Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Have a Surprise Ingredient

Bethany Thayer
| Henry Ford Halth

Do you like cookies? Do you like sharing? Then you’ve probably heard of a holiday cookie party. This is where guests trade some of their favorite homemade cookies for cookies from other guests. At the end of the party, you’ll have a fun assortment of delicious treats and recipes.

To ensure allergy sufferers aren’t left out, ask guests before the party if they have any food allergies, then share the information. Also ask participants to use separate packaging for cookies containing potential allergens. Some common foods that can cause allergies include peanuts, tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans), milk, eggs, wheat, sesame, and soy. To help everyone feel included, consider offering store-bought treats without the ingredients that might cause an allergic reaction.

For those with wheat and egg restrictions, we have the perfect recipe: White Bean and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Overall, using white beans is more nutritious than flour. White beans, also called cannellini beans, are a good source of minerals like iron, zinc and copper. Plus, they contain folate, and half a cup contains almost 10 grams of protein. With 6 grams of fiber, they’ll help keep you full.

This recipe uses peanut butter, maple syrup and applesauce to replace the traditional butter, sugar and eggs. This helps reduce saturated fats, cholesterol and refined carbohydrates. If you have a peanut allergy, try using seed butter, almond butter, or soy butter.

Chocolate chips may contain common allergens or be prepared in a location that may contain allergens. To be sure yours are allergy-free, look for allergen-free chocolate chips. Likewise, oats are gluten-free, but could be processed in the same place as gluten. To make sure they are gluten-free, look for oatmeal with a gluten-free label.

Sharing chocolate chip cookies made with white beans will be a delicious surprise and might inspire guests to include healthy ingredients in their cookies any time of year.

Bethany Thayer is a registered dietitian nutritionist at Henry Ford Health. For more recipes and health information, visit henryford.com/blog. For questions about today’s recipe, email [email protected].

White bean and dark chocolate chip cookies

Given : 12 servings/ Preparation time: 20 minutes / Total duration: 45 minutes

1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed¼ cup maple syrup½ cup peanut butter¼ cup unsweetened applesauce½ teaspoon vanilla extract1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder¾ cup flakes old-fashioned oats3 tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the beans, maple syrup, peanut butter, applesauce, vanilla extract and baking powder in a food processor and pulse until well combined.

Fold in the oats and chocolate chips using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Using a cookie scoop, form 12 equal-sized cookies and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and serve.

By Henry Ford LiveWell.

155 calories (40% of fat), 7 grams fat (1.5 grams sat. fat), 18 grams carbohydrates5 grams protein40 mg sodium0 mg cholesterol90 mg calcium4 grams fiber. Food exchanges: 2 vegetables, ½ carbs, 1 ½ fat.