Think you’ve come across every version of chocolate chip cookies? Let this recipe for Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk and Clementine Cookies prove you wrong!

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Who needs another chocolate chip cookie recipe? I do. I collect them like squirrels collect nuts. One might think that every imaginable variation of this classic has been created by now, but I always seem to stumble upon new, clever recipes.

For example, take these Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk and Clementine Cookies I’m sharing today. It uses chocolate chunks instead of chips, which pleases me because I like a high ratio of chocolate to dough. It also creates dreamily chewy cookies with crispy edges, which I think are two required qualities of an excellent chocolate chip cookie. The recipe also uses whole wheat flour. I like to think this switch makes them healthy (ahem), but if you’re worried, the taste is pretty much indiscernible so you won’t even realize you’re enjoying a better-for-you treat.

Then, in a clever twist, the cookies are infused with clementine zest! Clementine zest imparts a lovely, sweet, citrusy note and a subtle, intriguing aroma, making the cookies way more interesting (and addictive—eek!). In other words, it just works. I’ve been baking batch after batch of these Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk and Clementine Cookies ever since the holidays. In fact, I decided I would stop my hunt for new chocolate chip cookie recipes for a while—they’re that good.

So who needs a new chocolate chip cookie recipe? YOU, that’s who.

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Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk and Clementine Cookies

Think you've come across every single version of chocolate chip cookies? Let this Whole Wheat Chocolate Chunk and Clementine Zest Cookies recipe prove you wrong!

Author Marie Asselin

Ingredients

• 3 cups [750 ml] whole wheat bread flour
• 1¼ tsp [7.5 ml] baking powder
• 1 tsp [5 ml] baking soda
• 1 tsp [5 ml] kosher salt
• 1 cup [250 ml] unsalted butter cut into ½ -in [1.25-cm] cubes (see Make it Dairy Free note)
• 1 cup [250 ml] cane sugar
• ½ cup [125 ml] honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp [5 ml] pure vanilla extract
• 2 clementines scrubbed (or 1 large orange)
• 8 oz [250 g] dark chocolate chunks or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into pieces

Instructions

• Position two oven racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F [175°C]. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl, if you’re using a handheld mixer), cream the butter and cane sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the honey and mix to combine.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix well. Using a microplane, zest the clementines (or orange) over the bowl so you catch all the aromatic oils along with the zest. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Add the chocolate chunks (or chopped chocolate) and stir one last time to incorporate.
• Using a 1½ tbsp [20 ml] mini ice cream scoop, scoop the cookie dough into balls and place 12 balls 2 inches [5 centimeters] apart on each of the parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets once halfway through the baking time (moving the sheet that was on top to the bottom rack, and the bottom sheet to the top rack). When done, the cookies should be light brown around the edges but still soft in the center. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
• When the baking sheets are cool, portion out the remaining cookies and bake, or freeze on the baking sheets and transfer to airtight freezer bags for later enjoyment.
• SERVING
• Serve freshly baked cookies when just cool enough to handle or, if you serve them later, reheated for 5 minutes in a low oven so they become as gooey as freshly baked again. They’re also delicious served at room temperature, of course!
• STORAGE
• Keep the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer, for up to a month. Portioned unbaked cookies will keep in airtight freezer bags for up to 6 months. To bake frozen cookie dough balls, place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets and bake directly from frozen in a 350°F [175°C] oven for 12 to 13 minutes.
• MAKE IT DAIRY FREE
• Use dairy-free buttery shortening instead of butter. I use Earth Balance’s Vegan Buttery Sticks.
• Recipe Credit: Adapted from Brown Eggs and Jam Jars, by Aimée Wimbush-Bourque.

Did you make this?

Tell me how you liked it! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it with @foodnouveau on Instagram.

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