Vegan black bean chocolate chip cookies? Yep, vegan made, omnivore tested and approved! Will kids love them? They sure won’t know what the secret ingredient is, so don’t tell them!
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat; set aside.
Place the chia seeds in the canister of your blender or food processor and grind to a fine powder. Add to that the water and vanilla, pulsing to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Sift the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder into a separate large bowl. Add the salt and ¼ cup sugar, whisking until blended.
Add the peanut butter to the chia mixture along with the beans and blend until smooth.
Place ½ cup of the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl along with the oil, and heat for 30 to 60 seconds. stir thoroughly, until all of the chocolate has completely melted. Pour the liquid chocolate mix into the blender and puree until homogeneous.
Introduce the wet mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. Finally, stir the remaining chocolate chips (and walnuts if using) into the dough until well distributed throughout.
Form the dough into 1 to 1 ½ inch balls. Roll in the remaining granulated sugar to fully coat the exteriors. Place on your prepared baking sheet and flatten gently with your palm.
Baking for 10 to 12 minutes, until the dough no longer looks shiny. The cookies will still be slightly soft at this point; allow them to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.