Ooooooh. These little guys are the perfect bite to the end of a special dinner! The soft insides, oozing with chocolate, the heat that sort of sneaks up on you, delicate notes of cinnamon and the tangy pops of dried fruit... delicioso! Oh, yeah, and the secret ingredient? Shhhh..... black beans! Unless you tell your unsuspecting diners (or kids), they'll never know that they are getting some super nutrition from these little bites.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups cooked or canned black beans, well drained
- 1/2 cup non-alkalized cocoa powder
- 2 TBS coconut oil, warmed to liquid state
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or any minimally processed sugar)
- 2 TBS ground flax + 4 TBS water
- 4 TBS whole grain flour (I used spelt)
- 1 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried sweet cherries
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (see notes)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flax with the 4 TBS water and set aside while you're measuring out your other ingredients.
- Place the flax mixture and all ingredients, except the chocolate chips and the 1/4 cup water in a food processor.
- Pulse to combine. Add the water a little at a time. You may not need all of it. The mixture should be very moist but not too wet. Just wet enough that it moves around easily in the food processor.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips.
- Drop dough by scant tablespoons (best if you use a 1" ice cream scoop!) onto a parchment-lined tray. DON'T FLATTEN. You want them to be a little chubby and they won't rise much anyway.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Cool and serve!
Makes 2 dozen. Olé!
Helyn's Notes: You can omit or lessen the hot pepper if you're making these for your kids. They're still quite yummy without it!
Healthy Trails!
Helyn
