whole grain chocolate chip bars

I grew up with homemade treats in my school lunch and I really enjoy making stuff for my kids' lunch.  Like many other people, this past year I discovered Kim Boyce's whole wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe.  It seems silly to me now, all those years making cookies with white flour, when whole wheat actually tastes better.  My kids love them; I make them regularly.  I'm really not interested in cutting butter or sugar from cookies because they're meant to be a treat (eat two, not five).  But, I like using whole grains, and honestly they taste great in baking.  So, it's not less fattening, but it is more nutritious.

Whole Wheat and Oat Chocolate Chip Bars

3  cups whole wheat flour*

1 tsp soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 egg

2 tsp vanilla

12 oz  bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside. Beat butter, sugars, egg and vanilla till fluffy and add dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Press onto a lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

You will have school lunch treats for a week or more!

*A note about whole wheat flour

Whole wheat flour needs to be kept in the freezer.  The oil in the flour goes rancid really quickly; so only buy a small bag at a time.  I find that buying any dry goods in bulk here is a bad idea; even stuff in unopened packages goes mouldy from the humidity after a couple of weeks.