Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Chunkers

Well, I can’t believe it’s already April and I’m just getting my first blog of the year posted. Honestly, I just haven’t felt like baking as much lately, so it takes a lot longer to get a recipe together. And then I went on vacation for a couple of weeks … so now here we are. Anyway, I promise these Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Chunkers are worth the wait.

A Chunker by Any Other Name Would NOT Smell (or Taste) As Sweet…

First, I have to address the name of these cookies. I had a hard time coming up with the right name, so I asked my Instagram followers. And they overwhelmingly chose this name. In fact, one follower told me they wouldn’t even consider a name that didn’t include the word “chunkers.” So if you hate it, blame them (I kid, I kid …).

But even if you’re not fond of the name, you have to love the premise: a chocolate chip cookie so full of goodies that they’re chocolatey, nutty, crunchy, and, above all, CHUNKY. Just look at this beast:

Chock Full of Flavor and Texture

These cookies are full of flavor: chocolate, of course, from the semisweet chocolate chips and cacao nibs; but also nutty from toasted walnuts, malt powder, and whole wheat flour. They also have a little vanilla extract, cinnamon, and flaky sea salt to round out the flavor profile.

But a cookie can’t be a chunker without … well, chunks. All the aforementioned ingredients add to the chunkiness (except the vanilla, cinnamon, and malt powder, I suppose):

• Chocolate chips are a must — and lots of them.
• Nuts are the OG chunkifier, and my favorite are walnuts, so they’re included.
• And for a little more chunk and some crunch, cacao nibs and flaky (dare we say chunky?) sea salt.

Finally, whole wheat flour makes a thicker cookie to hold all that chunk. It also adds some serious texture.

Note: Don’t like walnuts? Try pecans, pistachios, or almonds! Don’t have or like cacao nibs? Sub in some more chocolate chips or nuts. Easy peasy.

How To Make Your Best Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Chunkers

This is a pretty simple, straightforward recipe to make, but there are a few things to note so yours turn out as amazing as possible:

Ingredients

• Whole wheat flour: I tried this recipe with all whole wheat flour, but it just tasted too … well, healthy. (They did turn out ok though, so if you’re into that, you can replace the all-purpose flour with more whole wheat flour.) I found that the sweet-spot ratio was 3/4c whole wheat flour to 1/2c all-purpose. You still get the nuttiness, texture, and a little extra fiber from the whole wheat flour, but they don’t taste like a protein bar.
• Chocolate: I went for good-old-fashioned semisweet chocolate chips for these cookies, since that’s what I had on hand (groceries are expensive right now, so the chocolate chips I can afford come in a giant bag from Costco). But if you prefer dark or milk chocolate, go for it! You can also chop up your favorite chocolate bar instead of chips, but note that your cookies will be a little flatter, since chocolate chips have stabilizers in them to help them hold their shape.
• Nuts: I prefer walnuts in these cookies, but if you don’t have or like walnuts, swap them out for your favorite nut.
• Cacao nibs: Can’t find cacao nibs, or don’t like them? Replace them with more nuts or chocolate chips. If you can get them, though, they really do add a nice crunch to these cookies.
• Vanilla: I used plain-Jane vanilla extract for this, but if you have vanilla bean paste on hand, you can use that instead (just replace it 1:1).
• Cinnamon: I love a little cinnamon in whole wheat baked goods, because it seems to mellow out the sometimes intense flavor of the whole wheat flour.
• Kosher salt: I used Morton’s, so if you have Diamond Crystal, you’ll want to use more.
• Malt powder: I love adding a little malt powder to these cookies because I think it enhances the nutty flavor of the whole wheat flour and walnuts. It also adds a little chewiness. (You can skip it if you don’t have it on hand though.)

Baking

• Parchment paper: I like to line my cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpat silicone liners for easy cleanup . If you don’t use parchment or Silpat, make sure to grease your pans so your cookies don’t stick.
• No chill time required! You can just mix these up, pop them in the oven, and have freshly baked cookies in no time.
• Big ol’ cookies: I used a large cookie scoop for this recipe (about 3T). Because if you’re going to have a chunky cookie, why not make it chunky in all aspects?
• Small batch: This recipe only makes about 10 large cookies, but you can double it if you want a big batch. Or, use a smaller cookie scoop and shorten the baking time for a bigger batch of smaller cookies.
• Freeze for later: You can freeze either the baked cookies or the cookie dough for up to 2 months. If you freeze the unbaked dough, portion it out onto a cookie sheet first, freeze them that way, then pop the frozen dough balls into an airtight container or freezer bag. Then, when you’re ready to bake, just place the frozen dough on the prepared cookie sheet and bake from frozen (you may need to add a minute or two to the baking time).

And that’s that! I hope you love these Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Chunkers as much as I do!

Happy Baking:)

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