Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I have had the itch to bake all weekend and finally had 2 hours of free time today, so I needed to find a quick, delicious recipe with ingredients that were likely in my pantry.

Under the title of this recipe in my Cooking Light cookbook it says, "This simple mix-and-drop dough comes together in minutes and may not even require a shopping trip, thanks to its pantry-friendly ingredients". How perfect is that? So chocolate peanut butter cookies it was!

I thought I had all of the ingredients, so I started mixing....

When it came time to add the canola oil, I realized I only had olive oil. At this point I was already investing in my baking project, so I figured what the heck? It will be an experiment, right? Also, my subconscious RD voice kicked in - between the peanut butter and the olive oil these cookies are going to be loaded with healthy monounsaturated fats!

After making the banana bread , I put a thermometer in my oven to tell the the exact temperature. Turns out when I set my oven to preheat to 350*, it really only gets up to 325* - Something I definitely need to keep in mind from now on.

The recipe says to bake the cookies for 12 minutes or until golden. The cookies took about 15 minutes to turn golden in my silly oven, I was still able to get them done within the 2 hours.

The cookies came out pretty good. They aren't like 'normal' peanut butter cookies that are dry and crumbly. They taste more like chocolate chip cookies with a peanut butter taste.

They came out a little dense, probably because I used olive oil - but DELICIOUS none the less.

Since everyone at work has been nagging me to bring my creations in, I baked some extra cookies for everyone to enjoy tomorrow!

Recipe to follow:

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

12 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 2/3 cups)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in minichips. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on 2 baking sheets. Bake at 350* for 12 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 3 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)

Nutrition Facts: Calories: 128 ; Fat: 4.5g ; Iron: 0.8mg ; Cholesterol: 6mg ; Calcium: 16mg ; Carbohydrate: 20.5g ; Sodium: 106mg ; Protein: 2.3g ; Fiber: 0.6g

Recipe courtesy of: Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2008