Alright people. ย Suit up. ย Gather your armor. ย We’ve got another holiday to dive into.
I’m talking about Valentine’s Day.
Now listen…. I don’t care where you stand on the Valentine’s Day issue. ย I don’t care if you’re single or married or smitten or bitter. ย Valentine’s Day exists… there’s no ignoring it. ย Flag day we can ignore. ย Arbor day we can half acknowledge…. but Valentine’s Day, we just have to get in there and deal with.
It’s like going to the dentist… but more romantic (or something).
Maybe you can sorta tell how I feel about Valentine’s Day. ย Maybe you can sorta tell I’m not that into it. ย I’m not angry or bitter… it’s just never been a day that’s bowled me over. ย Wait… is that an expression?
When I was 17, my first boyfriend made me something from his pottery class for Valentine’s Day… that he then took back and gave to another girl. ย It sounds way more upsetting than it actually was. ย I remember totally not caring. ย Aaaannnnddd…that’s that. ย Moving on.
Let me tell you about these cookies. ย They’re certainly not your typical rolled out sugar cookie.
These cookies are loaded with good quality cocoa powder and stone ground whole wheat flour. ย I like them quite a lot. ย They’re slightly crisp around the edges and soft in the center. ย The cocoa adds… you know… lots of yumyum. ย The whole wheat flour adds a nuttiness and makes the cookies more of a mouthful than plain old all-purpose flour. ย I love the combination.
I topped these cookies with a generous sprinkling of granulated sugar and thought they were just divine.
I bought myself two awesome early Valentine’s Day presents.
The Jamie at Home cookbook. ย So beautiful! ย I mean… swooooon! ย I can’t wait to dive into this book.
And, of course, Ree’s new book. ย And she signed it. ย And all is well.
Boooya(kah)!
Whole Wheat Chocolate Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies
Makes: ย about three dozen cookies
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. ย Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. ย Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugars. ย Beat until well incorporated. ย Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. ย Add the egg. ย Beat on medium speed until mixture is glossy and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Stop mixer and add the dry ingredients all at once. ย Mix on low speed until all of the flour is incorporated ย Stop mixer and finish incorporating ingredients with a spatula. ย Spoon batter out onto a sheet of waxed paper, and form loosely into a log. ย Roll and seal cookie dough and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Once chilled, divide dough in half and place one half on a lightly floured counter surface. ย Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. ย Use a heart shaped (or whatever) cookie cutter to cut out cookies and place dough on prepared baking sheet. ย Very lightly brush cookies with water and sprinkle with granulated or turbinado sugar.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. ย Remove from the oven, allow to rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Roll and cut cookies, re-rolling the dough once or twice, until all cookies are cut and baked.
Cookies will last, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to five days.
241 Responses
They look good..and I am whipping up a batch now..my only problem with the directions is that it said to pre-heat the oven which I did but then later said to chill it in the fridge for 2 hours.
I add a teaspoon of vanilla and could eat a batch of raw dough, since I use flaxseed “egg”. This is a fabulous recipe.
Hello Joy made these cookiesx today I had everything on hand they are very good. I also made an extra bactch if dough and put it in the freezer. .I did not have a heart shape cookie cutter so I used the small round cutter. I made one tray if cookies with turbinado sugar and the second tray with regular granulated sugar and I ate about 7 cookies, I love these cookies thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the recipe! We had very little in the cupboard and were looking for a sneaky sweet treat with our nightly cup of tea and they were super scrupmtious. I didn’t refrigerate and they were just perfect to roll out. The whole process only took about 20mins which made them taste even sweeter. :)
Making these today for valentines gifts and I plan on adding crushed pistachios on top of some of them, I think it will be pretty yummy!
Thanks again Joy!
Just wanted to tell you, as I make these a second time, they are probably my almost-2-year-old’s favorite cookies I’ve ever made. I’m making them for her 2nd birthday party — they were a total hit at her cousin’s birthday in September. Toddlers love them and they’re healthier than most cookies, win/win! I simplified slightly by using just white-whole-wheat and just unrefined granulated, rather than using two types of flour and sugar, and it worked perfectly.
Hi, I just made those cookies!
They are awesome! Thanks for sharing.
I didn’t used regular flour, only whole wheat and + 1 tablespoon of flax seed.
Also right before they went to the oven I added chocolate chips on top.
I totally made these…sort of. I changed them. The originals were good (I made those, too) but I added cinnamon and chili powder and vanilla and chocolate chips and called them Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies (my changes are on my blog at indiedomestic.wordpress.com). So delicious! Thanks as always for having amazing recipes…and being a great inspiration!
Just about to make a few dozen of these and can’t wait – I’ll follow up.
But I had to comment on the photo of your Lenox china. LOVE that pattern, and it’s nearly impossible to find. So pretty. :)
Great blog!
Hi Joy!
I just finished making these, but I wasn’t in the mood for just chocolate so I changed them up a bit. I split the dough and made half White Chocolate Mocha cookies (added instant coffee and white chocolate chips) and the other half Mexican Chocolate cookies (added cayenne pepper and cinnamon). Both were really good! Easy to overbake and dry out, but good! Thanks!
Kat
Super delicious. I can’t actually tell that they contain whole wheat flour at all. They just taste like chocolate and deliciousness. Yum.
I was thinking the same thing as another about just slicing and baking rather than rolling them out. I will try these for sure. I am lazy when it comes to rolling cookies. I am a new convert to baking more with whole wheat flour rather than all purpose white. I like the grainy texture it adds to some things.
Joy, I made these delights with some friends the other day and we decided to get a bit creative with your original recipe. These are the variations we came up with:
– Cookie covered in Peanut Butter
– Cookie dipped in Chocolate
– Cookie dipped in chocolate and then in coconut shavings (favorite!)
– Cookie with Strawberry Preserves spread on top and covered in a Chocolate Drizzle
Thanks for inspiring so many delicious treats!
so sweet and also the decor too!!!
Almosot amde these for Valentines’, but they didn’t last. I found they’re also great to simply roll into logs, freeze and slice when you want a few. Not as pretty as the hearts, but easy and quick — maybe a little too easy if you’ve always got dough handy.