Double Chocolate Cookies
These soft, fudgy cookies are made with beans, dates, banana, flax, and hemp hearts, making them a nourishing treat with plenty of plant-based goodness. You'd never guess there's a serving of beans hiding inside!
Servings 24 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup kidney beans, drained adzuki beans work well too
- 1 cup dates, pitted If your dates are firm or dry, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain well.
- 1 large banana
- 3 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 3 tbsp hemp hearts
- 1/3 cup cacao or cocoa
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour or oat or almond flour, see note below
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips or sub chopped nuts, goji berries, cacao nibs, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a food processor, combine the kidney beans and dates. Process until fairly smooth and uniform, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the banana and process until smooth.
- Add the ground flax seeds and hemp hearts and blend until well incorporated.
- Add the quinoa flour and cacao powder and pulse just until combined. Avoid over-processing.
- Remove the blade and bowl from the food processor and stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using two teaspoons, drop spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. The dough will be quite soft. Flatten each cookie using a damp fork, making a crisscross pattern.
- Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the cookies look set around the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They are very soft when they first come out of the oven and will firm up as they cool.
Notes
Choosing your dates
The type of date you use will affect the sweetness of the cookies. Sayer dates have a milder sweetness, while Medjool dates are larger, softer, and naturally sweeter. If using smaller dates, you may need a little more than 1 cup to achieve the same level of sweetness.
Quinoa flour substitution
If you don’t have quinoa flour, oat flour is my first choice. It has a mild flavour and works well in these cookies. You can make your own oat flour by blending rolled oats until finely ground. Almond flour can also be used, although the cookies will be somewhat softer and more tender. If using almond flour, start with the same amount and adjust slightly if the dough seems unusually wet.
Getting the right texture
The dough is naturally soft and sticky, so don’t be concerned if it doesn’t look like traditional cookie dough. A damp fork makes it much easier to flatten the cookies without sticking.
Mix-ins
Have fun with the add-ins! Chocolate chips are delicious, but chopped walnuts or pecans, cacao nibs, goji berries, or other dried fruit can all be used. You can also combine a couple of different additions.
Storage
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen for longer storage.
A little nutritional boost
Beans, flax seeds, hemp hearts, and cacao contribute fibre and plant-based protein, while flax and hemp hearts also provide unsaturated fats. The combination makes these cookies a more nourishing option than a typical sweet treat.
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