Hiding Beans

I'm a bean hider.  Beware!  My older son is incredibly picky and texture sensitive, which means that I am that mom who hides vegetables and protein in her family's food.

Before you run away from my house in horror or get scared of eating anything I bring to a potluck, let me just say that the food I hide my secret ingredients in is some of the most-requested food I make.  My chocolate chip cookies vanish off my counters, and the most repeated comment is: "I can't believe there are garbanzo beans in these!"  Yes, I hide chickpeas in my chocolate chip cookies.  A great source of protein and fiber, garbanzo beans have also been reported to satisfy hunger and reduce overall food consumption.  They also help to control blood sugar.  This benefit may be negated by the amazingly wonderful amount of chocolate and brown sugar in my cookies, and I am totally okay with that!

This cookie has been approved by Benjamin.

Here is the super secret recipe should you choose to do some bean-hiding baking this afternoon.

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened (Hello!)

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix these ingredients together.

1 bag (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, DRAIN AND RINSE, people!  This is key!

Add these and mix.

2 cups whole wheat fine ground flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Add these and mix again.

Drop rounded tablespoons of this dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  Make for 11-13 minutes at 350 degrees.  Try to restrain yourself from eating them directly from the pan.  Cool on wire racks.

Devour as many as you can before your husband gets home and eats a bunch.  Eat more every day since they only last 3 days in an airtight container before the garbanzo beans get kind of chewy.  If you need help with self-control, these do freeze well.

Ours rarely make it to the freezer, but if they do then no one but me gets them.  Have I mentioned that I have a weakness for frozen cookies?  And for hiding food from my children?  Please don't judge.  I'm a work in progress... or maybe just a piece of work.  Either way I'm a little bummed.  The pictures above are of Ben eating the last cookie in the batch.  Glad he enjoyed them.  Sad for my freezer cookie addiction.

Hope your family enjoys them as much as we do.  Blessings, friends!