Lighter Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I woke up to a lazy Sunday morning in the mood to be a little less lazy and bake something...seeing as I haven't in a couple weeks.  My boyfriend Javi has been pestering me to make peanut butter cookies for about a month but in hopes of being healthy I have been steering clear of such obviously caloric recipes.  So I made a compromise--a lighter version.  Now, you may take a quick scan at the ingredients and wonder how can canola oil and brown sugar ever be light, but I swear to you that each cookie has 128 calories, which I assure you is much less than the norm.  Anyways, enjoy this mixture between a classic chocolate chip cookie and a peanut butter cookie, whether you're trying to lose weight or not...in the end it's always about moderation (and this tends to be my problem).

Ingredients: (3 dozen cookies)

1 cup granulated sugar 
1 cup packed brown sugar 
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites 
1 large egg 
12 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 2/3 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips (I ran out so I chopped up some 68% cacao valrhona chocolate...not too shabby)

Preheat oven to 350°F or 176°C.

Measure out granulated sugar into a large bowl.

Add the brown sugar.

And the peanut butter.

Then the water and canola oil.

And the vanilla.

And the egg whites and egg.

Mix until creamy with your hand or stand mixer.

Measure out flour into a medium sized mixing bowl.

Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Mix with a whisk.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture.

Mix with spatula until just combined.

Chop up your chocolate if you are using baking chocolate and not chocolate chips.

Add the chocolate pieces.

Mix in well.

Spoon out tablespoon-sized balls of batter onto a baking sheet.

Bake at 350F or 176C for 12-13 minutes.

Take out of oven when golden brown.  Let cool for a few minutes, and enjoy!