Happy New Year! It's been awhile since I've finally gotten around to my first post this year, and what better recipe than a healthy one to support the typical New Year's resolution of "eating healthier." If this is your goal, you should probably stray from my blog... but not this time! This is actually a healthy chocolate chip cookie pie because of some substitutions and a secret ingredient.
So... let's just take a look at a picture of this deep dish cookie pie before I tell you what's in it because you probably won't believe me....
YUM! Ooey, gooey, thick chocolate chip cookie. Okay, get ready... the secret ingredient is... great northern beans! Yes. This is a cookie made out of beans. I'm sure the expression on your face is probably as disgusted as every other person when I told them what I was planning on making. But I promise you this has been approved by everyone who has tried it. It tastes just like a huge, warm chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven! It's even vegan, so my vegetarian and vegan friends can enjoy it as well. The other substitution that helps make this cookie pie healthy is the brown sugar splenda mix - it's half the calories of normal brown sugar. The oats, chocolate and brown sugar create the cookie taste that overpowers the beans which essentially don't bring any flavor into the pie.
This recipe is from a healthy and usually vegan dessert blog that I follow called chocolatecoveredkatie.com. She has basically every kind of dessert you could imagine but modified to be a little bit healthier for you. Check it out!
Ingredients:
- 2 cans great northern white beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used normal - anything will do)
- 3 Tbsp. canola oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup Splenda brown sugar blend (or 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks (I probably used a little more... :) )
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350F
- So simple. Put everything into a food processor except the chocolate chunks and blend extremely well.
- Stir in chocolate chunks
- Pour into a greased pie pan and bake for 35 minutes.
The only thing about this cookie pie is that it is best when warm, so I usually microwaved the servings if it was at room temperature. The texture is not as hard as a cookie, so it's best warm, because it's like a warm gooey cookie! This whole pie was so huge that I cut up half of it and froze the pieces in individual servings to pull out later on! A great way to not eat the whole pie in one sitting...
Enjoy. :)
