Whole-Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

A soft-centered, caramelized-edged chocolate chip cookie, still warm and dappled with dark chocolate puddles, is instant comfort. (Julia Gartland)

My new apartment has a wine fridge in the kitchen. Most people would assume that a single mom would praise the heavens for a wine fridge. Not this one. Liquid courage is not my thing. It took exactly one experience of caring for an infant while nursing a hangover to recognize that I would rather eat my kombucha mother slathered with mayonnaise than drink too much ever again. So, I’ve discovered a better use for my wine fridge. The little pull-out shelves are the perfect size for different kinds of flour, nuts, seeds, and coconut. Eggs and butter fit in there, too. It isn’t as cold as the main fridge, so they are ready for baking even faster.

When it comes down to it, a warm, soft-centered chocolate chip cookie with crunchy, caramelized edges and pools of deep, dark chocolate is just as intoxicating and comforting as anything else. Chocolate disks, if you can find them, make much better chocolate chip cookies than do chips. They’re wide and flat and create lovely chocolate strata within the cookies. 

I like to freeze portioned scoops of this dough and have it in the freezer at all times. A warm cookie should always be close at hand.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate disks or chips (about 2 1/2 cups)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat and spelt flours, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and the chocolate disks, and mix just until combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop the dough into balls that are 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) each and roll into neat circles, spacing them 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until they are golden brown and the tops are set with a hint of wetness underneath, 14 to 16 minutes.

Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes, then transfer the individual cookies to the rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days and in the freezer for up to a month.

Recipe reprinted with permission from “The Joys of Baking,” copyright 2019 by Samantha Seneviratne, Running Press.