The “bean” in this recipes title doesn’t refer to the cocoa beans we get chocolate from. I’m talking about fiber-rich, good for your body white Cannellini beans. These nutritious cookies are a low-calorie snack you don’t need to feel guilty about eating. And how do they taste? I gave a batch to the most junk food addicted person I know, and as he jammed cookie after cookie in his mouth he managed to say “there is no way these cookies are healthy!”

I use white Cannellini beans for this recipe because they have a very subtle flavor that you won’t taste in the final cookie. They also blend well and are transformed into a creamy concoction that adds a welcome texture to the cookie. I have tried this with other beans and the recipe always turns out great, with black beans being my personal second choice.

This recipe does not use any flour, butter or oil, something almost unheard of in cookie baking. Instead, I use ground almonds which have a small amount of good fat. When mixed with the blended beans, the texture and flavor mimics that of a traditional butter and flour cookie. My first attempts at the perfect healthy cookie were a little on the dry side. I found that adding dark chocolate chips solved the problem. The chips form small pockets of gooey, chocolatey goodness and leave you with an overall feeling of decadent indulgence.

The cocoa bean cookies do tend to dry out more quickly than normal cookies. So I only bake a dozen at a time so that they never sit around for more than a day or two. I love using my toaster oven for this; it saves energy and doesn’t heat up my entire kitchen. If you do want a larger batch, it is easy to double, triple or even quadruple this recipe.

Ingredients for a dozen cookies

1 large egg

1/4 cup of ground almonds

1 cup of cooked white Cannellini beans

1/4 cup of cocoa powder

1/3 cup of maple syrup

1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips

Directions

Heat your toaster oven to 375 degrees F. Put the egg and ground almonds into the work bowl of your food processor fitted with the multi-purpose blade. Pulse until well blended. Add the beans, cocoa powder and maple syrup. Process until smooth and well blended, about 5 minutes. Gently fold in the dark chocolate chips.

Drop 12 even portions onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, between 10 to 14 minutes. Just be sure to check a part of the cookie without a chocolate chip in it (because that will always come out gooey.)

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