Your Baked Treats Will Never Be The Same After Adding This Surprising Ingredient

While many of us are interested in healthy eating, when it comes to baked goods, you may not feel quite the same way. After all, if you are going to have a slice of red beet velvet cake with cream cheese frosting or bake a chocolate chip cookie like mom used to make, you aren't looking to swap ingredients that might mess with the taste. As a blogger at Handle the Heat notes, when you substitute ingredients in pursuit of cutting out calories or sugar, you are likely to ruin the texture your mouth has come to know and love. 

There are some substitutions that simply do not bring about the flavor your taste buds expect from baked goods when you do healthy swaps, except for the one ingredient that can be used in place of some of the fat in a recipe. Yes, there is always an outlier, and we believe this protein-rich food will make you think twice about what you pour into your bowl the next time you whip up a cake or brownies. Honestly, your baked goods may never be the same after adding this surprising ingredient to your sweet treats. 

Substituting a bean puree for some — but not all — of the fatty ingredients you use in your baked goods can not only make them taste delish but also allow you to check the health-conscious box while enjoying them. Beans are full of fiber, protein, and a laundry list of vitamins and minerals. However, per Shape, just beware that you can't get rid of all the fat unless you are willing to sacrifice texture. Culinary dietitian Sara Haas told the publication, "For brownies, you can replace oil with three-quarters as much black bean purée. For cookies, you can replace up to half the butter or shortening with the bean purée." But Haas also concedes that finding the right ratio can be trial and error.

Shape notes that if you are going to use beans as a flour substitute — which is a great gluten option — the practice is a little easier because it is just a 1:1 swap. They further explain that if you don't know what kinds of beans to use, a general rule of thumb is black beans work well for chocolatey recipes, while white beans should be used for other baked goods like blondies. And there seems to be a general consensus that black bean brownies rock, with the likes Spoon University and Taste of Home sharing their delight at how delicious beans in brownies can be.