We are spending this week at my uncle’s summer house. Learning by earlier mistakes, we only packed the food and props that we actually needed for this photo shoot. Baking wasn’t part of our plans so we almost didn’t bring any baking goods. But of course I was bit by the baking bug last night.
Luise had packed a bag of coconut palm sugar, and since I had never baked with it before, I died to give it a try. We rarely keep any sugars at home, but this is supposed to be some kind of super food. It tastes a lot like muscavado sugar, so I’m not completely convinced that it can be classified as healthy? Anyway, I reckoned that its burnt taste would be perfect in a cookie. With only a bag of sugar and no flour in the house I reached into our pantry after anything that could be made into a cookie. I found a bag of rosehip powder, a can of black beans, cacao powder, olive oil and some nut butter… I know, the ingredients seemed quite random to me too. But it actually worked. These no flour, no butter, no chocolate, no egg cookies came out super delicious. And I’m not saying that because I am a health nut who thinks black beans are candy. They actually taste great. Although they don’t have the same crunch as a classic cookie (a little bit more gooey), they are remarkably similar considering the ingredients. I saved a few black beans and added them to the cookies just before baking, as a substitute to chocolate chips. Doesn’t they look convincing!?
Even though we have never been big fans of giving cookies to small kids, these are actually boosted with good stuff. Apart from being the only thing I could find, rose hip powder is actually super high in vitamin C and are commonly known for anti-inflammatory properties. And black beans are packed with protein and fiber. So these cookies are actually quite powerful!
Here are few other sweet bean recipes that you might find inspiring:
Gluten & Dairy-free Black Bean Chocolate Brownie
Black Bean Chocolate Chili Cherry
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bean Balls
Amazing Black Bean Brownies Recipe
Chocolate Black Bean Power Cookies
Around 10 cookies
I have to emphasize that these cookies were made (twice) with these ingredients because it was what we had on hand. I am certain that you – with a richer pantry – could adapt these in different ways. Maybe add some rice flour, corn starch, chia seeds, cinnamon, chocolate (!) or whatever tricks you have up your sleeve.
1 cup (240 ml) cooked black beans
2 tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
2 tbsp nut butter (we used almond)
2 tbsp oat milk (or any plant milk)
1/2 cup (120 ml) coconut palm sugar
4-5 tbsp cacao powder
2 tbsp rose hip powder (can be substituted with some rice flour and cinnamon)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Rinse the beans thoroughly in cold water. Drain them, save 20 beans for decoration and add the rest to a food processor together with oil, nut butter and milk. Blend until smooth. Sift together sugar, cacao powder, rose hip powder, baking powder and salt and add to the bean mixture. Run it again until all is combined. The batter should be similar to a thick mousse. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon 9-12 evenly distributed dollops of batter on it. Use a spoon or a finger to form the cookies into round shapes, 3-4 inches/7-10 cm wide. Bake for around 20 minutes (they should still be a little soft when you remove them from the oven). Set a side a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
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54 Comments
These look delicious. I am definitely intrigued! Cultures all over the world have so many sweetened bean treats. These make a lot of sense.
these look crazy delicious! what would you recommend to add in to make them crispier? what would happen if I whisk in an egg as well?
Hi Alexandra, you could definitely add an egg to the batter. I would probably also add some rice flour if you want to make them crispier.
/David
Awesome! I have always wanted to bake some sweet stuff with beans, only I was never inspired enough to do it. I am definitely going to try this recipe! Hope your book is progressing, can’t wait for it to be ready!
Wow – I am totally impressed that you could whip this up with just random ingredients in your pantry without a recipe at all. I’ve made a chocolate black bean cookie with both mint and Mexican spices, and they were awesome. I don’t doubt the black bean prowess in cookies. :)
Coconut palm sugar is said to have a lower impact on your blood sugar, so it’s deffo better than the white stuff. Still, it has a lot of calories though ;)
tak for god inspiration!
Maria
A cookie here and there… especially ones filled with such wonderful ingredients… are never a bad thing for a child. Or, for that matter, childish adults. :-)
I tried those in curd, they are delicious. No doubt they are great too in this amazing cookies recipe!
Mmmmmmmmmm I cannot wait to try these!!
Quick question: what is rose hip powder and what can I substitute for that? Or can I just leave out? haha I love that you are traveling and have a limited pantry yet have ingredients like rose hip powder, I love you guys :) Enjoy your time away! PS Elsa is gorgeous and seeing her enjoy those cookies is such a lovely image of childhood insouciance – I love chocolate chip cookies because somehow they make us all feel like children gobbling them up, don’t you? Bisous from Paris, looking forward to my annual summer trip to the US where I make ALL of your recipes, so keep ‘em coming, friends! xx
Haha, yes that is quite typically us. Bringing all these quirky ingredients and leaving the basic stuff.
You can just leave out the rose hip powder or sub it with rice or buckwheat flour to get the same consistency of the batter.
/David
Yum! What is rose hip powder? What might be a good substitution?
Rose hip is the fruit of the rose plant, and the powder is made from dried ground rose hip.
You can find it in almost any health store in Sweden, but maybe it’s more common here than in other parts of the world?
You can read more about it here.
It tastes a bit sweet and fruity. Kind of similar to cinnamon.
If you can’t find it you can replace it with 2 tbsp rice flour and 1 tsp cinnamon.
Good luck!
/David
I’m so intrigued, I’ll have to try these (with chocolate!)
Is the rosehip powder essential to the recipe? Or can I just ommit it? I don’t know where to find it.
This recipe came at the perfect time, today I was SO tempted to but a box of cookies at the supermarket. Will be making these tomorrow, no doubt!
Hi Yadsia, you can omit rose hip powder if you can’t find it. Maybe add a little bit of cinnamon and some rice flour instead.
/David
Stunnnning cookies! I’d like to place my order for 4 billion.
These cookies look decadent- I wish I had one right now to get through the afternoon low.
These look super-delicious, and are for sure nutritious too! Very inspiring!
These sound awesome! Great idea!
Yum! I am curious to try this and compare them to the ones from My New Roots.
I have noticed a growing trend in using black beans in desserts with chocolate. You have inspired me to give it a try. Thank you.
Wait…before you died? I think I missed something!
These look amazing! Love the black bean ‘chips’, very convincing alright! And thanks so much for the shout out, my black bean brownies are not nearly as healthy as your cookies, but still a delicious treat xx
those sound so so delicious! i love the ingredient list! so healthy!
Just awesome! Your cookie urge shines through here and I love it! Stunning pictures too of course! Cannot wait for the book! Oh and Elsa, superb hand model;)
Love!
Elenore
David, I’ve been bit by the baking bug too recently and use coconut palm sugar all the time. It works great, doesn’t it? These cookies look oh so tasty. Hope everything is going well with the book!
I am all about beans in cakes and cookies, they add so much moisture- i recently surprised my boyfriend with black bean brownies, they could have been sweeter but he couldnt notice there are beans in them! win win! :)
Delicious! I’m craving a chocolate treat without all the bad foods and am really into black beans at the moment, so win win! Thanks x
You never fail to amaze me! I can’t believe you can look in the cupboard, find those ingredients and make cookies. Amazing! Can’t wait to give them a whirl. Also, made the strawberry, peanut butter smoothie the last two days in a row (with homemade peanut butter!) and LOVED them. I’m addicted.
Ho, yes !
Azukis & black beans go great with a sweet note !
The Japonese people use them a lot in their “wagashi” (japonese pastries).
It is from them that I create a little sweet cream with azuki beans :
http://www.chaudronpastel.fr/2011/06/19/dessert-creme-vegan-azuki-vanille-cannelle/
Your cookies look so yummy !
I wish I could have a try :-)
The cookies look amazing! Can’t wait to try them!
Very interesting recipe. I love the creativity here. I like the sounds of a gooey cookie actually. That’s more my style. Can’t wait to give them a go. Looking forward to the book! Good luck with it all! How exciting :)
Like a lot of folk I do the black bean brownie thing, as well as the adzuki brownie thing (such a sweet little legume) so this is a nice take on the idea, especially with the almond butter. And I rate the coconut palm/blossom sugar. As a cancer nutritionist I got sent some years ago to review for a magazine, but it has taken its time taking off here in the UK. I think it smells a bit odd in the raw mixture, but in the baked product it is a winner. Low-ish GL too which is always good as long as we don’t have much of it. I bet everyone loved the cookies. Surprised there were any left to photograph
Okay I’ve tried some black bean cookies before and wasn’t super into them, but your version with almond butter and coconut sugar sounds totally delicious. Love those sneaky little black beans subbing in for chocolate chips.
Also, could your daughter BE any cuter as she lifts that cookie to her mouth?! :)
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they sound good to me! cocoa is so strong tasting that it seems it would compliment the beans. I love making due with what is on hand. Brings out creativity. Good luck shooting!
Oh, these look so delicious! I knew about making brownies with black beans, but never thought of the cookie idea. Genius!
Great cookies, great recipes! I made them this morning with some slightly changes, and they are a perfect post-run-snack! Thanks for this idea, and your photos are always great!
Ah, the mother of invention. I love it when this happens – seemingly disconnected ingredients connecting to make something beautiful and delicious. Truly inspiring. :) Thank you!
WOW! They do look awesome <3 How fun that you made these little delights with those very random ingredients to start with – no more "I don't have anything at home to bake with" for you ;) I've heard about black beans in cookies before but haven't been convinced. Until now <3
Black bean cookies are the only cookies Vera has had so far and both she and I loved them! My first encounter baking with black beans was a version of Sarah B’s Black Bean Cherry Chili Cookies which I made with walnuts and minus the cherries and chili (a bit more kid-friendly…).
Here´s my result and I can´t wait to give your recipe a go!
http://lillamatderiven.blogspot.se/2012/01/chockerande-chokladcookies-med-svarta.html
What did I do wrong? My cookies did not firm up while baking. I had to flatten them out with a spoon–The mushy batter is very good!
Hi ! I’ve tried a few of your recipes and have been pleasantly surprised every time – so thanks fr sharing your innovative finds !
One quick question though: doesn’t heat destroy vitamin C ?
I’d hate to lose a good health excuse to eat those cookies !
Since I cook my beans with kelp, I actually processed some of the kelp in with the bean mixture, and then used less salt. I left out the rosehip powder, but did add cinnamon. I also added a little vanilla and dairy free dark chocolate chunks. They turned out AMAZING! Thank you for such a delicious idea.
Very creative to save some beans for ‘chocolate chips’! Your little one is going to grow up with a very wide-ranging taste for foods. And thanks for introducing me to My New Roots through your link.
I just put a batch in the oven right now and am excited….the batter tasted amazing and I have a feeling that the end result will be delicious. Such an adaptable recipe! Thanks x
I tried the recipe today. I used azukis instead of black beans, sucanat instead of palm sugar and replaced half the amount of cacao powder with carob powder. They turned out delicious, only really too soft in texture. Funny thing, the azukis cut in halves saved for decoration looked like roasted pieces of hazelnuts :-)
That must be because of the ingredients I used, but today the cookies taste weird, have a strong salty, almost cheesy flavour, and are so moist they fall into pieces… Any idea why?
These sound great! I’ve been experimenting with black bean brownies but have never tried cookies – thanks!
What kind of sweetener can you use besides coconut palm sugar? I have been using blue agave syrup- would that work or would it mess up the consistency of the batter since it is syrup?
Huge fan of the blog! But noticed that the navigation has disappeared in chrome (and is actually hiding under the header graphic). I’ve got you on bookmark for the recipe index, but thought you’d like the heads up.
Hi Callie, thanks for letting us know. We are working on it.
/David
Hi Green Kitchen
First of all thanks for lots of helthy and inspiring recipes :-) Regarding this recipe I think you have made a writing error with the salt. I made the cookies and had to throw them all out, since they were so salty that I couldn’t eat them. The same error is in your app.
KR Nete
Dear Nete. Thank you for your comment and for letting us know.
I am sorry that the cookies didn’t come out alright. This could depend on which kind of nut butter you used, as they can vary a lot salt flavor.
Some pre-cooked bean can also be quite salty, which would affect how the cookies came out.
Also note that we recommend using sea salt, not regular refined salt.
Best,
Luise