Kidney Bean Cookie Dough: The Greatest Invention!

This might be one of my favorite inventions yet!  I was doing some experimenting in the kitchen last week involving beans and I'm happy to say this one is a winner!  I've used garbanzo beans in recipes before with great success (like here and here) but those are easier to hide then kidney beans.  Why red kidney beans anyway, you ask?  These lil' guys are loaded to the brim with antioxidants-even more than blueberries!  Kidney beans are a great source of fiber, more than almost any other legume.  They also offer 177% of an adult's daily value for an important mineral called molybdenum, which helps eliminate sulfites from the body.                                            

I knew if I could find a way to marry these super beans with a dessert, we'd be in tasty bliss.  

                                          

Kidney Bean Cookie Dough

makes 24 dough balls

3/4 C. rolled oats

1/2 C. flour (I used whole wheat)

1/4 C. almond meal

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 Tb. ground flax seed (nutritional boost!)

1/4 C. kidney/white bean paste*

1/2 C. Earth Balance butter, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 C. sugar (I like coconut palm or date sugar)

In food processor (or you could use a coffee grinder), process oats until they're a fine powder.  Pour that oat powder into a medium bowl and add whole wheat flour, almond meal, salt and flax seed.  Whisk everything together.

In that same food processor, make the bean paste.  Portion out 1/4 C. of it and place into a large bowl along with butter, vanilla and sugar using electric beaters to combine until creamy.

Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, using electric beaters or a large wooden mixing spoon to completely incorporate everything.

Now that your cookie dough is ready, you can add chocolate chips, chopped walnuts or whatever you like.  Or eat as-is without adding any extras.  Use your hands (or grab some little helpers!) to form tablespoon sized balls.  One of my kids liked to flatten his dough balls to look more like a real cookie so do what you like!

Stick them in the 'fridge laid out separately on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet or plate until completely chilled, then place into air-tight container for storage in the 'fridge for up to one week...if they last that long.

These are great as special treats for kids' lunch boxes too!

If you want to bake these:

Add 1/2 tsp. baking soda and make 1 flax egg by taking the ground flax seed and mixing it with 3 Tb. warm water, letting it sit and gel up for about 5 minutes.  Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes.  If the flavor of the kidney beans is too strong, use all white beans (also called navy beans).  My lil' taste testers preferred the uncooked dough hands down over the baked version, but my picky hubby preferred the baked variety with walnuts.  Go figure!

*to make the bean paste: add drained and rinsed kidney and white beans (an even 1/2 + 1/2 mix) to food processor along with 1-2 Tb. water.  Process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as you go.  You may need to add more than the 1/4 C. the recipe calls for so it processes easier.  Save the rest in an airtight container in the 'fridge for the next batch!

TIP:  Over time you could add more kidney beans and less white beans as your family gets used to the flavor.  My boys are onto the full 1/4 C. kidney beans now and still have no idea what they're really eating.  So sneaky, I know.

This is what the cookie dough will look like once all ingredients are combined.  

My boys gobbled these up!  They licked the beaters and never questioned what was in 'em.

Have kids help form the dough balls.

Store in the refrigerator for up to one week or pack as a super fun special snack!  

You can't go wrong with cookie dough balls...no one has to know they're hiding a secret ingredient.