Can I make this recipe in a stand mixer?

Yes! Use the paddle attachment on low speed, and make sure to pause and scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times to ensure even mixing. Especially large mixers can sometimes trap pockets of flour at the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer, so be sure to check that it is mixed thoroughly.

Do I have to use whole wheat flour?

If you'd like to use all purpose flour, we recommend making our melted butter chocolate chip cookies , which were designed to use AP flour instead of whole wheat! If you swap all purpose flour for the whole wheat flour in this recipe, the texture may change quite a bit.

Can I use milk chocolate chips?

I will be honest: We tested this recipe with milk chocolate chips, and we kind of hated it. The milk chocolate just doesn't work as well with the earthiness of whole wheat flour - the cookies felt very one-note and not as much like a fun treat or dessert. With so much whole wheat flour in this dough, you really need the contrast of a bright, bitter chocolate: We recommend using at least a semi-sweet chocolate chip variety, but encourage you to opt for a bittersweet or dark chocolate option if you can. That said, if you prefer milk chocolate to dark chocolate, follow your own taste buds! Just know that it will make a pretty significant difference in the final flavor.

Can I use 100% whole wheat flour?

We tested a 100% whole wheat version of these cookies with several different brands of whole wheat flour, but each brand performed quite differently when it came to spread, texture, and height. Our testers liked the 100% whole wheat versions of cookies made with King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour (both regular and organic), Wegmans store brand whole wheat flour, and Kroger store brand whole wheat flour. If you're using one of those brands, you can use 100% whole wheat here without affecting the final texture or shape of the cookies too much (although the whole wheat flavor will be stronger, so if you don't want a super in-your-face whole wheat flavor, we recommend just following this recipe as written). If you're using another brand of whole wheat flour, we recommend making this recipe as written the first time, and increasing the amount of whole wheat flour slowly once you're comfortable with the dough.

What brand of whole wheat flour should I use?

We test all of our recipes with - and highly recommend - King Arthur Flours . They are high quality, have great flavor, and are remarkably consistent from bag to bag. King Arthur Regular Whole Wheat flour or Organic Whole Wheat Flour will yield the best results in this recipe. Both are milled from hard red wheat and deliver rich, complex flavor without feeling dusty or stale. We have also tested this recipe with store brand flours from Wegmans and Kroger with good results. We did test this recipe with Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat flour, although that flour produced the densest cookies of the bunch. We have not tested this recipe with locally milled whole wheat flours, King Arthur's Golden Wheat flour (which is milled from a hard white spring wheat, as opposed to a hard red wheat), or any whole wheat pastry flour. Whole wheat flours can vary quite a bit: If you use a different brand, it may require small adjustments!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Description

Whole wheat flour brings a flavorful twist to these classic chocolate chip cookies!

Ingredients

Scale

113 grams unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (1 stick)
130 grams white granulated sugar (⅔ cup)
150 grams brown sugar (¾ packed cup)
6 grams vanilla extract (1 ½ teaspoons)
2 eggs
220 grams whole wheat flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
60 grams all purpose flour (about ½ cup)
4 grams kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
5 grams baking soda (1 teaspoon)
340 grams semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

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Instructions

Use an electric mixer to cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together for 3-5 minutes, until the mixture is fluffy. We used an electric hand mixer in the photos above; you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Add vanilla and eggs; mix again to combine.
Add whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, kosher salt, and baking soda to the bowl; stir until just combined.
Stir chocolate chips into the cookie dough (optional: reserve a handful of chocolate chips to top the cookies before baking). We recommend switching to a spatula here and mixing the chocolate chips in by hand for more even distribution!
Chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour. The wheat flour softens as it absorbs moisture from the dough, yielding a softer cookie with more developed flavor. Don’t skip this step!
Heat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a 3-Tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out the dough; place each dough ball 1 inch apart on your prepared baking sheet. Optional: Roll each cookie dough ball lightly between clean hands to smooth the edges, then gently press a few reserved chocolate chips into the top of each cookie. Note: This recipe makes quite a few cookies; you will likely need to work in batches.
Bake cookies at 375° F for 11-13 minutes, until they are very lightly browned around the edges. Remove cookies from oven and let cool right on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling. Cookies may look a bit puffy right out of the oven, but the centers will sink down as they cool to form a beautiful, chewy texture.
Serve immediately or store cooled cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days

Notes

Please use a kitchen scale. Measuring by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable. For best results, use a kitchen scale and follow the gram measurements provided above. If you don't have a kitchen scale, measure flour with the scoop-and-level method for best results.

The brand of whole wheat flour matters a LOT here. We tested this recipe with several brands; each one behaved a bit differently. The all purpose flour in this recipe helps keep the dough as consistent as possible across whole wheat flour brands, although we always recommend King Arthur Flours for baking. This recipe works best with fresh, high quality wheat flour: It should smell nutty and slightly sweet straight out of the bag, but not musty.

Substitutions. Adjust the exact amount of chocolate chips to your liking. Swap some or all of the chocolate chips for additional chocolate (white chocolate chips, chopped baking chocolate), nuts (pecans, pistachios, walnuts, peanuts), or M&Ms. Add a pinch of flakey sea salt to these cookies just after baking if you like.