If you've been following me for a while, you'll be used to this. I'm back from term at uni, and what does that mean? All the baking pangs that have been bottled up inside have the chance to
bake break free. Sometimes I wonder why I don't bake all that often when I'm actually at university, given my obsession (I
think it's the right word?)... then all the reasons come flooding in. To name a few: 1) I enjoy spending at least half an hour cooking a wholesome (or so I like to think) dinner EVERY evening and I just can't seem to justify spending over an hour in the kitchen (as much as I'd love to!), 2) there's SO much to do and SO little time, and 3) I'd eat it all the goodies myself (*insert cheeky monkey emoji here*).
Anyways, I came back to find that we actually had a random assortment of goodies lying around: a bit of
marble cake, a few
chocolate chip cookies, some Christmas fruit cake, essentially my job had been done and no more baked goods were
needed. That, however, didn't mean we couldn't use some more, nor did it mean it would deter me from baking. And so I got thinking... Cookies definitely seemed like the way to go, because they last far longer than muffins, cakes or scones. Also, it's the holiday season, and cookies and festivity just go together, do they not?
My family is chocolate-obsessed and I was definitely feeling the chocolate, but it occurred to me that I've made so many different types of chocolate chip cookies that I needed to try something new. I started scrolling through Foodgawker and came across some pinwheel cookies - the ones I saw actually had dates and walnuts in them, but I knew that traditional pinwheels had a chocolate swirl. And so I set on a mission. To make a slightly healthier version of pinwheel cookies that taste as good, if not better, than the original...
I'll also let you in on a secret... I was SO worried that the swirl wouldn't turn out well at all. But it did!! Just look at the pictures.
These cookies aren't very chocolate-y, but have just a hint of dual flavor with the chocolate and vanilla. To be honest, if you were to close your eyes and take a bite, you may not even realize they're chocolate at all. What they are is good... VERY good!
It's been two days since I made these and they're already over halfway gone. And this recipe made around 30 good-sized cookies... #noshame
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
3 tbsp coconut oil, at room temperature
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp whole milk
25 g dark chocolate
1 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
In a cup or small microwaveable bowl, microwave the dark chocolate and 1 tsp coconut oil in bursts of 15 seconds until melted. Stir in between each burst to ensure the chocolate doesn't burn. Set aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the three flours, salt and baking powder.
In a separate, medium bowl, whisk together the 3 tbsp coconut oil and sugar. Add in the egg and whisk again. Finally add the honey, vanilla extract and milk and whisk again.
Pour the wet ingredients (not including chocolate mixture) into the dry and stir until just combined. The dough will be thick.
Separate the dough into two. In one half, pour in the cooled chocolate mixture. This dough is likely to be slightly more wet than the vanilla half, so add a tablespoon or two of flour until it is thick again.
Roll out the vanilla half in a large rectangle on a sheet of cling film until it is around 0.5 cm thick. On a separate platform do the same with the chocolate half. Carefully lift the chocolate sheet off its platform and place on the rolled out vanilla dough. Like a jelly roll or cinnamon buns, gently, but tightly roll the cookies into a log. It is best to roll along the long edge so you are left with a long log. If you end up doing it the other way around, the log will be short and extremely large (in diameter!).
Use the cling film that was under the vanilla dough to wrap the log tightly. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or refrigerator for 2 hours.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven the 180 C.
Take the cookie dough log out of the fridge/freezer and slice the log into discs about 3/4 cm thick. I sliced them slightly at an angle to yield oval-shaped cookies, but round is great too!
Place the sliced cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly crisp and a beautiful golden brown.
Let the cookies cool on a wire rack. Grab a few, a nice hot drink, your favorite book and snuggle up on the couch. It is winter, after all. Enjoy!
I
already have a pretty long list of chocolate chip cookies I've made,
but really, can you ever have enough? I definitely can't. And so I got
thinking - I've done coconut, banana, almond/oat, almond/coconut, and peanut butter
(all varieties of chocolate chip cookies!). I've also mentioned, on
multiple occasions, that my sister isn't a big fan of nuts, and
especially not in baked goods. So why did I go with walnuts? Well,
here's the secret: I was actually baking a big batch of cookies to bring
with me on my trip to India as a gift for my grandparents. They never
stop talking about my baking! My grandpa is a massive walnut person, and
toasted walnut chunks in chocolate chip cookies sounded fantastic!
