Cookies for the Long Weekend

It's nearly the weekend. Well, it's nearly MY weekend (suckaaaas!). It's lunch time on Thursday, and by 3 pm today, I'm done for four glorious days.

We're heading on our annual Long at Long trip. Tofino during storm season is a special place. We go up expecting rain, wind and endless gray skies. That's part of the deal, and is what usually brings the best surf. When we get a few days of sun, it's merely the icing on the cake of life. This weekend is calling for sun, so fingers crossed.

Either way, if you need me, I'll be in the hot tub.

Before we leave tomorrow, I'm going to be making these. Because, well, obviously. Original recipe can be found here.  They're practically health food, you guys.

Black Bean Chocolate Chili Cherry Cookies

Makes nine 3” cookies

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups black beans, very soft (or one 15 oz. can)

2 Tbsp. coconut oil (or ghee)

1/3 cup organic cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, plus more for sprinkling

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/3 cup maple syrup (or honey, agave)

2 Tbsp. chia seeds (or use 2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds OR 2 eggs)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (80% or higher)

1/4 cup chopped dried cherries (optional, or use dried cranberries)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Mix chia seeds, maple syrup, and vanilla in a bowl and set aside. If using eggs, skip this step.

3. Place drained and well-rinsed beans, coconut oil, cocoa, salt and cayenne in a food processor and blend until well combined. Add maple syrup and chia mixture (or eggs) and pulse to incorporate. The batter will be quite liquid-y, but still hold together.  Remove blade from the food processor and add chopped chocolate and cherries. Fold to incorporate. 

4. Spoon cookie batter onto lined baking sheet. Using the back of the spoon, flatten top of cookies slightly, as they will not spread when baking. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt (important!). Bake for 15 minutes until the edges are browning. Cool and eat. Store in the fridge.

I will report back on the awesomeness of these. They come highly recommended, and if they are anything like the black bean brownies I made last summer, I am in for a treat. I should probably double the recipe, hey? 9 cookies isn't a lot.