For Valentine’s Day, a sweet treat seemed in order.  But how can you have something that tastes good and is still, at least somewhat, good for you?  The answer is beans!  Wait! What?!?

We are going to use beans to replace the white processed flour.  Furthermore, there are no eggs so no cholesterol.  It sounds too good to be true (or tasty), but the results are absolutely delicious!

Having heard the rumor that you could make a tasty treat with the lowly bean, I went in search of inspiration and found it on Chocolate Covered Katie’s website.  She had three options and we selected Deep Dish Cookie Pie to try.

Never one to follow a recipe exactly, and even prone to changing my own recipes from one time to the next, I set out to see if I could add even more Whole Food Plant-Based elements.  On Chocolate Covered Katie’s site, you will see she is a proponent of using a food processor.  Being a fan of Vitamix (a high-speed blender) rather than a food processor, I looked for ways to get a smooth dough by employing its use.  You will have to briskly use the tamper to keep pushing the ingredients into the blades to produce the right consistency. While you cannot make this recipe in a regular blender, hopefully you have a processor or high-speed blender to whip up this sweet.

Start by reducing your old-fashioned or quick cooking oats into oat flour for a smoother final consistency.   (This recipe is not designed for steel cut.) Before you blend the oats into a fine powder, add baking powder, baking soda and salt. (If using a food processor pulse the oats until they are fine, and do not forget to scrape down the sides.) 

Add dates (suggest cutting lengthwise to make sure no pieces of pits remain) to the oat flour and chop until fine.  Substitutions are given for dates, but please note you will lose the healthy fiber and phytonutrients that the dates bring to the table which will lower the overall health benefits. Alternatives to dates are:

1. Increase the brown sugar to ½ cup and eliminate the maple syrup.  OR
2. ¼ cup of brown sugar and ¼ cup of maple syrup.

Using more than ¼ cup of the maple syrup will keep the bars from cooking properly.

To reduce fat, you can increase the applesauce by 1.5 tablespoons in lieu of the margarine.  If you have never had this recipe, you likely will not miss the margarine. 

Add the applesauce, margarine, vanilla, chickpeas, and sweetener.  Process until you have a cookie-dough consistency.  Use that tamper to keep forcing the food into the blades for the best consistency.  Then stir in the chips and the nuts by hand.

Pour into a greased 8×8 pan and cook for 20-25 mins in a 350^o F oven.  When done a toothpick comes out clean and the top is lightly toasted brown.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes, cut, and enjoy!