Name: Hearty Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 tsp baking powder (5 mL); 1/2 tsp table salt (2.5 mL); 100 grams white flour (3/4 cups); 20 grams raw wheat germ (1/4 cups); 100 grams quick oats (1 cup); 40 grams rolled oats (1/2 cups); 110 grams unsalted butter (1/2 cup); 100 grams light brown sugar (1/2 cup); 100 grams white sugar (1/2 cup); 1 large egg; 1 tsp vanilla extract (5 mL); 85 grams dark chocolate (chopped (3 ounces)); 55 grams milk chocolate (chopped (2 ounces))

It makes me happy when a baking recipe has ingredient weights so I can use my scale for accurate and neat measurement. It’s so much easier to add ingredients by putting the mixing bowl onto the scale, pressing the tare button, and then adding what I need, instead of getting out (and dirtying) multiple measuring cups (especially when the ingredient is something gooey or messy like oil, molasses and honey¹). However, I haven’t been good about making the recipes on this blog scale-compatible. My chocolate chunk cookie recipe is one example.

The recipe below the jump-break is a first attempt to start balancing the scales of talk and action. It is an adaptation of one of my favorite recipes in the family of chocolate chunk cookies, one that has a bit of wheat germ and oats for heartiness and flavor. The display format is somewhat of a hybrid because of the futility of giving weights for quantities as small as a teaspoon and the quantum nature of eggs (note that the egg is specified as “1 large”, not as a weight or volume).

For more scale love, visit David Lebovitz, Alice Medrich and Fahrad Manjoo at the New York Times.

Hearty Chocolate Chunk Cookies

A hearty chocolate chunk cookie: oats and wheat germ make the dough interesting, and big chunks of milk and dark chocolate add some excitement

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

1 tsp baking powder 5 mL
1/2 tsp table salt 2.5 mL
100 grams white flour 3/4 cups
20 grams raw wheat germ 1/4 cups
100 grams quick oats 1 cup
40 grams rolled oats 1/2 cups

Butter and sugars

110 grams unsalted butter 1/2 cup
100 grams light brown sugar 1/2 cup
100 grams white sugar 1/2 cup

Egg and extract

1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract 5 mL

Chocolate

85 grams dark chocolate chopped (3 ounces)
55 grams milk chocolate chopped (2 ounces)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
Mix the dry ingredients (but not the chocolate) together in a bowl.
Chop the dark and milk chocolate into pieces that are slightly larger than standard chocolate chips. It is not easy to do this; don't worry if the pieces are randomly sized, that is one of the charms of these cookies (a.k.a. chocolate randomness).
Combine the butter and sugars in a bowl. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Beat together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl, and mix together on low speed until the dough is mixed. Add the chocolate and optional ingredients. Mix on low speed for a short time to combine.
Bake for 10-15 minutes on greased or lined cookie sheets. After removing sheets from the oven, let the cookies cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Recipe Notes

Optional additions: walnuts, almonds, raisins, dried cherries, coarse salt

To adapt recipes on the fly, I keep a list of ingredient weights on scraps of paper on my refrigerator, adding items as needed.

Balancing the Scales with a Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe