100% Whole-wheat version of a sugar cookie, and the cookie dough is safe to eat since it is egg-free
It's almost Valentine's Day, and even though it's not my favorite holiday, I love making Valentine's Day treats! I'm a sucker for heart shapes and pink & red sprinkles.
If you go to the grocery store in the beginning of February, you are bombarded with pink, red, chocolate, flowers, etc. I'm always tempted to buy those decorated sugar cookies because they are so cute, but God only knows what's in them... so I make my own.
No cookie is going to be healthy, but I found a recipe for a slightly improved sugar cookie. Note that there isn't much sugar in the cookie, so you may not consider it a sugar cookie. But it still tastes great (that is, unless you like really sweet sugar cookies). I like to decorate the cookies with colored sugar to make them a little bit sweeter.
You may be wondering how this cookie is a little bit healthier... well, it's made from all whole wheat flour.
You have the option to use whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour.
Whole wheat pastry flour is similar in texture/flavor to all-purpose flour with the health benefits of whole wheat. You can find whole wheat pastry flour in health food stores and well-stocked supermarkets or online.
White whole wheat flour (it's whole wheat but made with a different wheat berry, so it's a whiter color) is a lot easier to find. I've even seen it in Walmart. I like King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour and Gold Medal White Whole Wheat flour.
Regular whole wheat flour can make baked goods dense, so I wouldn't recommend using regular whole wheat flour for this recipe.
Feel free to use unbleached all-purpose flour, but I don't recommend it since it's a refined grain {meaning all of the health benefits have been removed}.
I have tried this recipe using a gluten-free baking flour, and while I don't recommend eating the raw cookie dough (it was disgusting, in my opinion), the baked cookies were actually pretty good.
The cookies can be rolled out & cut into shapes or just rolled into balls and baked. Decorating them is optional.
Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour like King Arthur Flour or Gold Medal White Whole Wheat
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt a little less
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 TBSP light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TBSP milk dairy or nondairy
- 3 TBSP butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugars. Make sure to mix well.
- In another bowl, combine vanilla extract, milk, and butter. Add in dry ingredients and mix. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.
- Shape dough into tablespoon sized balls, or roll-out cookies and cut out with cookie cutters. Refrigerate another 15 minutes.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8-9 minutes. They will be slightly browned, but make sure not to overcook. Allow to cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack. These cookies are actually better {sweeter} when they are cool, so I like to wait before eating them.
Notes
*You can also use whole wheat pastry flour in place of the white whole wheat, but white whole wheat flour is usually easier to find & less expensive.
Meme
This recipe is linked to Eat at Home's Ingredient Spotlight: Whole Wheat Flour
Enjoy, and feel a little less guilty giving them to your loved ones 🙂
Based on this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie
SnoWhite @ Finding Joy in My Kitchen says
Those look quite delicious! We just made chewy sugar cookies using 100% white whole wheat flour and they were delicious. Yours look lovely too 🙂
memeinge says
Thanks!! I love white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour!
Tiffany says
Those are so pretty! I've got to try the white whole wheat flour.
memeinge says
Thank you! King Arthur Flour & Gold Medal both make really good white whole wheat flour, and no one ever notices the difference
Carrie says
These look amazing. I love a good sugar cookie!
memeinge says
Thanks! Sugar cookies will always be my favorite cookie 🙂
Vanessa says
These look delish! Can I use regular whole wheat flour? My husband is a health fanatic but sometimes I like making cookies and want to share with him because it’s too much. He’s convinced that other than cauliflower all white food is unhealthy.
Meme says
Hi Vanessa! Yes, you can but there will be a more pronounced wheat flavor.
Just a note: white whole wheat flour is 100% whole grain. It has the exact same nutritional value of whole-wheat flour, but because of the variety of grain used, the flavor is more mild and the color is lighter. It simply uses a different varietal of grain to give it the lighter color/flavor.
Hope this helps! Enjoy!
Erika says
When do you add the sprinkles before baking or after?
Meme says
I like to add them before baking, so they stick better 🙂
Happy baking!
Erika Rodriguez says
Thank you for your quick response. They were a hit! We gave them to our families as gifts. My children and I made them. Thank you for sharing!
Meme says
Hooray!!! So excited y'all liked them! We love them in my family!
xoxo