COOKIES!

Cookies? What. How am I going to write a nutrition blog about cookies?! Well I may have figured it out. I was surfing the web when I came across a very interesting recipe. It was a peanut butter chocolate chip recipe that had no flour, eggs, or white sugar in it. Well naturally it sparked my attention and I held to try it out! So I did. The flour and egg substitutes were canned garbanzo beans. I was skeptical but so intrigued. The sugar was substituted with honey.

Here were some of my observations when making the cookies. First, do not to eat them when they first come out of the oven. I know that is the best time to eat normal cookies but with these they just tasted like warm peanut butter and garbanzo bean. You have to let them cool and set in order for them to taste like normal delicious cookies. They were even better the next day and tasted awesome! They didn't get hard and stale like normal cookies do. They stayed soft and delicious. Second, the recipe calls for a food processor. I do not have one so I used a blender. It worked well but it was a bit of a challenge. I blended the garbanzo beans, honey, and vanilla. I had to make sure that I mixed it a few times and re blended it so all the garbanzo beans were to a smooth paste. After that I moved everything to a mixing bowl and added the other ingredients and combined. This is a really easy recipe with only a few ingredients. Its a great substitute for people who are gluten free or vegan! Enjoy :)

Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans drained

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 Cup + 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
1/4 Cup honey

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a food processor combine all ingredients except for the chocolate chips.
3. Process until the beans are smooth and there are no chunks.
4. Add chocolate chips and pulse until they are combined.
5. Roll into balls about 1.5" in diameter.

6. Place on a cooking sheet that is lined with parchment paper or a silicone pad

7. With a fork flatten down the cookies as seen in the pictures
8. Cook for 12 minutes

9. Remove and let cool on a cooking rack. AND remember they need to cool down :)

10. ENJOY!