chocolate black bean protein bars

•  Awesome Chocolate Black Bean Protein bars
•  
• 1 large can black beans (drained and rinsed very well)
• 1/2 cup dutch or regular cocoa powder
• 2 packs of chocolate protein powder (I used Vega chocolate performance protein -30gr protein) or 1 cup of chocolate protein powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 
  
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 2 tbsp pure almond extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 TB soy milk  more recently I tried 1/3 cup
• 1/2 cup (or more) vegan or bittersweet chocolate chips (Not optional; omit at your own risk.)

Instructions

Homemade Chocolate Protein Bars: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a high-quality food processor. Blend until absolutely and completely smooth. (A blender works if you absolutely must, but the texture and taste will be much better in a food processor.)  Pour into a greased 9x12 rectangular pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and press down with your hand. Cook the homemade chocolate protein bars 20 minutes. They will still look underdone when you take them from the oven, but this is okay. Let cool. 
When I used the Vega all in one chocolate smoothie powder it was easy to cut them right away. With the Vega sport performance powder they were fudgy-er and needed to be refrigerated overnight before cutting. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. 

*Try the protein powder of your choice.

This is an adaptation of Chocolate Covered Katie's wonderful recipe. Check out her tasty blog.