Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I must say I am a little suspicious of recipes that use only whole wheat flour. I have always thought that would lead to baked goods with the texture of hockey pucks. But I have had very good luck with every recipe I've tried from the awesome food blog Orangette. So I thought I'd try this recipe for whole wheat chocolate chip cookies. My sweetie brought home Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate chunks for me to bake with and, really, how could you go wrong with that? Try these cookies, I think you'll like them. I should admit here I did add slightly more chocolate than was called for. I suggest everyone does the same :)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4- and 1/2-inch pieces

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat (or parchment paper)
2. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine.
3. Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat on low speed for abou 2 minutes, until just blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition, then add the vanilla extract.
4. Add the flour mixture and beat until barely combined. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the chocolate and beat on low speed just until evenly distributed. I made my dough the night before and chilled it in the fridge. This means for easy baking the next day and slightly fatter cookies.
5. Now scoop your cookies. I am a bit OCD so I weigh 50g of dough for each cookie and roll that into a ball so each cookie is exactly the sam size....no comments please.
6. Bake the cookies you want to bake into the oven for 15 minutes or so, until the cookies are golden brown on the outsides and fragrant. Let them cool for a bit on a cooling rack, then eat them!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles

We got a waffle iron as an early wedding gift. I am obsessed with it. I have made waffles every weekend since we got in. In fact, I think I want to marry my waffle maker. I have been using a standard buttermilk waffle recipe but I have decided to try to incorporate more whole grain flours into my baking. So here is the the recipe for my whole what waffle. They were fantastic served with maple syrup, toasted walnuts and bananas. Also, they are tasty cold out of the fridge. Or, if you wanted to go really bonkers serve them with fried chicken!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour (I used Bobs Red Mill)
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups buttermilk
4 tsp melted butter (or flavorless vegetable oil)

Method:

In a large bowl mix together first 5 ingredients. In a separate bowl whisk together remaining ingredients. Comine wet and dry ingredients and stir well. The mixture will be slightly lumpy. Rest for 2-3 minutes while the waffle iron heats up.

Brush waffle iron with melted butter or oil (I use a silicone pastry brush), pour on 3/4 cup of batter and cook until golden brown and your house smells like a bakery.

Serve with Maple syrup. Enjoy your food coma!!