Of all the beans in the bean family, I rank black beans somewhere in the middle. Chickpeas are a clear favorite; I probably average a can a week, sprinkled over salads, tossed into soups, smashed into sandwiches, pureed into hummus and disguised as desserts. I love edmame plain, steamed with a tiny bit of salt. I heart split peas simmered until they burst and collect into hearty split pea soup and I have a strange affinity for buttery, meaty lima beans.
Black beans are like ehh. I eat them in Mexican food (they are my go-to burrito filler), but plain black beans just don’t hold appeal to me like some others.
This is the second cookie recipe I’ve made of Sarah B.‘s in my continuing foray into vegan baking. I didn’t love it quite as much as the recipe I turned into thumbprint cookies, but they’re definitely a solid base for a chocolate-y, brownie-reminiscent indulgence with lots of promise for the future.
I approve.
So in non-bean news, my roommate and I are hosting a holiday cookie swap on Sunday. We’re inviting people to bring cookies to swap, but we know a lot of them are wrapped up in other things like finals, so we’re planning on making a bunch. (Plus let’s be real: we just wanted an excuse to bake up a storm!)
Do you have any suggestions for must-make cookies?
Notes
The cookie: Although I didn’t quite dance around my kitchen in cookie ecstasy the way Sarah B. apparently did, I think these are a perfect cookie for when you want something sweet, chocolate-y and light. They’re delicately sweet, soft, and a little crumbly. You can still see a few little particles that my food processor didn’t quite squish up there–if I had a vitamix, I would love to try making these again, extra smooth, freezing them, and turning them into slice-and-bake chocolate wafers.
Fudgy, delicate, slightly sweet chocolate cookies studded with sweet-tart dried cherries get their structure from pureed black beans.
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1.5 tablespoons coconut oil, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
- 1/3 cup agave (or maple syrup, honey)
- 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)
- 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries
- coarse sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla in a bowl and set aside.
Place beans, coconut oil, cocoa, salt and cinnamon in a food processor and blend until the mixture is as smooth as possible. Add maple syrup and chia mixture and pulse to incorporate. Remove blade from the food processor and fold in the chocolate and cherries.
Use a tablespoon to measure cookie batter onto lined baking sheet. Use about 1.5 tablespoons of batter per cookie for 12 medium cookies. Nudge the batter into the approximate shape you want with your fingers, including flattening the top of cookies slightly, as they will barely spread when baking. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if desired.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until the tops of the cookies start to look slightly dry and the edges start to look taut and almost crisp. Cook for less time if you want a fudgier consistency. Cool before eating. Store in the fridge.
Notes
Changes: I barely adapted this from Sarah B's original recipe, but I did add baking powder and tweak other ingredient amounts/directions slightly. I used agave because I'm still trying to use my stock up, but I would try honey next time.
Recipe subs: If you don't have coconut oil or chia seeds, you can try butter and eggs, respectively, instead (although you should really just invest in those delicious ingredients!).
Adapted from here
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