Salted Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Diego sent photographs from his latest project — a pedestrian bridge over a canal in a border community. The bridge is small — forty feet, concrete and steel — but the bridge connects two neighborhoods that were separated by water, and the connecting is Diego's life work, and the life work is the bridge, and the bridge is the family business in concrete form.

When I saw Diego’s photographs — that small, purposeful bridge spanning a canal, two neighborhoods finally reaching each other — I didn’t want anything fancy in the kitchen. I wanted something solid and grounding, the kind of baking that doesn’t ask much of you but gives back something real. These salted whole wheat chocolate chip cookies are exactly that: whole grain flour for a little more heft, a pinch of flaky salt on top to keep things honest, and chocolate because some things just deserve to be a little sweeter than the work that inspired them.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 11 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 36 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
Whisk the dry ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and fine sea salt until evenly combined.
Combine wet and dry. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand using a rubber spatula.
Portion and salt. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Lightly press each mound to flatten slightly, then sprinkle a small pinch of flaky sea salt over the top of each cookie.
Bake. Bake one sheet at a time for 9–11 minutes, until the edges are set and golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. They will firm up as they cool.
Cool. Let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

Nutrition (per serving)

Salted Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies — The Small Things That Connect Us