I've never liked white beans and thus, never make them. But after reading about how certain white beans contain l-dopa, I became a little curious. Can fava beans cure depression? What about Great Northern? What about White Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies? I'm pretty sure the answers are no, no and still no, but this old recipe needed a new photo so I baked a batch today using some canned Great Northern beans.
White Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies Notes
Here are my notes from the last time I baked them: These soft, cake-with-crispy-edged cookies are healthy tasting, but not in a bad way. They are good for snacking or serving to children (Fuzz loved them), but I probably wouldn’t take them to a cookie swap or serve them at a party unless requested.
Well, update. I never get invited cookie swaps anymore anyway and no one's ever going to request healthy cookies for a swap, but I do like these. I changed the recipe a little bit more by adding walnuts and dried cherries, and I also tested with chocolate chips rather than chunks. All variations were good and as mentioned, not too sweet. White Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies would also make great breakfast cookies.
The recipe is adapted from one on Epicurious (the reviews are pretty terrible!), but I've halved it and made some other minor changes. I really do think they are pretty good for healthier cookies.
Recipe
White Bean Chocolate Chip cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup oats old fashioned or quick – not instant
- 1 cup all purpose flour 130 grams
- ⅜ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅜ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅜ teaspoon salt use a bit less if desired
- 6 tablespoons drained white beans mashed or pureed with 1 T. liquid (140 grams)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil OR use 1 ½ T. butter and ½ T. oil
- ⅓ cup firmly packed light brown sugar 65 grams
- 2 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar 30 grams
- 1 tablespoon molasses 20 grams
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces dark chocolate cut into chunks
- walnuts, dried cherries, banana chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray lightly with cooking spray.
- In blender or food processor, process oats until finely ground. Combine ground oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- This recipe requires mashed beans, so you might as well use the same blender of food processor to mash the beans. I used approximately 140 grams of Great Northern beans & some of their liquid.
- Combine mashed beans, oil, both sugars, molasses, egg, and vanilla in a separate bowl and beat well. Stir in oat/flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks. To make the cookies even better, stir in some nuts, dried fruit or maybe even banana chips!
- Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake 12 minutes until centers are firm and edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
Still learning:)
If too cakey, try dropping flour altogether, and bump up oats. We use ours for recess snacks. 🙂
lila
realy this cookies are sutaible for people who are care to their size thanks
Anna
Hi Leo,
For baking, King Arthur Flour company has everything you need. http://www.kingarthurflour.com.
I tend to my all my organics at the grocery store, so I'm not a great resource for you.
leo
These look delicious and I will have to try to make them this week.
Just out of curiosity….Do you know where I can get quality organic/vegan ingredients online? I am now trying to order from online stores only because of various reasons…….can you help me with any suggestions??????
There is only one place, out of all that I have tried that really stood out for true quailty, and that is Celebrityfoods.
If you can help me grow my list of quality services or stores, where I can buy my food, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you!
pumpkinpie
I added a healthy pinch of cinnamon and served them as scones. All the men gobbled them down without suspecting a thing.
Jessica "Su Good Sweets"
I made white bean brownies too! Actually mine (http://www.sugoodsweets.com/blog/2006/09/bean-brownies) spawned Deb's version.
Someone else also suggested these cookies, and I was curious if they'd actually work. If I make them, I'll try your version.
Anna
Hi Deb,
I've come to the conclusion that you can hide just about anything in brownies ;).
These cookies are actually very good. They're not as rich and sinful as some, but definitely good for snacking.
Deb Schiff
They look pretty good.
I've made really fudgy brownies with white bean puree (cannellini) and they passed without anyone lifting an eyebrow -- just another brownie!
Love your blog!