Whole Wheat Oatmeal Choc-o-Chocolate Chip Cookies with Kavita Patel, M.D.
I started cooking with whole wheat flour so i could work a little more nutrition into the baked goods I was feeding my family. I haven’t looked back. Along with cutting some of the cloying sweetness of some desserts, it adds a nutty note, not that my family is short on nutty. Heh.
When Dr. Kavita Patel joined me on my podcast, she wanted to make a treat for her family. These easy, delicious cookies, packed full of health-giving nutrients like chocolate (You thought I was going to say oatmeal like a smug git, didn’t you? But we all know what makes us really feel good, don’t we?) were just the ticket. For any age.
Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
(1/4 tsp ground nutmeg – this is optional)
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup light or dark brown sugar (firmly packed)
¼ cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups/1 12 ounce bag chocolate chips (I used a mix of milk and semi-sweet, but you do you)
¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
(raisins, dried cranberries or dried cherries can also be added, if you’re given to that sort of thing. )
How to:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg (if using). Set aside.
Using a hand or stand mixer (or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-like forearms), beat the butter with the two sugars until light and fluffy on medium. This takes longer than you think. Maybe longer than you want it to, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl once or twice in this time.
Add the egg and vanilla and turn mixer to low and begin to incorporate the egg. Once it’s stopped being slosh-y in the bowl, scrape down the sides again, then beat on medium until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture in two parts, blending until just combined. Add the oats and chocolate chips and mix until just incorporated.
If you have the willpower, refrigerate the cookies for at least an hour. Maybe bake off a batch while you wait. Then you can compare them to the refrigerated ones. It will be like a science experiment you can eat!
When ready to bake, drop the dough by overweight tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet, keeping about 2 inches between each, as they spread. If you want uniform-looking cookies, roll them each into equal-sized balls.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until the edges light brown, and the center no longer looks glossy.
Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy.
