The natural nuttiness of whole grains is a perfect complement to chocolate delights. But unfortunately, whole grain cookies tend to spread flat. I controlled for this issue by first chilling the dough; the cold fat spreads more slowly while the edges set and result in a thicker bake! And don’t be oppressed by mere “morsels”. Any shade chocolate bar studded with any sort of fixins’ are the beginnings of a uniquely you cookie concoction. Just chop up those bars into uneven bits for irregular bites of deliciousness. Even chocolate left over from your last ill-fated tempering project can be given a new purpose.
ingredients
makes about 4 dozen
8 oz (1 cup/ 2 sticks) Unsalted Butter
1 Ice Cube, about 1 oz
14.5 oz (2 cups packed) Brown Sugar
3 Large Eggs, room temperature
1.5 oz (3 Tablespoons) Milk, room temperature
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
7 oz (2 cups) Oats
8 oz (2 cups) Whole Wheat Flour, whole wheat white preferred
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 1/2 Teaspoon Table Salt
12 ounces (1 package) Chocolate Chips or Coarsely Chopped Dark Chocolate Bars
10 oz (2 cups) Nuts, such as peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans, coarsely chopped
deviations & tips
Browning the butter imparts a more butterscotch-y flavor, but if you opt to skip this step, use regular butter brought to 65F and omit the ice cube.
You can sub 7 oz of oat flour for 7 oz of whole oats and skip the processing step.
DO NOT skip the chilling step. Freezing the dough prevents the excessive spreading that plaques whole grain doughs.
DO experiment with different add-ins, chocolate, nuts, and dried fruit, to make it your own.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. After the butter melts, continue heating, swirling gently, for about 5 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Be careful not to burn it! Remove from heat. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in ice cube. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes or until cool. It will be opaque and firm around the edges.
Brown Butter
Add oats to a food processor or blender and process until finely ground. In a medium bowl, blend oats with flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
Oats processed into flour.
Fit mixer with whisk attachment. In the mixing bowl, combine half (7.25 oz) the brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and pale brownish-yellow.
Add remaining brown sugar, milk, and cooled brown butter. Mix on low for a couple seconds to combine. Increase speed to high and whip for just about 5 seconds to emulsify.
Switch to paddle attachment. Add flour mixture all at once and mix on low for another 15 seconds. Some dry flour should still be visible. Add chocolate and nuts all at once and mix on low speed for another 15 seconds or until the dough just comes together. Remove bowl from machine and fold by hand to evenly distribute your add-ins. Using a tablespoon cookie scoop, drop cookie dough onto cookie sheets and freeze… Keep in mind you can remove them from the cookie sheets before baking. So, feel free to space closely and save freezer space. I can fit all 48-50 cookies on 2 quarter sheet pans or 1 half sheet pan. Freeze at least 30 minutes for a thicker cookie. For best flavor, freeze overnight. Frozen cookie dough balls can be stored in freezer bags and kept frozen if not using right away.
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Bake on the center 2 racks for 12 - 15 minutes or until the edges are set and golden brown. The tops will still look wet. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container or freeze.
