Black Bean Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to post about this delicious, protein-filled cookie recipe. My boyfriend showed it to me over a year ago, and whenever I make too many black beans, this is my go-to recipe. It has no flour in it and is easy to make. Just to clarify, I’m don’t abide by a wheat-free diet, but I try not to make all my meals and snacks centre around it. This is for the sake of variety, which is important for ensuring I am getting enough of everything else. It is super easy to reach the ideal carbohydrate limit for the day with cereals, bread, pasta, potatoes, squash, etc. So, when I think of snacks, I’m thinking about veggies, fruits, fats (oils, nuts and avocado), and protein. I like to make sure I am eating protein whenever possible, especially in snacks, and I find protein-filled snacks are the most filling and satisfying (gluten is a protein, so I am not against that). Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups black beans, or one can (rinse them well to get excess salt off)
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips

I preheated the oven to 375*F. In a small bowl I mixed together the maple syrup, vanilla, and chia seeds. Separately, in a food processor I blended the black beans, coconut oil, and salt until smooth (you could add 1/4 tsp cayenne powder, but I prefer not to). Then I added the wet ingredients to the food processor and blended the mixture some more. I placed the batter into a medium bowl and mixed in the chocolate chips. I then spooned the cookies on a cookie sheet that was lined with parchment paper and flattened them to the size I wanted them, as they do not rise. I prefer cookies on the smaller side, so each cookie was about 2 tbsp.  The cookies were baked for 15 minutes, and once cooled were kept in the fridge.

I remember that one batch made a pretty small amount: 8-10. So, I have doubled it before and froze the extra cookies.

No picture today, sorry folks.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fall is here, and that makes me really excited for all the fall vegan recipes I want to try out. Pumpkin is one of my favourite ingredients in baking, for it not only has a rich and comforting taste, but it makes for a soft and cake-like texture. I also love that it can be used in sweet and savoury dishes. 

September has been great so far. I have been settling back into Ottawa with a new school and new program; so far the class material has been mostly review for me, as not everyone has a Psychology background. Despite the fact that the bus getting to and from the school is very unpredictable, I have opted to bike there as much as I can until it becomes snowy. There are a lot of really nice people in my program, and I have enjoyed getting to know them over the past three weeks. 

The best part about living with my dad is that he is totally open to my vegan diet; he has adopted a flexitarian attitude like I have, with a couple exceptions (he just doesn’t like soy milk, for one). Anyway, it has been really great being able to continue this way of eating past the summer. The more I submerge myself into this vegan lifestyle, the more I am convinced that this will be a permanent change. 

The carrot cake granola bars from my last post have become a staple in my school snacks, but I was really in the mood for cookies yesterday. 

Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar, plus a little extra, but I used a couple tablespoons of maple syrup – it really depends how sweet you want the cookies to be
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cups vegan chocolate chips

I mixed the wet ingredients (including the sugar) in one bowl, and the dry ingredients in another bowl, then combined the two with a wooden spoon. I added the chocolate chips last. With a teaspoon I dropped little amounts onto a greased cookie sheet, and baked the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. At first the cookies looked like they were not cooked all the way through, but by inserting a toothpick it was clear that they were cooked. After the cookies have time to cool, they are soft and delicious.