Jelly Bean Cookies

Jelly Bean Cookies? What, you mean you haven't heard of these gems? Ha neither had I, before I spotted them on Flour Dusted and In Katrina's Kitchen. Then I had to make them, because Easter is just a few days away. And, well, because I love jelly beans. 

I'd planned to make these with Starburst jelly beans (those are some of my favorite) but then I came across these at Trader Joe's:

I decided to give these a shot, and I'm glad I did. There are 18 flavors in one box, a far greater selection than most jelly beans, and I can say that 17 of them are delicious (I'm not a black licorice fan, so those I did not like). Even better is that the colors in these candies come from fruit and vegetable sources and there aren't any additives or preservatives used. How many candies can say that?

I halved the recipe for these cookies because one box contained just over 1/2 cup of jelly beans - enough for half of a recipe and some extras for taste-testing.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, blend together butter, applesauce, and sugars until well combined. (I measured the applesauce and butter by using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, adding 1 tbsp butter to the cup, and then filling it the rest of the way with applesauce - I didn't want to remove all of the butter, but I wanted these to be lighter than the original cookies.)

Mix in egg white and vanilla. 

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. 

Add flour mixture to medium bowl and mix well.

Fold in jelly beans. For those of you who don't like black licorice, be sure to pick these out before making your cookies. I ate a cookie with 1 licorice jelly bean and it totally overpowered all of the other flavors.

Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray (as you can see, I used parchment paper, but some of the jelly beans stuck a bit when I was removing the cookies, so I think using spray would prevent that from happening).

Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack and allow to cool completely. I never let things cool completely when I'm told to, but you really should for these cookies. Biting into a burning hot jelly bean is painful, and these taste much better when cooled.

Jelly Bean Cookies
Makes 12 cookies.
Adapted from Flour Dusted and In Katrina's Kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/6 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Smart Balance Light Spread
• 1/4 cup (minus 1 tbsp) unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/16 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup jelly beans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. In a medium bowl, blend together butter, applesauce, and sugars until well combined. Mix in egg white and vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Add flour mixture to medium bowl and mix well. Fold in jelly beans. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
5. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
6. Transfer to wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Nutrition Facts
12 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		92.5
Total Fat		0.4 g
	Saturated Fat	0.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.1 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		56.7 mg
Potassium		4.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate		18.5 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.3 g
	Sugars	14.7 g
Protein		0.8 g

Very low in fat and pretty low in calories. High in sugar, but I guess that's to be expected when baking with jelly beans!

I really liked these! I wasn't sure what to expect, but these are chewy and delicious. Its a fun alternative to cookies with chocolate in them and the jelly beans give the cookies a light and fruity taste. 

What's your favorite Easter candy? 

I think mine is a tie between Peeps and jelly beans.