I love fudgy cookies. I love chocolate. I love healthy cookies and I love vegan cookies but most of all I love tasty cookies. And thus, I am delighted to announce that these Chocolate Chipotle Black Bean Cherry Cookies are all of those things.
They happen to be made with black beans. Now, I know what you're thinking...another black bean baked "goodie". I know, and I agree. I myself have been tricked into making several different cookies, brownies, etc. with black beans that were for lack of a better word...blech. These cookies are different, people! If you've been burned before by a promising black bean dessert recipe, let these be your rebound. A rebound that you'll fall so madly in love with that you'll marry and stay true to forever and ever...I do. That's a little extreme, but they are the real deal and when you find a keeper you hang on tight.
Chocolate Chipotle Black Bean Cherry Cookies
Inspired by My New Roots
Makes 12 cookies
- 2 flax eggs
- 1 (14.5 oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed very well
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp. pink Himalayan salt
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground chipotle chili powder (or cayenne pepper)
- 1/3 cup molasses (or honey, maple syrup, etc)
- 2 tsp. hazelnut Kahlua (or vanilla extract or other liqueur)
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chunks
- 1/4 cup dried cherries (or dried cranberries)
- 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped (optional)
- extra chipotle powder (optional) and salt for sprinkling
Alright, y'all you know the drill. Flax eggs are first! Place 2 Tbsp of ground flaxseed in a small bowl and whisk in 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. of cold water. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow it to gel for at least 15 minutes. This is important. Preheat oven to 375 F.
Place all remaining ingredients in food processor, excluding chocolate chunks, cherries, optional nuts and sprinklings. Don't forget the flax eggs in the fridge! Pulse until well combined and smooth. Once whirled thoroughly, fold in the chocolate chunks, cherries and optional nuts if you want them in their original form. But...if you're lazy like moi, just pulse them a couple times in the processor to incorporate them into the dough. I prefer mine a little smaller and chopped up anyways. No need to be all proper with it.
Drop 12 cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Not wax paper! That would be a horrific catastrophe. I made this mistake as a flighty and unassuming teen. Parchment paper and waxed paper are not interchangeable. I refuse to assume that every home cook with modest capabilities understands this. I still have never used waxed paper properly, I just know it doesn't go in the oven. I learned the hard way. Anyways, once dropped, flatten the dough as the cookie really won't change shape when baking. Kiss your new loves with salt and extra chipotle chili powder (if you're tough like me, of course), and bake at 375 F for 15 minutes.
If you're feeling super fancy and snooty, I suppose you could ball up the dough and then flatten it. They might have a smoother cookie "look" about them that way. I wasn't feeling particularly fancy pants on this day, however, so I was perfectly content with them as they were.
Black beans, dark chocolate, cherries, flax and chipotle chili powder? It's an antioxidant convention! Did you know that beans are the healthiest bean of all? Click on the links in the ingredient list to learn more.
