Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter Cookies (The Healthy Version)

I've been neglecting this blog since I came back from Singapore after the Chinese New Year break. Attending daily Japanese language class is the main culprit, as the amount of homework to submit and the long list of vocabulary to memorise are just too overwhelming. And on top of my regular yoga class and Japanese language class, I took up craft lessons as well.

With such a busy schedule, blogging has taken a back seat and I almost forgot that I have a blog until sometime in April. I bought a bread-making book and successfully baked two different batches of bread. This is a great achievement for me, as bread-making is not exactly my forte. I was so excited that I wanted to share the news in my blog, but my laptop decided to die on me then.... duh! After I got my laptop back, I was in no mood to blog as I had to reinstall all softwares that I had before and to search for hundreds of links that I used to bookmark. To make matter worse, the repair center in Taipei can only install the Chinese version of Windows for me and until now, I still have a hard time getting use to it, especially when I'm trying to make changes under "Control Panel". :-S

To be honest, the thought of quitting did cross my mind many times. But it's a waste to let it go since I've been using this space as my cooking journal for the past 6 years. Ever since I stopped updating this blog, I haven't been cooking/ baking as often as before, but the shoppaholic in me continues to pick up new cookbooks! I realised that blogging is my only motivation to try out new recipes and so after more than 3 months of absence, I'm back!

One of my new cookbooks features healthy cookies recipes that use vegetable oil instead of butter. I've tried out two recipes so far and I'm happy with results. The cookies are not only delicious, but I feel less guilty when I'm snacking on them too!

Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
Recipe adapted from まいにち食べたい“ごはんのような”クッキーとビスケットの本

Ingredients:
160g self-raising flour
40g wheat flour
50g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
75g crunchy peanut butter
4 tbs canola oil
5-8 tbs water (see Point 4 below)
50g chocolate chips

Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 170 deg C. Line a tray with parchment paper.
2) Mix flours, sugar and salt in a bowl.
3) Add peanut butter and oil to the flour mixture. Use hand to mix until well combined.
4) Add 5 tablespoon of water, knead mixture until it forms a dough. If the mixture is still try, continue to add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time until it forms a smooth dough.
5) Mix in chocolate chips.
6) Roll the dough into a rectangle that is 5mm thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the dough.
7) Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until the edges of the cookies turn slightly brown.
8) Transfer the cookies to a rack and cool to room temperature.