Triple chocolate cookie pies

Triple chocolate chip cookie pies

adapted from here

Amazingly, the flavor of the garbanzo beans disappears completely in these cookies (make sure you rinse them very, very well). For a really smooth result, I’d recommend removing at least some of the skins from the garbanzo beans — easily done by picking up a bean between your forefinger and thumb and giving the bean a pinch. The skin will slip right off. This is the kind of task I really dig (don’t judge me), but I totally understand if it’s not your thing. Any amount of skins you can remove before succumbing to despair is better than nothing. This also happens to be the secret for super smooth hummus — it really makes a difference.

Ingredients:
for the crust (optional – see note below):
10 Oreo cookies
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

for the cookie batter:
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, well-rinsed and drained
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut sugar (or use all brown sugar)
2 tablespoons applesauce
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or quality extract)
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I use Extra Brute from Callebaut)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
heaping 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
heaping 1/4 cup white chocolate chips (or use more semi-sweet or sub dark chocolate)

Special Equipment:
6 each 3″ cake rings (or small ramekins)

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Prepare the crust, if using: add the Oreo cookies to the bowl of a food processor, breaking them into quarters as you drop them in. Pulse until coarsely ground (it’s best to take it slow and do numerous, one-second pulses – the cookies will grind evenly that way). Remove to a mixing bowl and stir in the melted butter.

Prepare the batter: add all of the cookie batter ingredients, except the chips to the bowl of the food processor (no need to wipe out the yummy stray Oreo crumbs). Process until very smooth. This could take a good 20-30 seconds, and one or two scraping-downs of the bowl. Bits of oats might be visible – that’s okay. The batter will be thick, but not quite as doughy as regular chocolate chip cookie dough. Remove the batter to a mixing down and gently stir in the chips.

Assemble: place the cake rings on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spray the interiors with non-stick spray. Divide the Oreo crumbs evenly among the rings and use the back of a spoon to firmly press the crumbs to form a bottom crust.

Spoon the batter into the rings and gently level out (use two dinner spoons, one to gently press the batter into place, the other to keep the ring stationary as well as scrape batter off the first spoon). Fill the rings halfway up. Bake for 25 minutes. The tops of the cookie pies should be firm (don’t press down too hard when testing – the centers are still a bit gooey at this point).

Leave the rings on the the pan, and place the pan on a rack to promote cooling. Let rings cool completely, at least one hour. Remove the rings by lifting up on the ring while pushing down gently on the cookie top – the ring should slip right off. (If using ramekins, plan to leave the cookies in the ramekins. I haven’t tried this recipe in ramekins, but I’m guessing that it will be difficult to get them to turn out cleanly.)

Serve at room temperature, with a scoop of ice cream, if desired.

Note: I added the Oreo crust the first time I made these because I wanted to make sure the batter didn’t leak out of the bottom of the cake rings. It’s not a problem – consider the Oreo crust optional (although delicious). Without it, this recipe becomes gluten-free and vegan (be sure to use certified GF and approved vegan versions of the ingredients).