Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Though I would have preferred to spend my weekend toasting in the sun, it seems that the weather never cooperates when needed. I'm sure the sunshine will make a triumphant return when I return to work in a windowless office. Figures. Well, welcome back to all that were away. I hope your journey into catching up on Google Reader posts has been as fun & entertaining as mine. Y'all were cooking away while I was gone!

After spending a rather chilly weekend in Scottsdale, we returned home to some similar cloudy, temperate weather. Isn't the saying, "If life hands you lemons, make lemonade?" Well, since the house is still rather cool & I'm no longer terrified of making biscotti, I decided that if I couldn't frolic in the sun, I'd spend some time baking a relatively healthy yet sinful treat for an after dinner treat.

Unlike other biscotti recipes I have made, this one uses reduced fat peanut butter as the main source of fat - no butter here. Similar to the others, a dry dough is rolled into a log and twice baked to result in a crunchy cookie wonderful with a cup of coffee or tea.

Biscotti Log after first bake:

After a cut & second bake, the biscotti are ready to eat!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Adapted from One Smart Cookie
Yield: about 16 biscotti, depending on desired thickness

2 cups all purpose flour (can substitute 1 cup all purpose, 1 cup whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 /2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 - 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg & egg whites, and vanilla until well combined and smooth. Add flour mixture and mini chips. Stir by hand until just combined. The dough will seem very dry and it'll work best to use your hands to combine.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide in half. Shape each into an 8" log. Place the logs 2-3" apart on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Flatten each log into a rectangle about 3" wide.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until firm and cracking on top. Place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, reduce oven temperature to 275.

6. Place logs on cutting board, and cut each diagonally into 1/2 - 3/4 inch thick slices, using a serrated knife. Place biscotti cut side down onto the cookie sheet and return to oven for 20 minutes. Flip biscotti over and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.