We made these little chocolate treats for our Welcome meeting at our recent Weekend Yoga Retreat and people have been itching to get hold of the recipe so here it is so you can try them yourself at home.

The main ingredient is actually black beans. In fact, there’s a whole tin in this recipe. Great, if you can’t usually get beans into your lifestyle or your kids!

Did you know that you should eat a serving of beans/pulses/lentils at EVERY MEAL, to reduce your risk of developing cancer. That’s not just every week or even every day, but every meal! This was one of the recommendations from 21 of the top leading cancer researchers from around the world.

Beans are also associated with a slimmer waist and lower blood pressure, as well as improving the regulation of blood sugar, insulin levels and cholesterol. As well as reducing the risk of stroke. Beans, beans good for your heart…

Method and ingredients

These are gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. You can leave the nuts to make it nut-free too!

Ideally you’ll need a food processor to mush everything together but you might get away with chopping things finely and mixing it all together in a big bowl.

Soak 2 tbsp of chia seeds in 2 tbsp of water. Into a mixing bowl or food processor add 2 tsp maca powder / vanilla essence; 80-100ml of maple syrup; 1 tin of black beans (or white beans) 2 tbsp coconut oil; 4 tbsp cacao powder, pinch of sea salt; 50g of dates or raisins; handful of pecans; zest of two oranges (lemon is quite nice too); and 2/3 bar of dark chocolate (at least 85%).

If you’re not using a food processor, chop your larger ingredients before adding to the mixing bowl. If you’re using a food processor and you like chunky bits in your cookies, then add the chocolate and nuts at the end for a little blitz so you have some nice big bits in the cookies.

Once well mixed, taste and add more maple syrup if needed. If a little thick, then add a splash of oat, soya, coconut milk, etc.

Dollop out heaped tablespoons of the choccy mix onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15 mins in the oven 180c.

The cookies should be a little crisp on top and gooey in the middle - leave to cool, if you can resist the temptation!