yes...a cookie made of beans

Ours is a house divided when it comes to this deliciously moist chocolate chip cookie. The boys and I love it, Ashley thinks it's okay, and Chris isn't a fan at all. But hey, I'm the mom and get to pick what we eat, so if we're going to eat a chocolate chip cookie, at least we can get something good out of it.

When I lived in Tokyo, there was a pastry dessert I enjoyed that was semi-sweet and had pureed beans in the middle. This has a similiar texture.

As many of you know, I have a food-crush on Chocolate Covered Katie. I want to adopt her and let her live here in The Swamp with us forever, so she can fix me her healthified versions of really good desserts. This is a slightly modified version of her delicious Deep Dish Cookie Pie.

Ingredients:
2 cans white beans or garbanzos, drained and rinsed. (or be crazy and use one of each like I did)
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp oil (I always use olive oil)
2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (a little extra vanilla always makes things taste better...)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup chocolate chips (60% or darker chocolate chips preferable for a healthier cookie)

Directions:
Heat the oven to 350* and oil a pan. I used a large flat-bottomed Corning Vision casserole dish, but really wished my Skookie skillets weren't packed away, because it would have been perfect for this.

Katie recommends using a food processor to puree everything except the chips together. I only have a ninja blender, so that's what I used. I blended, then scraped the sides and blended some more until it was completely smooth with no lumps at all (the first time I made this I didn't blend thoroughly and the bean texture detracted from the dessert).

Mix in the chocolate chips, and pour into pan. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes. Leave the cookie in the pan at least 10 minutes, then plop it upside down on a plate, slice up, and enjoy! There's really nothing too bad in this cookie, so feel free to eat it for lunch with a big glass of milk. The beans will fill you up!