Oatmeal Chocolate Chip (Navy Beans and Flax) Cookies

My five year old just finished preschool, and it was not until the morning of her last day that I finally got my act together to put some teacher gifts together.  I figured cookies would be relatively easy.  I liked the idea of chocolate chip oatmeal and as per my usual, looked for the most popular recipe on Allrecipes as a starting point.  From there, however, I got thinking about beans and flax and how easy it should be to make a healthier version of this classic cookie... and this is where we ended up. 

Better for You Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup pureed navy beans (with milk for blending)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup ground flax
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups oats
• 11/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add beans (drained), butter (softened), egg, and vanilla to blender and puree (trying to puree the beans without the added liquid will not work).  Add milk if more liquid is needed.
3. Combine been puree with sugar in a large bowl.
4. Add remaining ingredients (except sea salt and chocolate chips) to bowl and mix until well combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Drop batter by spoonfuls (it is a very sticky batter) onto greased cookie sheet or parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle with sea salt if desired (you’ve got to at least try it- I’m a fan).  These cookies do spread a bit so leave some room.
6. Bake at 350 for 11 minutes.  Let cool on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.  .

These are slightly "cakey" cookies, but also a little chewy and quite yummy. Keep leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge.