Tag Archives: cookies

From http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2008/10/08/day-282-everything-bagel-cheddar-cheese-and-bean-cookies-in-the-car/
- Reprinted with permission

Packed with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, beans are a great way to sneak nutrition into cookies – pureed, you don’t even know they’re there! These are substantial, not too sweet, have an amazingly tender texture, and keep longer than other low fat cookies. I call them breakfast cookies because they make a perfect mobile mini-meal.

2 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned, not instant)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 – 19 oz. (540 mL) can white kidney or navy beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/4-1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2-4 Tbsp. ground flaxseed (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place the oats in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse flour. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and process until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Put the beans into the food processor and pulse until roughly pureed. Add butter and process until well blended. Add the brown sugar, egg and vanilla and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Pour the bean mixture into the oat mixture and stir by hand until almost combined; add the chocolate chips, raisins, nuts and flaxseed and stir just until blended. Drop large spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, and flatten each one a little with your hand. (I find this works best if I dampen my hands first.) Bake for 14-16 minutes, until pale golden around the edges but still soft in the middle. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Per cookie: 165 calories, 4.9 g total fat (2.3 g saturated fat, 1.3 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat), 27.3 g carbohydrate, 14.5 mg cholesterol, ), 3.4 g protein, 2.4 g fiber. 26% calories from fat.

Variation: Chocolate Lentil Cookies: use lentils in place of the white kidney beans, and replace 1/3 cup of the flour with cocoa, to disguise their colour.