A nutrition client of mine blessed me with this recipe using the white beans. I had to try it! Beans for dessert is a craze that has the food world baking up a storm. It actually makes a lot of sense since beans provide the perfect balance of starchiness, protein, and bulk to replace ingredients such as milk, cream, oil, and eggs. And the bean taste isn't too obvious so you'll actually think you’re eating dessert!
Beans are also a nutrition powerhouse. They're full of fiber, antioxidants, and essential vitamins and minerals like manganese, copper and magnesium. The type of fiber in beans is a soluble fiber, which can help lower “bad” cholesterol and keeps the digestive system flowing nicely. Beans are dense, too, making them ideal for a dessert dish like blondies, which require that rich, decadent bite.
This recipe is gluten free, low in calories, and rich in omega-3 fatty acids courtesy of the flax.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1½ cups chickpeas or white beans (1 can, drained and rinsed) (250g after draining)
- ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- level ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup ground flax or quick oats (20g)
- ¼ cup peanut butter (or other fat source, like this flavorful almond butter)
- optional: ½ cup dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend all ingredients (except chips) until very smooth in a good food processor (not a blender). Don’t be shy with your food processor. Bits of beans or chickpeas are fine in hummus, but not in a blondie. Period.
Mix in chips, and scoop into a greased (or parchment-lined) 8x8 pan.
Optional: for "prettiness" you can stick some chocolate chips on top of the batter as well.
Bake for around 30 minutes. They'll look a little undercooked when you take them out, but they firm up as they cool, and you don’t want them to get hard.
Enjoy!
In Health and Happiness,
Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods
Recipe courtesy of Chocolate Covered Katie