A good old fashioned peanut butter cookie is pretty popular around here, but with a lot of kids, our peanut butter can sometimes be a resource we need to conserve. When I think of how much we spend on peanut butter each month, I really have to laugh. It is obscene. Really, you would think it was a utility bill. That is the reality of a big family. However, that does not mean I can’t make a mean cookie! It just means that sometimes I will improvise with ingredients.
Some people might think those peanut butter powders are overly expensive, but when you look at how much you get in a jar and compare it to a regular jar of peanut butter, it really is not a bad deal at all. Plus, the fact it is fat free and can be substituted as a protein powder can be a bonus. Did I mention it is shelf stable and free of hydrogenated oils, unlike so many regular peanut butter brands?
For these cookies, I use PBfit, but any comparable brand of peanut butter powder will do. I am not being sponsored by PBfit, I just like their powder and I can sometimes find it for a good price on amazon.
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Powdered Peanut Butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 sticks butter softened
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup powdered peanut butter
- 2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mix brown sugar, white granulated sugar, and butter until creamy. Mix in eggs either by hand or with a mixer. Fold in powdered peanut butter and salt. Mix flour and soda together, then add them to the dough. Once your flour is incorporated, add your chocolate chips. Depending on the powdered peanut butter you use, this dough can stiffen up, so you want to move quickly. If your dough seems too goopy to form blobs on a tray, pop it in the fridge for an hour.
Remove from fridge. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Using a spoon and your hands, scoop about 1/8th cup dough formed into roundish blobs, and place them on parchment on a baking sheet. (I really want to try silicone sheets for this!)
Bake 12 cookies per sheet, one sheet at a time for 12-13 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet for 4-5 minutes before removing them with a spatula. You can place them on a cooling sheet, or just go old school like me and use a cut brown paper grocery bag. The peanut butter flour makes these less form, so you may want to bake them a minute or two longer. Also, I find they take a little longer to stiffen up while cooling. However, the de-fatted peanut powder adds a great flavor while keeping the greasiness of peanuts down.
This style of cookie is just one of the many ways I love using a powdered peanut butter outside of my smoothie habit. Plus, with a big family, I need to reserve our regular peanut butter for the bazilliondy sandwiches I need to make each day. Enjoy!!