My Sunday Morning Cookie

A few weeks ago I was looking through one of my favorite food blogs, Orangette, when I came across these, Kim Boyce's Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies from her cookbook, Good to the Grain.

I had seen these a few months ago and put them at the back of my mind, but perhaps too far back because I had forgotten them completely until I stumbled upon them again. Silly me! If only I'd known. When I finally had my hands on the book, I was in love. The pictures are gorgeous, the recipes are drool-worthy, and Kim Boyce writes in a way that makes you believe that you too can create beautiful and delicious baked goods out of whole grains. My favorite part is that while Kim desires to create healthier recipes using different whole grains, her goal is to bring out the unique and full-bodied flavors of the different whole grains. She believes that the flavors of whole grains can actually enhance the flavor of pancakes, muffins, cookies, tarts, and breads. And after trying her Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies last week, I'm a believer.

Last Sunday I was on refreshment duty for church so I whipped up a batch of these Sunday morning. Now, just because these cookies are made with 100% whole wheat, it doesn't exactly make them healthy. Two sticks of butter and two cups of sugar later, these cookies are anything but fat free. But as I said, Kim is about flavor, not weight loss, and that's why I love her recipes. You might just have to share more of them. After mixing the dough up though, I was trying to figure out how to not share any of these. Besides the melt-in-your-mouth nutty flavor of the dough, the kosher salt sealed the deal. Why didn't I think of that before? Big chunks of salt that burst in your mouth intensifying the salty/sweet dynamic like no other cookie I've made. Kim, that was brilliant! I couldn't keep my fingers out of the dough while I was baking up these cookies. But really, can you blame me?

See the glittery salt?

I, like Orangette, used white whole wheat flour because that's what I had in my pantry, but I would love to try these with a traditional whole wheat. And I clearly used chocolate chips instead of the suggested chopped chocolate. I'm planning on making another batch this Sunday for some friends and my pastor who missed out last week after the swarming locusts that are our youth group kids (and my husband). Plus, I could eat another one or two. The final result is a big, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, beautifully crack-topped cookie.

For those of you wondering if your picky children or husbands will reject these whole wheat cookies, stop. After my husband took a bite of one of these, he said, "Is this supposed to taste different than a regular cookie?" I just smiled. I think they do taste different, more flavorful and everything I would want in a cookie, but not the dense brick that most people associate with 100% whole wheat. I can't wait to get my fingers on more dough tomorrow and my hands on more unique flours like quinoa, spelt, and teff so I can try more of these Good to the Grain recipes.