Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oats

A healthier spin on the original, whole wheat chocolate chip cookies are everything you want in a cookie: a little chewy, a little crispy and a lot decadent.

He loves the original crispy chocolate chip cookies and my chewy chocolate chocolate chip cookies (they’re my favorite!) but he is always open to trying something that is a little better for him. Making his favorites just a bit healthier usually gets his attention.

Don’t get me wrong, these cookies are still a treat!  They are chocolate chip cookies after all.  I try to focus on small changes, like making the cookies with whole wheat flour and oats, changes that can add up and make a difference in our health. Deprivation is not the answer, at least not for me.

I like to keep a big batch of this dough in the freezer. Ben will bake a couple in the toaster oven when he’s craving a chocolate chip cookie. Sometimes I even bake a small batch for him. Or for myself. Or sometimes we just eat the frozen dough.

About This Recipe

This is a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe but instead of regular all-purpose flour, you’ll be using whole wheat flour. The nutrition is amped up even more with a cup of oats.

Why make cookies with whole wheat flour and oats? Both are healthy whole grains that add fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals to your diet. I often use at least half whole wheat flour to make cookies, if not all.

This dough does not need to be chilled before baking. If you want to chill it and bake the cookies later, that’s totally fine, too. We tested the cookies both ways and either way works.

I’ll get you started on the recipe here and give you some nice tips. As always, keep reading or hit the recipe button for the printable recipe near the end of the post. It has complete instructions, measurements, and nutrition information.

What You’ll Need

• Whole Wheat Flour: Because whole wheat flour contains all the parts of the wheat kernel (bran, germ, and endosperm), it can spoil more quickly. It should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Wondering what you’ll do with the rest of the whole wheat flour? Try making whole wheat pancake mix or whole wheat banana bread. You’ll find lots more whole wheat recipes on my site.
• Oats: Choose either quick oats or old-fashioned oats. I usually use quick oats for these cookies because they aren’t quite as noticeable as whole oats. Don’t use instant oatmeal or steel cut oats (Irish oats).
• Chocolate Chips: You’ll need one 12 ounce bag of chips. I like to buy semisweet chocolate chips but milk chocolate chips are fine if you prefer them.
• Butter: Unsalted butter is the best choice for baking. Take it out a couple of hours ahead of time so it has time to soften. Rock hard chilled butter will be impossible to blend in. Butter spreads are not a good choice for making cookies; they contain too much oil.
• Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: These cookies call for a combination (50/50) of both kinds of sugar.
• Eggs: A couple of eggs add extra flavor and nutrition.
• Baking Soda, Salt: Common cookie ingredients that add leavening and seasoning.
• Vanilla Extract: This baker’s friend enhances the flavor of the cookies with warm vanilla undertones.

How To Make This Recipe

If you plan on baking the cookies right away, turn your oven on to preheat. Line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper (for easy clean-up).

You’ll need a large mixing bowl. Begin by creaming together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer, or you can do it with good ol’ arm power. The mixture should be creamy and well-blended.

Blend in the eggs until they are completely incorporated.

Measure out the flour by spooning it into a measuring cup and leveling it off with a straight edge, like a table knife. Avoid scooping the flour out of the container with the measuring cup or shaking it down to level it. This will result in too much flour being added to your cookies and they’ll be tough.

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl.

Mix those three ingredients lightly right on top of the butter mixture until they are blended; then stir them in. Keep stirring the dough until there’s no dry flour but don’t overstir.

Once the flour is blended into the butter/sugar mixture, fold in the the oats.

Next, fold in the the chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.

Use a tablespoon or scoop to portion out the dough onto the cookie sheets. Leave a couple of inches between the cookies because they will spread a little.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about ten minutes or until they are golden brown. They’ll be slightly soft in the middle. The longer you bake them, the crisper they’ll be.

Cool the cookies a few minutes on the cookie sheet until they firm up a bit and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

FAQs

Make It Your Own

• Not a fan of whole wheat flour? Feel free to use all-purpose flour instead!
• There are some good gluten-free flours that can be substituted 1:1 for wheat flour. Note: I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour.
• Feeling nutty? Substitute a cup of chopped nuts for the oats.
• There are lots of baking chips to choose from: peanut butter, toffee, milk chocolate, butterscotch, etc. Mix things up a little by using a different flavor.
• Rather have M&Ms? Try my popular M&M cookies!
• Prefer iced cookies? Try my recipe for iced oatmeal cookies.

Make-Ahead Ideas

The cookie dough can be made ahead and either refrigerated or frozen. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for two to four days, or in the freezer for up to two months.

I like to freeze the dough in convenient cookie sized amounts. Freeze individual dough balls for an hour or so on a tray until they firm up; then place them in a freezer safe container. You can take out as many as you like whenever you’re craving fresh warm cookies.

Storage Tips

Baked cookies, once they are thoroughly cooled, can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week. They freeze well too, and will keep for a few months.

Leftover Love

Is there such a thing as leftover cookies? I don’t think so! If you seem to have an excess of cookies and you don’t want to freeze them, make a chocolate chip cookie milkshake or simply crumble a cookie on a bowl of ice cream for a special treat.