"We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention."
A long, long time ago
(like, last month), I hatched a brilliant plan to rope my Aunt
Marilyn into doing an eCookbook with me —
sharing some of our lightened up, healthy comfort foods and desserts.
Ah, it was the grandest of plans.
Until one day, buried
under a load of recipes and staring at a sink filled to the brim with
dirty dishes while my kids stood by me asking if there were any clean
clothes available, I said to myself “in what world did you
think you’d have time to create an eCookbook, little missy?”
And so the plan was abandoned.
But not the recipes!
These double chocolate
Greek yogurt cookies are one of the winners (among a few losers, if
I’m being totally honest) that came out of the one-month
eCookbook endeavor. They deserve to be shared.
Lightly sweet and extra
chocolatey, they are soft and a bit fluffy-ish without being too
fluffy-ish (thanks to the Greek yogurt) and the perfect little
solution to a cookie craving, if you ask me.
Made with 100% whole
wheat flour and a very minimal amount of oil (2 tablespoons coconut
oil in case you don’t want to exercise the scrolling action
downward), they are definitely on the spectrum of healthy cookies
without being too healthy, if you know what I mean.
Please read the notes
below the recipe title about using freshly ground whole wheat flour
vs. store bought (or home ground flour that’s been sitting long
enough to compact a bit). The cookies have a slightly nutty taste
from the whole wheat and you can see the itty bits of whole grain in
the texture. Yum, yum.
Yield: Makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on the size
Let's talk for a second
about measuring whole wheat flour. If you are using the weight
measures in the recipe, you don't need to worry about this but if you
are using cup measures, keep in mind that freshly ground whole wheat
flour is much fluffier than whole wheat flour that's been compacted
when sold at the store or even stored in your freezer (if you've
ground it yourself).
If you are measuring
freshly ground whole wheat flour, dip your measuring cup into the
bowl of flour and gently shake to level (normally this is a no-no
when measuring flour but in this case you want to slightly —
not a lot, just slightly — compress the fluffy flour).
If using store-bought
wheat flour or flour that's been sitting long enough to compact,
fluff it up really, really, really well before scooping the cup in
and using a straight edge to level or instead of stirring it up,
consider spooning the compacted flour into the cup and then leveling
with a straight edge. Basically, you don't want to over-flour these
cookies.
All-purpose flour can
be subbed for the whole wheat if desired.
For the yogurt, give it
a good stir before scooping it out so the whey/liquid can be evenly
mixed throughout before measuring.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (3.25 ounces) brown sugar
1/2 cup (3.25 ounces) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter, softened but not melted
2 large eggs
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (see note above)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 2/3 cups (8.5 ounces) white whole wheat flour (see note above)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup (1.25 ounces) natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl with a handheld
electric mixer (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted
with the paddle attachment), mix together the brown sugar,
granulated sugar, coconut oil or butter, and eggs until light and
creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the yogurt and vanilla and mix
until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together
the flour, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Add to the wet ingredients
with the chocolate chips and mix until just combined. Let the batter
rest for 10 minutes.
Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls (I
use my #40 cookie scoop) onto parchment- or silpat-lined baking
sheets.
Bake for 7-9 minutes until just
set (don’t overbake or the cookies might be dry. Err on the
side of underbaking).
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.