Ok… please forgive me, because I TRULY thought I had posted this. Like, a LONG time ago. Looking back, I see that I haven’t. Nope. I’ve deprived you all of this wonderful goodness. And for that, I am sorry.

Our entire family has a massive sweet tooth. One that can’t be ignored. Seriously. We’ve tried. And it always ends in tears, impulse buys of donuts or candy bars, and then major regret.

So I decided to go in search of a recipe that is not only HEALTHY, but delicious, too. Who says that “health sweets” can’t taste good? And in this case…delicious!

So without further ado, I give you…

Black Bean Chocolate Chip cookies!

Now, before you scroll on by or wrinkle your nose…I encourage you to give these bad boys a try. You can’t taste the beans AT. ALL. Plus they are pretty near guilt free…so enjoy! (and don’t feel bad about giving your kids one…or two, to munch on)

What you’ll need:

– 1 can (no salt added) black beans – rinsed well
– 2 T milk
– 1.5 T peanut butter / nut butter of choice
– 2 T extra virgin Olive Oil
– 3 T whole wheat flour (I like King Arthurs White whole wheat) **note: if you use honey in stead of sugar, you will want to increase this amount by 1-2 Tbls, so the consistency isn’t too runny.
– 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
– 1/2 cup + 1 T sugar (I like to use honey and maple syrup, and do ALMOST 1/2 cup honey and the rest in pure maple syrup…yum!)
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp vanilla extract (you can also sub exact amount of maple syrup if you prefer)
– 1 pinch of cinnamon (or 1/2 drop Cinnamon essential oil)
– pinch of salt
– 1/3 cup chocolate chips (plus more for sprinkling on top) – a good brand is Enjoy Life

Recipe:

Step 1: preheat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Step 2: Combine black beans, milk, peanut butter, and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Step 3: Add in whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, sugar (or honey), baking powder, vanilla (or maple), salt and cinnamon, and blend until mousse-like.

Step 4: Stir in 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Step 5: Spoon 16 dollops evenly spaced out, onto the baking sheet, and sprinkle with extra chocolate chips.

Step 6: Bake for 10 minutes

Step 7: Let cool slightly before transferring to cooling rack.

Step 8: Enjoy!

**Store in airtight container in fridge, due to the black beans.