Firstly, please don’t let the ‘black bean’ part of the title put you off. While I know it doesn’t immediately conjure up images of a chewy chocolatey cookie, I’d ask you to give these little babies a chance. I’ve been searching for a recipe for a healthy cookie. A pursuit that started a long time ago, and will no doubt continue due to my unfaltering commitment of finding a way to combine my love of cookies with my love of healthy foods. Could there be a possibility that the perfect cookie, chewy in the centre, crispy around the edge, sweet but salty, has some nuts, chocolate and brings back all my childhood memories of summers in the US, is only a black bean/pinto bean/or flax seed away?
Well maybe this cookie nirvana is possible after all. I came accross this recipe, and you know what, it’s not half bad… actually, its better than that, its pretty damn good. There is something incredibly ‘more-ish’ about these and due to the lack of bad stuff I felt entirely justified in having a couple for my lunch the next day – sure its practically a cookie salad.
This recipe is adapted from a blog I cannot commend enough MyNewRoots – I love everything about it and I imagine this probably won’t be the first time a recipe will be inspired by Sarah. – Thanks Sarah!
chocolate cherry pecan, black bean cookies
I hadn’t really thought ahead and knew I had a bag of dried black beans in the press so I used the quick soak method – boil them in a few cups of water, turn off heat and let them sit with the lid on for an hour. Drain, cover with fresh water, boil hard for 20-30 mins until they are soft.
However if you have the time (or are more organised than me and are planning ahead) I would recommend soaking the beans first as it shortens the cooking time, allows beans that are dry or immature to float to the surface where they can be skimmed off, and apparently removes some of the complex sugar that causes indigestion. Make sure to cover your beans with lots of water when soaking (at least 4 times the volume of your beans). Or alternatively you can use the pre-cooked canned variety.
Hello NoBo.
Cliona here. Well i like the new addition of coconut bars. Lovely. Could I use ground almonds instead of the whole ones? Also, those cookies from Marley were just amazing. Could i use ground almonds instead of the almond meal?
You are both brill.
See you soon, good luck with everything,
Clee x
Hi Clee,
Thanks a million for the comment!!
Glad you like the new recipe!
For the Market cookies you could definitely use ground almond instead of almond meal, you may need to reduce/increase the amount of oil but I haven’t experimented with only ground almonds so i’m not sure but you should be able to gauge by the consistency/texture.
For the Coconut Bars I’m not sure if ground almonds would work, the whole almonds get pulsed and still have a bit of a crunch, but hey, its worth a try!
I actually have lots of almond meal so can get you some soon, i’m sure you can come up with some great uses for it and interesting recipes!!
Let us know how you get on if you try any of the recipes or if any of the directions are unclear.
Thanks so much again!!