Christmas Cookies for Santa: A Second Try

After pulling the gingersnaps out of the oven, their spicy smell wafting through the house planted little seeds of doubt in my mind. What if every other family on the block baked ginger-based cookies? What if Santa moaned in disappointment upon finding another plate of these treats on our fireplace? I couldn’t let that happen, so once the gingersnaps moved to the cooling racks, I pulled out another set of measuring spoons.  

 

Since Saint Nick exudes tradition—how many people don the exact same suit on the exact same day for over 238 years?—I figured a traditional favorite would be the best choice. So for Try #2, I turned to the chocolate chip cookie.

 

Realizing that Saint may appreciate taking a few inches off his waistline to slide down chimneys a bit more gracefully, I substituted whole-wheat flour for all of the white. With a small dollop of molasses, these subtly sweet classics seemed like the perfect treat for a quick break during his long night of traveling.

 

 

Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 2-3 dozen

If you do freeze these, try increasing the baking time by 1-2 min. Serve with milk for dunking!

1¼ c. whole-wheat flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking soda

4 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp molasses

1 c. brown sugar

½ c. chocolate chips (make it a generous heaping ½ c.!)

1. Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl.
2. In a large bowl, stir butter, egg, vanilla, and molasses together. Add in the brown sugar, smearing any clumps against the side of the bowl. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Shape the dough into balls, about 1 tbsp per cookie.
4. Freezer step: Line a 9×13” baking pan with foil for easy clean up. Place the dough balls in the pan, ensuring that they do not touch. Freeze for 1-2 hours until hard. Place the frozen balls in a Ziploc bag, marked with the name, date, and baking temperature and time. (Just to make it easier when you decide to bake them!)
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350° and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place the dough balls on the prepared pans, and bake for 11-13 min, or until edges are golden and center is set. Cool on the pan for 5 min, then remove to wire racks to continue cooling.

 

 

And just in case our dog gobbled up all of the cookies when we weren’t looking or if I snuck one too many off of Santa’s plate, I froze an extra batch of dough to prevent any Oreo replacements on Christmas Eve. We’re ready for Santa!