Whole wheat flour recipes

I didn’t get around to posting this weekend. I’m not sure why I said I would – I’m barely near the computer on the weekend. Anyway, I did manage to email myself these recipes to work, so I have something to post today. All of these recipes are from my “recipe cheat sheet”, a laminated 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper that has all of the ingredients and cooking times/temperatures on it for quick reference. What this means is that I make these recipes all the time.

Of course, I will be making them a lot more now that I have my very own KitchenAid Stand Mixer (black – thanks for asking). It was on sale and I just could not let it go any longer. I baked up a storm this weekend: Brownies! Blueberry waffles! Banana bread! Whole wheat bread! Ginger snap cookies! I don’t know how I ever got along without “Stan”. Homer has requested a Lemon Meringue Pie. I didn’t get around to it this weekend, but you can guarantee it will be on next weekend’s menu!


General whole wheat flour substitution rules (my rules, not “official” rules or anything like that):

I sub whole wheat flour in recipes where the colour of the finished product will not be negatively affected. For example, in the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies, below, the cookie is already bulky, grainy and darkish, so the sub of ww flour will go undetected. I would not use it in sugar cookies, nor shortbreads, as people expect those to be white. Most muffins are fine to change out the white flour for whole wheat, but I wouldn’t in a lemon loaf, because the pretty yellow colour turns a little muddy and unappealing.

I would not sub ww flour in anything that needed to be stretched or rolled. The gluten in white flour is much more elastic and better-suited for this type of recipe. Pizza dough is the exception, except that I look specifically for a whole wheat pizza crust recipe instead of subbing into the white-flour version.

Whole wheat flour will absorb more liquid than white, so if you’re subbing it into an existing white flour recipe, maybe reduce the amount of flour by 1 tbsp/cup of flour. I usually sub measure for measure and just eyeball the mixture when it’s ready to go. If it seems too dry, I add just a little more liquid.

Here are some of my go-to recipes, all using whole wheat flour:


Cookies

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1½ c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 c crisco
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3c quick oats
1c dark raisins
1 6oz pkg choc chips

Mix sugars and shortening. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix together. Add in raisins and chocolate chips. Bake at 375* for 8-10 min.

Ginger Snap Cookies
¾ c. soft shortening
1 c. sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
2 c. flour
sugar for dipping

Mix together wet ingredients until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Form balls and roll in sugar. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 375* for 8-11 min.



Breads & Muffins

Carrot Bread
¾ c oil
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 c sugar
1½ c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 c grated carrots

Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients. Add carrots. Bake in greased loaf pan at 350* for 1 hour.

Banana Bread
1¼ c sifted flour
½ tsp salt
1 c sugar
1 tsp soda
2 eggs
½ c oil
3 small, ripe bananas

Mix wet ingredients, including banana. Add dry ingredients. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350* for 40-60 min.

Cornbread
1¼ c flour
¾ c cornmeal
¼ c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c milk
1 egg
2 tbsp oil

Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients. Bake at 400* in greased 8”x8” pan for 20-25 minutes, or in greased mini muffin cups for about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Orange Muffins
1 whole orange
½ c orange juice
½ c chopped dates
1 egg
½ c butter, softened
1¾ c flour
¾ c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking powder

Cut orange in quarters and puree in a blender or food processor with the orange juice until smooth. Add in dates, egg and butter. Mix up dry ingredients in a large bowl and add the stuff from the food processor. Mix just until incorporated. Bake in greased muffin tins at 400* for 20 min (about 15 minutes for mini muffins).

Basic Bran Muffins
1 c Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt

1 c Sour milk (add milk to 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice to make 1 cup)
1 c Natural Bran (found with the oatmeal and other hot cereals - remember to store this in the freezer)

1/3 c oil
3 tbsp Molasses
1 egg
¼ c Brown Sugar
½ tsp vanilla
¾ c raisins

Add the bran to the sour milk and let it sit for a bit. Mix up the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix up the wet ingredients, then add the bran/milk mixture. Add the dry to the wet, then add the raisins. Bake in greased muffin tins at 375* for 20-25 min (about 15 minutes for mini-muffins).


Other

Brownies
3/4 cups melted butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips(you can put 1 c. walnuts in too, if that's your thing - I don't because there is a no-nut policy at school and I like to have the option of including them in the kids’ lunches)

Mix wet ingredients with sugar. Mix dry ingredients and add to wet. Add chocolate chips. Put in greased 9x13 pan. Bake for about 20 minutes at 400*. If you like icing on your brownies, ice it while the brownies are still hot (about 5 minutes after you take them out of the oven). This will make the icing thin-ish and glossy. Wait until the brownies have completely cooled to cut into squares, otherwise you will have a gooey (yet delicious) mess.

Pancakes
2c flour
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1½ cup milk
4 tbsp oil

Mix wet ingredients, add dry ingredients. Make pancakes. If you’re going to be letting the batter sit for a bit, add more milk to the batter. The longer the batter sits, the more the liquid will be absorbed by the flour and the consistency will be more muffin-batter than pancake batter.

Enjoy!