B-b-b-baking: Black Bean Chocolate Cookies

It was my last day at work today because my contract end date fell within the stat holiday weekend. Yet another excuse to bake!

There's a celiac and a vegan in our office, so even more fun playing with substitutions!

Things that I learned today about black beans:
- Beans are basically starch, and therefore can be used as a decently healthy and gluten-free substitute for flour in baked goods.
- Canned beans need salt in order to be preserved. Always keep this in mind when baking with them.
- Canned beans can be used instead of cooked beans if you are lazy or do not have enough time.
- Due to their dark colour, black beans work well in chocolate things like cookies and brownies.
- Making batters with beans is one of the easiest things ever. A whirr in the blender and it's practically ready to pop into the oven.
- You need to allow the cookies to cool on the tray for a bit before transferring to a rack, because they are softer and more fragile than normal cookies until slightly hardened. The resulting texture on the inside is soft and chewy :)

I actually made two batches because the first one failed. Why? I forgot to account for the salt contained in 19 oz. of canned beans. What happened? They tasted pretty bad and salty. Probably one of the worst things I've ever made. After I took a bite of one, I thought to myself, "how can I possibly give these to anyone?" But the texture and level of salt could potentially be tasty with a good scoop of ice cream to accompany it. Will keep you posted on this hypothesis. For the mean time, 10 of the nasty things have been generously donated to P.

Second batch? Wayyy better...thank goodness.

Also, food processors are good for pureeing things, but I don't have one, so I used my immersion blender (i.e. my best friend when I had my wisdom teeth pulled). Worked wonders.

Do you know that there are beans in these?

Vegan and Gluten-Free Black Bean Chocolate Cookies (adapted from Nutritionist in the Kitch)

*Makes 22*

1 can (19 oz.) pre-cooked black beans 

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp peanut butter

1/4 cup vanilla almond milk

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup white granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

2. Rinse and drain the black beans several times to remove some of the salt and starch. 

3. Using a food processor/really good blender/immersion blender, blend black beans, oil, and nut butter until it forms a smooth paste. 

4. Add milk, sugar, cocoa, and baking powder, and blend again until smooth and evenly distributed. 

5. Using a Chinese soup spoon, divide the batter into 22 equal portions. (You can use whatever spoon you want. I used a Chinese soup spoon, and got 22 cookies out of it.)

6. Bake for 20 minutes. 

7. Remove them from the oven, but allow to sit on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes to allow the shape to set a bit. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

8. Bring to the office or eat them by yourself, and don't feel as guilty as you could feel for eating 22 cookies. 

I still have 2 cans of black beans sitting at home...what to do?...what to do?...

-M