Tri-Colored Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I go to grad school in a small town.  Small by size, yes... but also by culture.  There is a local Italian man who owns a car shop with his son, and whenever something is wrong with my car - they are the guys to go to.

So, when my "Check Engine" light came on the other day, I knew exactly where to go.  Hence - baking time.  They LOVE my peanut butter cookies!  Is there a better deal than honest service at low prices in return for baked goods?!?!?  No, would be the correct answer :). 

I was going to be heading out of town soon and I couldn't go to the grocery store...  So, once again, I checked the cupboard to see what I could find.  Sensing a pattern here?

Since I was just baking for two, I only wanted to bake a 1/4 recipe - also, there was only 1/4 cup butter left.  Then, one egg would be too much, so rather than trying to half an egg, I just used an egg white.

Okay... fast-forward to the chocolate chips... haha - this was fun.  I wanted a 1/2 cup chocolate chips, but upon measuring, I realized I didn't quite have enough of one or even 2 kinds.  Ladies (or gentlemen) - get ready to clean out those cupboards! 

Grab all your leftover Easter, Christmas, and Valentines Day chocolate and head for the cutting board.  I found a dark chocolate bar in my freezer from my stocking last year a month ago and started chopping.  There wasn't enough of that, so I added the rest of my semi-sweet chocolate chips... STILL no enough, so I added the remaining white chocolate chips from my Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies - and voila!  Pure bliss :).

Yields roughly 16 servings (dough balls look small – but will expand)

Nutrition Information:  115 calories, 12g carbs, 7g fat, 2g protein, 8mg Cholesterol, 6mg Sodium, 8g sugar, 1g fiber

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup unsalted Butter
• 4 tablespoons raw Peanut Butter (I like crunchy)
• 1 teaspoon Organic Chia Seeds
• 1 large egg white
• Vanilla extract – to taste
• 2 tablespoons White Granulated Sugar
• ¼ cup unpacked Brown Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Oat Bran
• 8 tablespoons chocolate chips (dark, semi-sweet, milk, white)
• Cinnamon – to taste
• ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• ½ cup Unbleached Flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Melt butter and mix with chia seeds – let sit.
3. While chia seeds are expanding, in a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients (white and brown sugar, oat bran, flour, chocolate chips, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.
4. Stir dry mixture with a fork to eliminate any chunks.
5. Mix peanut butter, egg white, and vanilla into wet ingredients.
6. Combined dry and wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
7. Roll dough into 2” balls and place on cookie sheet – while the dough balls look small, they will expand.
8. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes.
9. Let cool and enjoy!