Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Ok...down one week until baby Sosa arrives and I still have a sweet chocolate craving, but I don't want to succumb to all the sugar of a normal cookie, so I have been experimenting. I have 4 jars of natural peanut butter in my cupboard (no sugar added) and need to find a way to use those as well. After searching online, I found a recipe at www.allrecipes.com and made some modifications by reducing the sugar, increasing the amount of peanut butter, and using a high percentage of cocoa chocolate chips (which uses less sugar).

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup 60% cocoa or higher chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool for 1 or 2 minutes on sheet before removing, or they will fall apart.