We are spending this week at my uncle’s summer house. Learning by earlier mistakes, we only packed the food and props that we actually needed for this photo shoot. Baking wasn’t part of our plans so we almost didn’t bring any baking goods. But of course I was bit by the baking bug last night.
Luise had packed a bag of coconut palm sugar, and since I had never baked with it before, I died to give it a try. We rarely keep any sugars at home, but this is supposed to be some kind of super food. It tastes a lot like muscavado sugar, so I’m not completely convinced that it can be classified as healthy? Anyway, I reckoned that its burnt taste would be perfect in a cookie. With only a bag of sugar and no flour in the house I reached into our pantry after anything that could be made into a cookie. I found a bag of rosehip powder, a can of black beans, cacao powder, olive oil and some nut butter… I know, the ingredients seemed quite random to me too. But it actually worked. These no flour, no butter, no chocolate, no egg cookies came out super delicious. And I’m not saying that because I am a health nut who thinks black beans are candy. They actually taste great. Although they don’t have the same crunch as a classic cookie (a little bit more gooey), they are remarkably similar considering the ingredients. I saved a few black beans and added them to the cookies just before baking, as a substitute to chocolate chips. Doesn’t they look convincing!?
Even though we have never been big fans of giving cookies to small kids, these are actually boosted with good stuff. Apart from being the only thing I could find, rose hip powder is actually super high in vitamin C and are commonly known for anti-inflammatory properties. And black beans are packed with protein and fiber. So these cookies are actually quite powerful!
Here are few other sweet bean recipes that you might find inspiring:
Gluten & Dairy-free Black Bean Chocolate Brownie
Black Bean Chocolate Chili Cherry
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bean Balls
Amazing Black Bean Brownies Recipe
Chocolate Black Bean Power Cookies
Around 10 cookies
I have to emphasize that these cookies were made (twice) with these ingredients because it was what we had on hand. I am certain that you – with a richer pantry – could adapt these in different ways. Maybe add some rice flour, corn starch, chia seeds, cinnamon, chocolate (!) or whatever tricks you have up your sleeve.
1 cup (240 ml) cooked black beans
2 tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
2 tbsp nut butter (we used almond)
2 tbsp oat milk (or any plant milk)
1/2 cup (120 ml) coconut palm sugar
4-5 tbsp cacao powder
2 tbsp rose hip powder (can be substituted with some rice flour and cinnamon)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Rinse the beans thoroughly in cold water. Drain them, save 20 beans for decoration and add the rest to a food processor together with oil, nut butter and milk. Blend until smooth. Sift together sugar, cacao powder, rose hip powder, baking powder and salt and add to the bean mixture. Run it again until all is combined. The batter should be similar to a thick mousse. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon 9-12 evenly distributed dollops of batter on it. Use a spoon or a finger to form the cookies into round shapes, 3-4 inches/7-10 cm wide. Bake for around 20 minutes (they should still be a little soft when you remove them from the oven). Set a side a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
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