Updated: by Veronica Noone · This post may contain affiliate links · 50 Comments
Ohh but they are tasty! And you'll never guess what's in them. Or better yet, what's NOT in them. 🙂
I love the challenge of making baked goods out of "healthy" things. My intention isn't to necessarily duplicate traditional baked goods but to make tasty treats that are yummy and add SOME nutritional value to our diets.
I find it fun to experiment but I'm ecstatic when the results of those experiments are tasty, especially to a 5 year old!
He could NOT get enough of these things. Here he is stealing one during my photo shoot.
Out of the oven these were warm and actually gooey-like. As they cooled they remained soft and slightly cake-y but still very cookie-like. The husband didn't like them but said, "I can see how others would [like them.]" At least I got him to take a bite. He rarely touches my baking experiments. They are too "out there" for him. That's ok, more for me and Little Man!
Here's what I did. Bear with the pictures. I went a little nutty. 🙂 Speaking of... next time these are totally getting a handful of walnuts. The crunch would be a great addition!
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats (80g)
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour (120g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 15oz can of butter beans drained, liquid reserved
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (61g)
- ¼ cup honey (84g) (this amount worked for us -- double for a sweeter cookie as others are saying they are a bit bland)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup MINI-chocolate chips (56g) + 3 (more on that later)
Instructions
Here's all the ingredients. Oh! and my idea was inspired by this and this. Forgot to tell you that in the intro. 🙂
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put the rolled oats and whole wheat flour in the food processor.
Blend until powdery. It should only take about a minute.
Dump the flour/oat mixture into a large bowl and whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg.
Put the beans (without the liquid) in the food processor with the applesauce, honey and vanilla.
Blend until smooth.
Pour the bean mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix together adding about 4 tablespoons of the bean liquid--enough to get a dough consistency out of the batter.
Add the chips and mix in.
Side note: At this moment the Little Guy came home from school. He added an additional 3 chips to the batter and was CONVINCED that's what made them SO good. It was hysterical.
Drop the batter by the tablespoon on a greased (non-stick spray) or parchment lined cookie sheet flattening a bit. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the cookies brown and the bottoms are golden.
I made exactly 30 cookies with a few batter taste tests. 🙂
The kid ate SIX while we played after school. I finally had to cut him off but it made me feel good that he liked them so much.
Update: I made them again and got 40 cookies! Just as yummy as the first time!
📖 Recipe
Not Your Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are a classic crowd-pleaser that everyone loves. Make them at home with our simple recipe and enjoy a warm, fresh-baked treat.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 11 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 26 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 40 cookies
Calories 44 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats 80g
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour 120g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 15 oz can of butter beans drained liquid reserved
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce 61g
- ¼ cup honey 84g (this amount worked for us -- double for a sweeter cookie as others are saying they are a bit bland)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup MINI-chocolate chips 56g + 3 (more on that later)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Put the rolled oats and whole wheat flour in the food processor.
1 cup rolled oats
Blend until powdery. It should only take about a minute.
Dump the flour/oat mixture into a large bowl and whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg.
1 cup white whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Put the beans (without the liquid) in the food processor with the applesauce, honey and vanilla.
1 15 oz can of butter beans drained, ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce, ¼ cup honey, 2 teaspoon vanilla
Blend until smooth.
Pour the bean mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix together adding about 4 tablespoons of the bean liquid--enough to get a dough consistency out of the batter.
Add the chips and mix in.
¼ cup MINI-chocolate chips
Drop the batter by the tablespoon on a greased (non-stick spray) or parchment lined cookie sheet flattening a bit. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the cookies brown and the bottoms are golden.
Notes
- At this moment the Little Guy came home from school. He added an additional 3 chips to the batter and was CONVINCED that's what made them SO good. It was hysterical.
Nutrition
Calories: 44kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 2gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.04gTrans Fat: 0.002gCholesterol: 0.2mgSodium: 39mgPotassium: 71mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 3IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 0.5mg
Keyword chips, Chocolate, Cookies
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Kimberly
Inspired by your brownie recipe I added some coco powder to make chocolate chocolate chip cookies and doubled the honey. Pretty cool! I had gastric bypass so the beans make me kind of "musical", but worth it to be healthy!
Reply
LouAnn Mallon
Do you have any CRUNCHY cookie recipes?
Or CRUNCHY granola bar recipes??
No oil preferably ~
Thanks!!Reply
roni
I think these are the crunchiest I have..
https://greenlitebites.com/2009/03/02/chocolate-cookie-crisps/
Crunchy is hard when you are trying to avoid too much butter.
Reply
Robbie-Lynn
These were amazing. I used white kidney beans because that's what I had and subbed agave nectar for the honey. My kids loved them. I will be making these again for sure.
Reply
Katharina
I just got my second attempt of these put of the oven and they are really quite good. I made a few tweaks, reduced the beans to 150 gr because the first batch tasty quite 'beany'. But that might be, because here in Germany we don't have Butter Beans and I had to use regular big white beans.
And I also exchanged the honey for 20 gr of sugar and some stevia.
And finally, since I didn't read properly in the beginning and had tossed the bean liquid, I added vanilla soy milk instead.
But, those will definitely be made again.
Reply
roni
Quick instead of rolled? It should be fine.
Reply
Melissa L.
I'd like to make these for the Father's day potluck at our church. I have tons of quick oats, do you think that would work in this recipe?
Reply
Sam
Ok so this was my second attempt with a few tweaks! I doubled the honey and used 2 tablespoons of vanilla. I used a teaspoon of cinamon instead of nutmeg and they are YUMMY!!! I made 22 cookies and they worked out to be just over 1 1/2 old ww points each. Thanks for inspiring me to get creative in the kitchen Roni :0)
Reply
roni
oh and she commented.
Reply
roni
I linked to both recipes that influenced me above. In case you missed them...
http://thecrunchysoup.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/sneaky-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-chickpeas/
Reply
Charisse
Shouldn't you give credit to the original recipe on happy herbivore? it's pretty much the same...
Reply
deke
how to make the cake
Reply
Liz W
i just finished making the chocolate chip batch. accidentally added 2 tablespoons of vanilla instead of teaspoons. and they were REALLY good with white chocolate chips!
Reply
Liz W
i'm making these tomorrow! i have bigger chips, so i'll just smash! i'm gonna try some with white chocolate chips, too. i'm also doing a honey carrot cake.
Reply
Tanya
Just made these!Thought we might want them a tad bit sweeter so I used 1/3 c honey and 1 tsp splenda. Also used 1/8 tsp Allspice since I didn't have any nutmeg. These are fantastic!! I have two boys 12 & 14. The 12 yr old has eaten 6 and my 14 yr just said,"Dang these are good. Keep making them!" AND they both know that they have beans in them!!! Thanks Roni, you're the best!
Reply
kathy cromwell
Yumo! Cannot wait to try this recipe. Please look into Fair Trade chocolate as children are used and abused for the coaco beans used in making chocolate. Go to " Green America" web site to get the details of how important this is.
Reply
Carolyn @ lovinlosing
So I just made these and unfortunately they weren't a hit in my household. A bit dry and bland. 🙁 I used agave instead of honey 'cause that's all I had.
Reply
Sam
Ok, so i missed the part about the "mini" choc chips lol. I was so excited to make these super healthy cookies but was disappointed in the taste. Will make again with the minis and maybe add a little more honey or cinnamon. Thanks Roni for all the great ideas...keep them coming :0) PS my 4 1/2 year old LOVED making these with me!
Ambra
Love your blog! I have lost 70lbs too!! I have been doing WW and am always on the look out for great and healthy recipes!
Reply
Sarah
I just made them (with agave instead of honey) and they are good, but not quite sweet enough for my tastes. The hubs says they are no good and too bland.
I'd make them again though with maybe molasses like another reader suggested since it has a stronger flavor than agave. You can't really taste the beans and they have a really nice texture.
Reply
roni
YES! I agree and should have stressed that in the recipes. The minis do allow the choc to stretch more within the cookies allowing you to have a bit in every bite. The dough itself is not that sweet (I think it's perfect) so the bit of choc helps tons!
Reply
Kiley
I just made these and I have to say that you NEED mini chocolate chips! I think little bits of chocolate better compliment the recipe (/your waist line!) versus regular size chips. Next time, I would certainly try that because my roommates aren't quite appreciating the brilliance of this as much as I am b/c of the low sugar
Reply
Brandy Jo
I just made these are they are soooo good! Thank you for another healthy dessert:) I did change it up just a little as I used what I had. I only had banana walnut instant oatmeal and steel cut oats, so I went with the banana nut! And I don't have mini chocolate chips so I used bitter sweet chips. These are wonderful!! I will make these alot I think!
Reply
Kristina
Thanks for the link up! Glad to have inspired you! Great site 🙂 (I would love to learn more about blog design 🙂 LOVE your lay out!
Reply
roni
Thanks for the inspiration. I generally try to avoid sugar... just for fun. 🙂
Reply
Happy Herbivore
Thx for making happy herbivore's butter bean cookies! I like the idea of using honey (or for me, agave) in them!
Reply
roni
They are just large lima beans.. look for them in the canned bean section of the store. Any white beans should work.
Reply
Ana Myre
What Are butter beans, what do you think I cuold use instead, Or do they go by another name too?
Reply
roni
LOVE the idea of flax! SO doing that next time. Ours weren't traditional cookie like either... but the taste is dead on.
We just finished the batch. 🙂
Reply
Amanda
Ok, just tried mine. I'd have to say stick with the white wheat flour- mine didn't come out very cookie-like. The flavor is great, but I think regular wheat flour is just a bit too heavy. Thanks again for the idea!
Reply
Amanda
I'm trying this right now with some substitutions based on what I had on hand:
- regular wheat flour
- added 2 Tbl ground flaxseed (yay Omega-3s!)
- used blackstrap molasses instead of honey
- great northern beans in place of butter beansHaven't tried a cookie yet, but the dough was pleasantly nutty and not overly sweet. 🙂 Thanks for the idea!
In the idea of substituting things, have you tried "raw" brownies? I made some the other day and they're tasty! Not a full substitute, but worked with the chocolate cravings! I use an almond/date base and add cinnamon. 🙂
Reply
Carolyn @ Lovin' Losing
I can't wait to try these. My husband loves butter beans AND chocolate chip cookies!
Reply
Barbara
thanks they really sound good. I heard of puttingblack beans in brownie mix, but I can't wrap my head around that one. Will try these.
and I get three for 4
thats greatReply
Megan Lawson
Roni, I noticed the Happy Herbivore website helped to inspire this recipe for you. I love Happy Herbivore and it has inspired a few different recipes for me as well. You definitely need to try the Black Bean Brownies from that site. I tweaked it a bit, but the brownies came out just great. I even had my picky cohost at my college's radio station test them and she approved.
Reply
roni
I think any white bean would work but I haven't tried. If you do let us know!
Reply
Mara
Hey Roni - do you think I could use Great Northern beans instead? Don't have butter beans on hand right now ... now if I can only make a batch of these when no one is looking ... they're becoming wise to my tricks these days!
Thanks for posting a great idea, MaraReply
Julie
WOW, who knew you could add them to cookies 🙂
thank you
I'm going to try this 🙂Reply
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
I JUST saw a recipe the other day that used chickpeas that I printed off. I can't WAIT to make either those or these! Awesome! Thanks!
Funny, beans are my favorite and I've been adding them to everything. Won't the family be surprised when they get them in cookies! 🙂
Reply
roni
They are just large lima beans. You'll see them in the canned bean department as "Butter Beans". You can see them in the picture of the ingredients under the vanilla.
Reply
Julie
What are butter beans?
Reply
SuccessAlongtheWeigh
Ooh, I've been looking for a recipe to use the random bag of white whole wheat flour I picked up at Trader Joe's! I can't wait to try these!
Reply
Jan
Thanks Roni. I will let you know. 🙂
Reply
roni
I do and actually I was planning on using it but crabbed the wrong bag.Let us know how they turn out!
Reply
Jan
I can't find the white wheat flour at home. Do you think these would work with regular whole wheat flour?
Reply
Laura
Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite food, and I've been wondering about a good recipe for healthy ones for months! I am absolutely going to make these this weekend. I'll Twitter pictures. Thanks for doing the research on this for us, Roni!
Reply
Gwen
Awesome! I made some CCCs last night using date butter...nice brown sugary flavor! 🙂
Reply
RunEatRepeat
I love black bean brownies, so I bet I would love this! Great job 🙂
Reply
roni
I'd rather the gas then the extra fat and sugar. 😉
Reply
Krista S.
Verrrrry interesting! I wonder if they could potentially be gas causing due to the beans?
Reply
Eileen
awesome! I think i'll make these to send to my friend in college. I want to send her yummy presents, but not ones that will contribute to the freshman 15!
Reply
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