Butter Bean Cookies

Butter Bean Cookies

Butter Bean Cookies
From:  Everyday Happy Herbivore
By:  Lindsay S. Nixon

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats, divided
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt (optional) I didn't use!
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• dash of ground cardamom (optional) I did use.
• 1-15 oz. can white beans, drained and unrinsed, reserving all the liquid
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips   As I didn't have vegan chips on hand, I used regular chocolate chips.

 To prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a large cookie sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside.  I used parchment paper.
2. Place 3/4 cups of the oats in a blender or food processor and pulse, about 15 times, until crumbly.  Don't let it get like flour. I used food processor.
3. Transfer to a mixing bowl and combine with the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom.  Whisk to incorporate and set aside.
4. Place 1/2 cup of beans in food processor or blender and add applesauce, sugar, vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of the reserved bean liquid.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into dry mixture and stir about 10 times. Again, I used a food processor.  And really, only stir about 10 times.  It won't be mixed together yet, but it will come along nicely in a minute.
5.  Add chocolate chips, remaining 1/4 cup of oats, and the rest of the reserved bean liquid, stirring until well blended. It should take on the consistency of cookie dough! If too wet, add more oats, if too dry, add a little water.
6. Drop tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, leaving an inch between cookies.  Flatten slightly.  They should look more like cookies than balls. This was just like putting regular cookies on a cookie sheet.  I just took the back of the spoon and flattened a little.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are just turning light brown and middles are firm.  The bottoms should become golden brown.  The cookies will firm a bit as they cool.  15 minutes was right-on for my oven.  I removed from parchment as soon as I took them out of the oven and allowed to cool on a cookie rack.  The flavor, texture, and aroma, would not give this away as a healthy cookie.

Nutritional Information: (1 cookie)
 61 calories, 0.7 grams fat, 12.4 grams carbohydrates, 1.4 grams fiber, 5.2 grams sugars, 1.3 grams protein