but mine were still tasty after 4 days.