Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk Cookies

My son is becoming more interested in cooking! 🙂 He actually made this cookie dough almost completely on his own.

This recipe is from Food 52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes that will Change the Way You Cook by Kristen Miglore. We modified the size of the cookies, used semi-sweet chocolate, and refrigerated the dough prior to baking. As they were best served warm from the oven, we baked each batch separately just prior to serving. We also served them with vanilla ice cream, which I would highly recommend!

The cookies had a deep toasty flavor with caramelization of the dark brown sugar on the edges. My husband was absolutely in love with the texture- a little bit crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Yum.

Yield: Makes about 48 cookies

• 3 cups (360g) whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup (230g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch (1.3cm) pieces
• 1 cup (220g) packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 8 oz (225g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch (6mm and 1.3cm) pieces (I used 10 oz semisweet chocolate chunks from Trader Joe’s)
• ice cream, for serving, optional

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Put the butter and sugars in 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.
3. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is combined.
5. Mix in the vanilla.
6. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and blend on low-speed until the flour is barely combined, about 30 seconds.
7. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
8. Add the chocolate all at once to the batter. Mix on low-speed until the chocolate is evenly combined.
9. Use a spatula to scrape down the the sides and bottom of the bowl.
10. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop mounds of dough about (1 1/2 tablespoons in size) and place on a plastic-wrap lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate 1 hour to overnight. (I kept some of the dough refrigerated for an entire week prior to baking with perfect results.)
11. Place two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees, preferably on convection.
12. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
13. Place the cookie dough on the prepared sheets, leaving 2 inches between them, about 8 to a sheet.
14. Bake for 16 minutes (one pan at a time) or 18 minutes (two pans at a time), rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are evenly dark brown.
15. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Note: These cookies are best eaten warm from the oven or later the same day. They will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies

The New York Times was stalking me with this recipe. I had already cut the recipe out of their Food section and bookmarked it on my computer- on separate occasions. But I also received multiple emails from The NYTimes and Bon Appétit recommending this “wildly popular” recipe. I finally made them for our Super Bowl Sunday dessert. Delicious!

This recipe was adapted from Alison Roman’s cookbook, Dining In: Highly Cookable Recipes, via The New York Times. I used Trader Joe’s Cultured Salted Butter from Brittany, France as well as Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chunks. I sprinkled the top of the cookies with Fleur de Sel prior to baking. They were big cookies- quite indulgent and chocolatey.

Yield: 20 to 24 cookies

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/255 grams total (2¼ sticks) salted butter, cold (room temperature if you’re using a handheld mixer), cut into ½-inch pieces (I used 250 grams of room temperature Trader Joe’s Cultured Salted butter from Brittany, France)
• ½ cup/101 grams granulated sugar
• ¼ cup/55 grams light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups/326 grams all-purpose flour
• 6 ounces/170 grams semi-sweet or bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped (not too fine; you want chunks, not little shards)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Demerara or Turbinado sugar, for rolling
• flaky sea salt, such as Fleur de Sel, for sprinkling

1. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, both sugars and vanilla on medium-high till it’s super light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes for a stand mixer; 6 to 8 for a hand mixer).
3. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and, with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, followed by the chocolate chunks, and mix just to blend. If necessary, knead the dough with your hands to make sure the flour is totally incorporated. At this point, the dough should be smooth and feel like Play-Doh with no pockets of flour.
4. Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic over so that it covers the dough to protect your hands from getting all sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a log shape; rolling it on the counter will help you smooth it out, but don’t worry about getting it perfect. (Don’t be afraid to make them compact. Shortbread is supposed to be dense. That’s part of why it’s so good.) You can also do this using parchment paper, if you prefer, but plastic wrap is easier when it comes to shaping the log. Each half should form a 6-inch log, 2 to 2¼ inches in diameter.
5. Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours. I positioned the dough logs upright in the refrigerator and chilled them overnight.
6. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, preferably on convection.
7. Brush the outside of the logs with the beaten egg and roll them in the Demerara or turbinado sugar (this is for those really delicious, crisp edges).
8. Using a serrated knife, carefully slice each log into ½-inch-thick rounds (if you hit a chocolate chunk, slowly saw back and forth through the chocolate). If the cookies break or fall apart, just press them back together — the dough is very forgiving.
9. Place them on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart (they won’t spread much). Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Note: The cookie dough can be made ahead and stored, tightly wrapped in plastic, up to 1 week in the refrigerator, or 1 month in the freezer. Cookies can be baked and stored in plastic wrap or an airtight container for 5 days.