Panini and a New Cookie

So last night it was more panini for dinner. This time, cheesesteak panini. We had some steak leftover in the freezer from doing fondue on Christmas Eve – not enough to make a meal out of it alone, but definitely enough to make sandwiches. I used the Griddler to grill the steak – about 4 minutes using it as a contact grill. For the sandwiches I added provolone cheese, horseradish sauce, and sautéed mushrooms and onions. Easy and very good. DS commented that the steak wasn’t right for an authentic Philly Cheesesteak – I told him that’s because this was “real” steak – not the lower quality, though admittedly tasty, shaved steak they use for a real Philly variety.

I’m trying not to bake as many sweet treats, but I couldn’t resist this recipe that I found over at the CLBB. Val posted a recipe for whole wheat chocolate chip cookies and I was very intrigued. Val bakes a lot, so I really trust and respect her opinion, but I was still skeptical – I’m so picky about chocolate chip cookies. Skepticism aside, I had to give them a try. They were everything Val said they would be – delicious. This recipe is very much like the Toll House recipe, both in ingredients and in taste. The white flour is replaced by regular whole wheat and reduced to 2 cups, there is only 1 egg instead of 2 and the salt is reduced to ½ teaspoon.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

If I were doing a blind taste test between these and Toll House, I’m sure I would pick up on the texture differences – these are not quite as tender as a Toll House – the whole wheat definitely adds texture – and they are a little crisper. Other than that, though, the taste is amazingly similar – with that wonderful buttery dough that I love so much. I love this dough so much that I don’t even want chocolate to interfere with it, so I reduced the chocolate chips to 1 cup and it was just right for me.

As Val said, these cookies still can’t be considered exactly healthy with all the sugar and butter, but it does move a step in the right direction by using whole wheat flour instead of refined white flour. I might try these with raw, unrefined granulated sugar in an attempt to make an even more wholesome cookie. Unfortunately, for my tastes, there’s no cutting down on the butter – it’s what makes these cookies taste so darned good.