Basic Whole Grain Cookies

By KimberlyB

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, light or dark, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour or Traditional Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 cup quick rolled oats, ground in a food processor or blender if desired
• 2 tablespoons orange juice, optional*
• 2 cups chips, nuts, and/or dried fruit, optional
• Use the optional orange juice if you're adding chips, nuts, fruit, etc. Don't add the orange juice if you're not using any add-ins.

Details

Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 516mins
Adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

1) Beat together the butter, sugars, salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla till well combined.
2) Add the egg, beating till smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat again till smooth.
3) Add the flour and oats, beating to combine.
4) If you're making cookies using chips, nuts, etc., beat in the orange juice, then the add-ins.
5) If you're making plain cookies, without add-ins, omit the orange juice.
6) Cover the cookie dough, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled; at least several hours, or overnight.
7) When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
8) Drop the cookies by the traditional teaspoonful (about 2 measuring teaspoons, about a 1" ball) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2" apart. A teaspoon cookie scoop works well here.
9) If the cookie dough has been refrigerated, bake the cookies for 13 to 14 minutes, until they're a very light golden brown, and a bit darker around the edges. For unrefrigerated dough, bake for about 11 minutes. For softer cookies, reduce the baking time by about 2 minutes.
10) Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the baking sheets

TIPS FROM OUR BAKERS
•Can you bake these cookies without refrigerating the dough first? Yes. If you're making cookies without add-ins, they'll spread to be very flat. Cookies with add-ins will spread quite flat, but still be acceptable.
•What about using traditional (old-fashioned) rather than quick oats? Go for it; we haven't tried it, but assume the spread will be different. If all you have in the cupboard is old-fashioned rolled oats, give them a quick whirl in a food processor, so they're more like quick oats; or process till they're finely ground, for a smoother-looking cookie.
•The nutritional information below is calculated using 1 cup of dried cranberries and 1 cup of chocolate chips, as shown in the recipe here.