How to Make Perfect Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of the best ways to introduce your family to eating more whole wheat is to start with dessert.  Everyone loves a cookie (we all know that I especially love cookies) and chances are when you offer your 5 year old, or your 30 year old husband,  a delicious whole wheat cookie he will gobble it up, and ask for more.   

The only problem is sometime whole wheat cookies can be dry and heavy.  Sueann Allen, from Suzie’s Sweet Wheat, is here today to teach us how to make wonderful light and gooey whole wheat chocolate chip cookies.  

Take it away Sueann.  

Before you begin making cookies with whole wheat flour, there are a few items that I need to address to increase your chance of success.

Three Tricks to Making Whole Wheat Cookies

      1.     ALWAYS use hard white wheat for my desserts. Hard white wheat has a more subtle flavor than hard red wheat and has a much nicer texture.  Many people believe that hard red wheat is more nutritious than hard white wheat, but actually, hard white wheat is slightly more nutritious, making it my very favorite wheat to use in baking.

      2.     Always use either freshly ground whole wheat flour that was ground on the finest setting, or sift your previously-ground flour, or your cookies will be too dry and puffy. If your cookies seem too dry, you may need to decrease the flour by a couple of tablespoons. If they seem too moist, increase the flour by a couple of tablespoons. Try adding the flour amount in a recipe minus 1⁄2 C of flour and then work your way up by tablespoon until you get the exact right consistency. You may want to bake one sample cookie and then bake the rest.

Baking cookies with whole wheat can be a little more difficult than white flour because, if not done correctly, they can be heavier...but when you get it down just right...no one can tell there is wheat in them!

      3.      The key to soft cookies is to bake them just until they are soft and then let them cool on the cookie sheet or baking stone...they will bake while they cool. Do not transfer them until they have cooled for at least 15 minutes.

To Convert Your Cookie Recipe to Whole Wheat

If you have recipes of your own that you would like to convert to whole wheat, use these guidelines:

When converting white flour to whole wheat flour:

o   For every 1 cup of white flour the recipe calls for use 1 cup minus 2 T whole wheat.

o   I generally use, or 3/4 C plus 2 T whole wheat flour in place of 1 cup white flour. 

o   Unless it is freshly ground and then I can usually substitute straight across.

o   If you are using soft white wheat flour it can be substituted straight across.

This chocolate chip cookie recipe is the very best recipe for whole wheat chocolate chip cookies. They are soft, gooey, and in a word, amazing. Not one person who has ever eaten them has known they are whole wheat. I’ve actually had many people ask for the recipe, and they are surprised to find out that they are, in fact, whole wheat. I have one friend who adamantly protests against eating whole wheat. She hates whole wheat in all forms and refuses to eat anything whose ingredient list contains “whole wheat”. When she ate these cookies, she did not believe for one second that they were whole wheat. She loved them. So, if you are looking for a fabulous whole wheat chocolate chip cookie that doesn’t scream “whole wheat!” these are the cookies for you!

Grandma Pattyʼs Gooey Whole Wheat

Chocolate Chip Cookies

For a printable recipe

3 1⁄2 C whole wheat flour (make sure it is sifted or freshly and finely ground)

3⁄4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 C butter, softened

1 C packed brown sugar

3⁄4 C white sugar

1 T vanilla extract

2 eggs

11⁄2 C semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugars and butter together. Add vanilla extract and eggs.

Beat for three minutes. Mix flour, baking soda and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by heaping teaspoonful’s onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cool before transferring.

Makes 3-4 dozen, depending on the size of the cookies.

The trick is to take them out when they are just barely solid and let them sit on the hot cookie sheet...this will cook them just a little longer. YUM!!!!

Sueann Allen is an average American mom, just trying to make it from day to day with four small children. Due to health concerns, she had to get her children on a high-fiber diet.  She began experimenting with wheat about three years ago and has completely removed white flour from her family’s diet.  Her children are no longer on medicine and my whole family is living a happier, healthier lifestyle.  You can read more about Sueann on her blog:  Suzie’s Sweet Wheat. You can check out her book which contain 250 whole wheat recipes:  Suzie’s Sweet Wheat

Whole Wheat Chocolate Éclair Dessert

This week I will be attending Shelf Reliance Convention.  I’m so excited to interact with other consultants, attend awesome workshops and find out what new products will be launched. To find out more about being a consultant go here.    

While I am gone I have asked Sueann from Suzie’s Sweet Wheat to share some of her favorite recipes.   

As we were talking about what she wanted to share with you she brought up this chocolate eclair dessert.  Oh be still my heart.  Eclair dessert is one of my all-time favorite foods ever!  I have never tried it with wheat flour but Sueann told me that when done right you can’t even tell there is whole wheat in it.  That is my kind of dessert.  

Here is Sueann.

 

This recipe is a guaranteed success for many reasons. It is easy, made with ingredients commonly found at home. I’ve NEVER not had it turn out...just follow these directions and you can’t go wrong. It makes an entire cookie sheet full of dessert, so you can serve many people with just one dessert. 

It has never failed to create a stir at social gatherings. Every single time I’ve made it, I’ve had many requests for the recipe. It has a whole wheat pastry crust, but the whole wheat is completely undetectable. When I mention that it is whole wheat, people are shocked! I’ve even auctioned it off for $45 dollars at an auction for Boy Scouts. This is a winner recipe through and through. If you want to make the dessert that gets the whole party talking’ this is the one to make!

Before you begin making pastries with whole wheat flour, there are a few items that I need to address to increase your chance of success.

      

      1.     I ALWAYS use hard white wheat for my desserts.

Hard white wheat has a more subtle flavor than hard red wheat and has a much nicer texture. Many people believe that hard red wheat is more nutritious than hard white wheat, but actually, hard white wheat is slightly more nutritious, making it my very favorite wheat to use in baking.

      2.      Always use either freshly ground whole wheat flour that was ground on the finest setting, or sift your previously-ground flour, or your pastries will be too dry. Start with the amount of flour mentioned in the recipe and then decrease it by two tablespoons.

If your pastries seem too flat, you may need to increase the flour by a couple of tablespoons.

If they seem too dry, decrease the flour by one or two tablespoons.

If you are making cream puffs or eclairs, try baking just one to determine if you want to add another 1-2 T of flour.

I’ve made whole wheat eclairs, eclair desserts and cream puffs and if you get your measurements right; no one can tell there is wheat in them!

  

            If you have recipes of your own that you would like to convert to whole wheat, use these guidelines: When converting white to wheat...1 cup minus 2 T (tablespoons) is the conversion I generally use, or 3/4 C plus 2 T, unless it is freshly ground and then I can usually substitute straight across. If you are using soft white wheat it can be substituted straight across.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Eclair Dessert

printable recipe

1 C water

1⁄2 C butter

3⁄4 C + 2 T sifted whole wheat flour (sift 2 times)

4 eggs

About an hour before making this dessert, get the cream cheese out and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour to soften. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring water and butter to a boil in a sauce pan. Remove from heat and add whole wheat flour and stir until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Spoon mixture onto a greased cookie sheet and spread very thin and evenly throughout the surface of the cookie sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes, watching carefully, until crust is golden brown. Cool.

Mix the following:

8 oz. cream cheese (beat this until smooth then add the rest)

2 small (3.4 oz.)pkgs. instant vanilla pudding

3 C cold milk

Beat cream cheese/pudding mixture until the mixture thickens (about 2 minutes) and spread over cooled pastry crust.

Top with: 12 oz. whipped topping chocolate syrup (drizzle over the whole surface...over the whipped topping.) Refrigerate this dessert until ready to eat.

Note: If you want the crust slightly puffier, add 1-2 more T of sifted or freshly-ground whole wheat flour.

Sueann is an average American mom, just trying to make it from day to day with four small children. Due to health concerns, she had to get her children on a high-fiber diet.  She began experimenting with wheat about three years ago and has completely removed white flour from her family’s diet.  Her children are no longer on medicine and my whole family is living a happier, healthier lifestyle.  You can read more about Sueann on her blog:  Suzie’s Sweet Wheat. You can check out her book which contain 250 whole wheat recipes:  Suzie’s Sweet Wheat

Why I Store A Variety of Whole Grains

 photo source:  Nick Saltmarsh

For most of us wheat is the backbone of our food storage. It is plentiful, relatively inexpensive, and familiar.   Yet there are many reasons why storing a variety of whole grains might be a better idea.   Here is why I have decided to store a variety of whole grains including wheat. 

4 Reasons I Store a Variety of Grains In My Food Storage

1.  Ease of Cooking

photo source: orphanjones

Wheat is a little bit labor intensive to prepare.  Generally it is ground to flour and then made into bread.  All of which require a lot of energy and effort.  Other grains can be cooked quickly with little water and no specialized equipment.

Quinoa cooks a lot like rice. All you need is hot water and 15 minutes. 

Amaranth can be popped (like pop corn) and ready to eat in under 5 minutes.

Millet takes 20 minutes to cook. 

2.  Health Benefits

Photo source:  Pink Sherbet Photography

The health benefits of eating whole grains is well documented including:

·         stroke risk reduced 30-36%

·         type 2 diabetes risk reduced 21-30%

·         heart disease risk reduced 25-28%

·         better weight maintenance

Other benefits indicated by recent studies include:

·         reduced risk of asthma

·         healthier carotid arteries

·         reduction of inflammatory disease risk

·         lower risk of colorectal cancer

·         healthier blood pressure levels

·         less gum disease and tooth loss

source: Whole Grain Council

3.  I’d rather eat a variety than the same thing every day.

I cannot imagine a diet of whole wheat and little else for two months let along a whole year.  Yet for many people whole wheat is the only grain they are storing.   Now don’t get me wrong I love homemade bread and I do store whole wheat,  but I like to eat a variety of things, so I am storing a variety of whole grains.    By storing a variety of whole grains I get the same long storage life but I get to eat a variety of foods.

Which Would You Rather Eat?

Da	Storing Wheat Only	Storing A variety of Whole Grains
Monday	Whole Wheat Bread	Whole Wheat Bread
Tuesday	Whole Wheat pancakes	Quinoa Pilaf
Wednesday	Whole Wheat biscuits	Amaranth  flat bread
Thursday	Whole Wheat rolls	Creamy Millet Polenta
Friday	Whole Wheat tortillas	Rice Flour Cookies
Saturday	Whole Wheat Bread	Whole Wheat Bread
Sunday	Whole Wheat Bread	Fluffy Quinoa

Hopefully you have stored vegetables, fruits, and proteins to go with your whole grains.   Even so whole grains make up the bulk of the calories in any food storage plan.  

4.  Different grains have a different nutritional profiles

  

Da	Calories/serving	Protein	Fat	Vitamin A	Vitamin C	Calcium	Iron
Amaranth Serving Size:  .33 cups	190	7 g	3.5 g	0%	4%	8%	20%
Corn Meal Serving size .25 cups	150	3 g	0	4%	0%	0%	0%
Oat Groat	350	12 g	2.5 g	0%	0%	2%	15%
Pearled Barley Serving Size .25 Cups	160	5 g	1 g	0	0	0	8%
Quinoa Serving size .33 cups	60	2 g	1 g	0	0	1%	4%
Rice Flour Serving Size 3 Tbsp	100	0	0	0	0	0	2%
Spelt	70	2	0	2%	90%	0	8%
Millett Serving Size .25 cups	190	6	2	0	0	0	8%
Hard Red Wheat	170	6 g	0.5 g	0	0	0	0
Hard White Winter Wheat	170	6 g	.5 g	0	0	0	0

*Source www.shelfreliance.com

What whole grains are you storing?