You might be questioning me already…just looking at the photo they don’t look like chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chocolate chip maybe, but not regular chocolate chip cookies. There’s an easy explanation for that, these cookies are made with spelt flour. The problem was the name of the cookie was already long, adding the word spelt just didn’t sound right!
So what is spelt anyway? Simply put it is an ancient non wheat grain. Spelt flour does still have some gluten but is easier to digest than wheat flour. It also has a little more protein than wheat flour. It has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor, thus making it perfect for cookies with nuts.
In our house there is the great chocolate chip cookie debate. Josh prefers a flat cookie, pretty much following the recipe on the package. I prefer a cookie with more body to it which usually means more flour. Since I am the main cookie baker in the family (though Josh alleges to be famous for his cookies he rarely bakes anymore as there aren’t enough hours in the day, days in the week…) I usually get the cookies I want.
This time I decided to let Josh get it his way. They aren’t necessarily as flat as he makes them, but definitely thinner than my usual. I also had to reserve a little of the dough just for him since he recently started having a reaction to hazelnuts and avoids them. His are nut free. I may have forgotten about his newly discovered allergy the first time I baked these so he didn’t get any.
As I said before, the spelt flour is slightly sweet and nutty so I went with it and added hazelnuts to the cookies. Normally I am a classic chocolate chip cookie kind of girl, but with spelt I really wanted to add hazelnuts. You could certainly add another nut, but hazelnut is by far my favorite. These cookies also screamed sea salt to me. With a sweet and buttery cookie Maldon sea salt flakes help balance it all out.
Because this is a flatter cookie I chose to refrigerate the dough for a short while. This helped them bake more evenly. They are crispy on the edge and chewy on the inside. It’s an ideal compromise for our ongoing chocolate chip cookie debate!
Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. dark brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 3/4 c. spelt flour
12 oz. dark chocolate chips
1 c. hazelnuts, chopped
Maldon sea salt flakes
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
In a medium bowl sift together the baking soda, kosher salt and flour. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Put the dough in the fridge for half and hour.
Drop the chilled dough by large tablespoon sized balls on prepared sheets (leave room for them to spread in the oven), sprinkle the tops with Maldon sea salt flakes and bake for 10-12 minutes. Once out of the oven allow to cool on a rack.
Yields: Approximately 4 dozen
Feeding My 3 Sons 
Delicious Gretchen – these look so good!
Thanks. I’m hoping the boys don’t find them in the freezer so they will last longer!
Oh my, what a delicious compromise!
Looking good! Been a way for a while and thrilled to see you’re still cooking here at WP 🙂 Very cool to use spelt flour in baking. Have never tried.
Oh where have you been? I’ve missed you Liz! I use spelt quite a bit now. I’m even buy it in a 25 pound bag!
These do sound like a happy and tasty compromise. I just read your comment about a 25 lb. bag…wow that means a lot of baking. 🙂
Lots of baking indeed! I freeze the spelt or it will go bad too quickly now that it is heating up here. I use it most in my sourdough bread. The cookies were great with spelt too.