Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies (that don't taste "healthy")

I'll be the first to admit I am very skeptical of "healthy" desserts. I mean, I'm not eating dessert to be healthy. I'm eating it because I want a treat, and let's be honest, "healthy" desserts usually taste... like garbage. However, I do like the idea of a dessert that isn't totally devoid of nutrition, and one that I can eat every day and not turn into Jabba the Hutt. So when I came across this recipe I was intrigued enough to give it a try. I liked that it worked with lots of different flours, and decided to try my personal favorite, spelt flour. I love the nuttiness of spelt flour, and it doesn't have the bitterness of typical whole wheat flour.

The first batch I made was... okay. They tasted pretty good, but they were very greasy feeling, and spread super thin, even when the dough was chilled or frozen.

It seemed to me like they'd benefit from reducing the canola oil, as that would help both the greasiness and make the dough a little drier and more solid so they would spread less. Sure enough, cutting the oil in half had great results! The first time I used chocolate chips, the second time I used chocolate chunks (I didn't chop it up by hand like the recipe recommends though, and it turned out just fine); I liked the chunks better but that's just a personal preference. I also may have used a little over 4 ounces of chocolate, and I don't think the cookies were the worse for it... Ahem.

This is my favorite salt- Murray River salt. It's mild and beautifully flaky, and perfect for topping things like, I don't know, cookies. The original recipe calls for sprinkling the salt before the cookies go in the oven, but I like the salt still distinct and crunchy on my cookies, and find it tends to melt into the cookie if put on before the cookies bake. I sprinkle on as soon as they come out of the oven, and find that it sticks well enough for me.

These are now my go-to cookies, and I keep a container of dough on hand in the freezer for cookie emergencies.

Whole Grain Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons canola oil

6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups spelt flour (or other whole grain flour of your choosing)

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/8 teaspoon table salt

4 (ish) oz chocolate chunks or chips

Flaky sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper

2. Add sugar, oil and butter to large bowl, beat until blended.

3. Add egg, vanilla, and honey, and beat in.

4. Sift flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl, then add to wet ingredients until just combined (alternatively, if you are like me and don't want to wash an additional bowl, just dump the dry ingredients directly in with the wet and it will probably be fine)

5. Add chocolate and mix until distributed throughout dough.

6. Place heaping tablespoons on baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes until just firm and golden brown at the edges.

7. Sprinkle with flaky salt, and after 2-3 minutes move to cool on a cooling rack. Enjoy!