Double Chocolate Whole-Wheat Cookies

Lately I've been experimenting with whole wheat flour. I bought a bag to make bread, but didn't really like how it turned out, so now I have a bag of whole wheat flour just hanging out in my pantry.
Today I made these double chocolate cookies. I'm not claiming that they are low calorie or anything, just a little better (probably). Baby steps...
I had some friends stop by just as these were coming out of the oven.
Coincidence?
Doubtful.
I got great reviews from them and my husband before I told them that they were made with whole wheat flour. I guess that means these are comparable white flour cookies.
I think next time I'll try peanut butter and jelly cookies.

Double Chocolate Whole-Wheat Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs 

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F

Cream butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each in thoroughly. Add vanilla and mix well. 

Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Whisk or sift to combine. 

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet. Make sure that each addition is completely mixed in before adding the next. 

Stir in chocolate chips. 

Scoop into balls and drop on a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. 

Bake at 375F for 10-14 minutes.

Eat six. 

What?
They're whole wheat. It evens out.
Right? 

Accidentally stuck my thumb in the one in the corner...guess that's mine too. Ooops :) 

How to Wash the Dishes - A Tutorial

I love cooking, but I hate washing the dishes. This is how that process usually goes for me. 

1. Realize the kitchen is a mess. 

2. Announce to the dog that you are going to do the dishes. 

3. Fill the sink with hot soapy water. 

4. Place dishes in hot soapy water. 

5. Change your mind about washing them. 

6. Tell the dog you are letting them soak and not to give you that condescending look. 

7. Get back on Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr/Blogger/time-wasting-website-of-your-choice. 

Oven-Fried Chicken

Fried chicken is one of my favorite foods, but actually frying anything in my apartment is out of the question. I hate the oily fatty fried smell that hangs around afterwards. Plus it gets in my clothes and hair and...just yuck. I have worked in the food industry, primarily making fried foods, for 7 years and still cant get over that gross stale-oil smell.

Anyway, and more importantly, my smoke detector is just way too sensitive for frying. It goes off when I boil water. I think it would go into a panic and have alarms going of throughout the building if I tried to actually fry something. So, I have been looking for oven-fried chicken recipes for about a year now. I've finally got one that I actually like.

Oven-Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken drumsticks, skin removed

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon seasoning salt (I used Lawry's) 

1 tablespoon dried thyme 

cooking spray 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F 

Combine buttermilk, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Place chicken in a gallon zip top bag. 

Pour buttermilk mixture into zip top bag with chicken. Refrigerate and marinade 30 minutes to 8 hours. 

In a shallow, wide dish (I used an 8x8 cake pan), combine flour, breadcrumbs, seasoning salt, and thyme. 

Toss marinaded chicken in flour mixture until completely coated. Shake of excess flour mixture. 

Grease a baking sheet very well, place a wire rack on top of it, grease it very well, and place drumsticks on rack. Spray each drumstick with cooking spray - it shouldn't be drenched, but the whole thing should look wet. 

Bake 40-50 minutes, until chicken is completely cooked and juices run clear (165 F).