Whole wheat chocolate chip cookies

A couple of days ago I was discussing Oscar injustices with the lovely @liliantrigo – it all started with this post – and we came to the conclusion that the year of 1994 was a disaster in the male categories: Ralph Fiennes, magnificent (for a change) in “Schindler’s List” lost to Tommy Lee Jones – just typing this makes me mad already. And Tom Hanks got the award for “Philadelphia” (what a bad movie, my goodness), beating Daniel Day Lewis for the amazing “In the Name of the Father”, Liam Neeson and Laurence Fishburne.

There’s nothing I can do regarding the people voting for the Oscars, but there is one injustice I can fix: I used to look the other way every time I saw a recipe calling for whole wheat flour – I know, I know, that’s awful. But these cookies have changed my mind – and now I want to make each and every recipe in this book.

Whole wheat chocolate chip cookies
from Good to the Grain

3 cups (420g) whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) cold unsalted butter, chopped into 1.25cm (½ in) pieces
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
224g (8oz) bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 6mm and 1.25cm (¼ and ½ in) pieces

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back into the bowl of grain or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.
Add the butter and sugars to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, mix just until the ingredients are blended, 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 at once and blend on low just until the flour is barely combined, about 30 seconds. Add the chocolate chunks at once and mix on low speed just until the chocolate is evenly combined – to avoid overmixing the dough, finish incorporating the ingredients with your hands.
Scoop mounds of dough about 3 tablespoons in size onto prepared baking sheets, 7.5cm (3 in) apart*. Bake the cookies for 12-16 minutes or until they are evenly dark brown. Transfer the cookies, still on the baking paper, to the counter to cool.
Cookies are best the day they are made but will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

*I halved the recipe above, used 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie (I don’t like very large cookies), placing them on the sheets 5cm (2in) apart and got 36 cookies

Makes 20