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Culinary

What Are Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies?

A.E. Freeman
By A.E. Freeman
Updated May 17, 2024
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Whole grain chocolate chip cookies are usually made with whole wheat flour instead of refined white or all-purpose flour. Some recipes for whole grain chocolate chip cookies may contain other grains, such as oats, as well. The cookies may also have less sugar than standard chocolate chip cookies. As with regular chocolate chip cookies, whole grain cookies also contain butter and may contain eggs.

A cook may choose to use regular whole wheat flour to make a batch of whole grain chocolate chip cookies. Some cooks find that white whole wheat flour, which is made from a different variety of wheat, gives the cookies a lighter flavor and smoother texture than regular whole wheat flour. Another option is to use whole wheat pastry flour that is ground finer. Regular whole wheat flour has a strong taste that may be off-putting to some.

In addition to whole wheat flour, some types of whole grain chocolate chip cookies contain other types of grain. A cook may want to add rolled oats or oats that have been ground in a food processor to the cookies in place of some of the whole wheat flour. The oats give the cookies a nutty flavor and also add some texture.

Many recipes for whole grain chocolate chip cookies strive to be healthier than recipes for regular cookies. The recipe may call for less sugar than usual, although that is not always the case. Typically, chocolate chip cookie recipes call for both brown and white granulated sugars.

Other ingredients in whole grain chocolate chip cookies are also found in regular chocolate chip cookies. Butter plays an important role in flavoring the cookies and holding them together. Some recipes may call for chilled butter that is cut into the dough, while others call for softened butter that is creamed with the sugar.

Usually, the cookies contain eggs, though a few recipes omit the egg entirely. Some recipes may call for an egg replacer, such as starch or flax seeds. Other make no mention of replacing the egg. In some cases, a recipe may call for using a whole egg and an egg yolk.

The size of whole grain chocolate chip cookies can vary. Some cookies are small, while others use a lot of dough per scoop. A cook who doesn't want to portion out the dough into individual cookies may choose to spread it all into a skillet or baking dish and bake one large cookie that can be cut like brownies.

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Discussion Comments

By cloudel — On Jan 21, 2012

I buy oats and grind them thoroughly in my food chopper before using them in my cookie dough. This turns them to powder, and they work just like flour.

Before I add the oats to the bowl, I cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon. This helps make the whole mixture smoother. Brown sugar tends to be really lumpy, so mashing up all the bumps with the butter first is best.

I add the egg, and then I bring out the electric mixer. Once I have whipped all this together, I slowly add the oats. I find it best to stir them in a little at a time, because they seem to mix in better this way.

By lighth0se33 — On Jan 20, 2012

@shell4life – You should try using whole wheat pastry flour. I love this stuff, because I can't even tell the difference between the taste of cookies made with this and cookies made with regular white flour.

Knowing that my cookies are not as bad for me as they used to be makes me feel better about eating them. I have a group of friends who are struggling with their weight, and we have weekly support meetings. I feel perfectly fine serving these cookies at the meetings, and no one feels bad about eating them.

I use a reduced calorie margarine in the mix to help make them less fattening. I also cut out part of the sugar. I use chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips to add a little extra flavor, and they taste so great that everyone in the group wanted the recipe.

By seag47 — On Jan 19, 2012

I like using rolled oats in my chocolate chip cookies. Though I don't like straight oatmeal cookies, the kind that contain chocolate rather than raisins are actually quite good.

My kids even eat them, which says a lot. They won't eat their grandmother's oatmeal cookies, yet they barely seem to notice the oats in mine when there is chocolate present.

Okay, I cheat a little. I put more chocolate than the recipe calls for. However, I'm using semi-sweet chips, and since they contain more dark chocolate, they are better for my kids than milk chocolate chips.

By shell4life — On Jan 18, 2012

I have never made one giant whole grain cookie. I think it is easier to just scoop out spoonfuls of dough while it is raw than to struggle with chopping it up after it is solid and potentially tough.

I made chocolate chip cookies with regular whole grain flour one time. They turned out tough, and they were not sweet enough. I decided never to do that again.

However, I was at a friend's house while she was making cookies with white whole wheat flour, and though I had reservations about it, I tried one. They were much better than mine, so I decided to try it again with this type of flour.

They tasted more like regular chocolate chip cookies. They also didn't have that slight bitter taste that the other flour had given them.

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