I love these Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies! They’re naturally sweetened, soft and chewy and easy to make. With hints of coffee and cinnamon, and sugar free chocolate chips, they are a great alternative to store bought cookies, and a perfect snack for lunchboxes, after dinner, or for when friends come over. Like these Peanut Butter Date Cookies.
What Makes Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies Healthy?
Not only are these cookies free from refined sugars, they are also dairy free and don’t contain any flour. Instead, I used Monkfruit sweetener, a natural granulated sweetener that measures like sugar, is zero calories and won’t spike your sugar levels.
Instead of flour, these chickpea cookies contain almond meal to help bind them together. Overall you get a cookie dough, that’s pretty similar to any other cookie dough, just with way less sugar and better for you.
These cookies are
- Thick, soft and chewy
- Naturally sweet, no honey or maple syrup
- Contain no added or refined sugars
- Lower in calories than store bought cookies
- Contain more fibre so leave you feeling fuller for longer
- Higher in protein thanks to the chickpeas
- Are easy to make
- Are Dairy Free
- Are Wheat Free
- Contain both chocolate and coffee!
Note: whilst these cookies are naturally sweetened, if you’re used to eating store bought cookies, you might find these are not sweet enough. The amount of sweetness used is a personal preference and I find the amounts used in this recipe to be perfect for my sweet tooth. If however, you like things on the sweet side, you may like to add an extra tablespoon of sweetener to the cookie dough.
Ingredients
- Canned chickpeas – these should be rinsed and drained to get rid od excess moisture
- Almond meal – this is almonds that have been ground and is a coarser texture than almond flour.
- Natural peanut butter – make sure to check the back of the label as many peanut butters contain added sugar. Opt for a no added sugar peanut butter, or natural peanut butter
- Sugar free chocolate chips – I used the brand “NoShu” which I found in Coles in Australia. A chopped up sugar free chocolate bar would just as well.
- Granulated sweetener that measures like sugar – I used Monkfruit sweetener, available from Woolworths in Australia.
- Cooled Instant coffee, Ground Cinnamon, Sea Salt – for extra flavour
- Baking powder + Baking soda – to help the cookies rise
I’ve made plenty of cookie recipes using natural sweeteners of various types, including stevia, and I have to say that Monkfruit sweetener is my preference because there is no hint of any aftertaste. When I made them with granulated stevia there was a weird cold sensation when you’re eating them that wasn't all that pleasant.
More Healthy Cookie Recipes
How To Make
Drain and strain the chickpeas thoroughly to remove all excess moisture. I’d also recommend patting them dry with some paper towel. You want them to be as free from moisture as possible.
Blitz the chickpeas and peanut butter in a food processor until a paste is formed. This should be around 2 – 3 minutes.
Add sweetener, cooled coffee, ground cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Blitz again until it becomes smooth, scaping down the sides of the food processer as needed.
By this time, the cookie dough will be quite sticky. This is where you will add the almond meal to the food processor to blitz one last time.
Remove cookie dough from food processor into a large bowl and stir through the chocolate chips
Spoon out the dough and roll into balls and place onto a baking sheet/tray (lined with baking paper), making sure to leave enough space in between for them to expand a little
Bake for 20 minutes and let them cool to room temperature.
Tips and Tricks
- Any type of canned chickpeas will work. The trick is to remove all excess moisture as any leftover moisture will make the cookie dough too damp
- You can substitute peanut butter with another nut butter of your choosing
- If you’re not a coffee fan, you can leave it out and you’ll still end up with a great tasting cookie
- Dampen your hands when rolling the balls to avoid the dough sticking to your hands
- Roll in balls and press down either with heel of your palm, or a fork dipped in water each time – the water is so the fork doesn’t stick to the dough and make a mess
- You can use an ice cream scoop to get the dough out if you find that easier to create uniform sized cookies
Extras
- Add ½ cup diced apricots for a fruity chickpea cookie
- Instead of ground cinnamon, try ground ginger
- Add ½ cup granulated peanuts
How To Store
These cookies take 30 to 40 minutes to make from start to finish, depending on whether you can make the cookies in one batch or two, which is dependant on the size of your oven.
Once cooked, let them cool for a few minutes and then remove onto a wire rack to cool completely and cover with a tea towel.
Once they’ve reached room temperature, store in an air tight container and 3 days. You can put them in the fridge if you want, but I keep mine on the kitchen counter as they don’t last very long.
Using chickpeas to make chocolate chip cookies is a great way to create a healthier version of an old school favourite. Especially when you add in peanut butter, chocolate chips, coffee and cinnamon.
Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 400 gram / 15oz can chickpeas
- 1 cup Almond meal
- ½ cup Natural peanut butter
- ½ cup sugar free chocolate chips
- ½ cup granulated sweetener that measures like sugar
- 2 teaspoons Instant coffee - cooled
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F
- Drain the chickpeas using a strainer (Run under water until bubbles/froth are gone and water runs clear)
- Add the chickpeas and peanut butter into a food processor and blitz until a paste is formed (about 2 -3 minutes)
- Add the granulated sweetener, cooled coffee, ground cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Blitz in the food processor until smooth, making sure all the lumps are gone. Use spoon to scrape down the sides in between blitzing. Cookie dough will be quite sticky.
- Add ½ of the almond meal, and blitz until combined. Repeat until all has been added. Cookie dough will be less sticky.
- Remove cookie dough from food processor and put into a large mixing bowl. Gently stir chocolate chips through.
- Spoon out 15 pieces of cookie dough onto a baking tray, leaving space in between for them to rise and expand. (I use 2 trays)
- Roll between hands to form a ball and press to flatten. Add extra chocolate chips on top if desired.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees C/350 degrees F. Remove from oven and let them cool to room temperature.
- Store in an air tight container at room temperature for 4 days.
Notes
- I used NoShu sugar free chocolate chips, available from Coles in Australia (not available at Woolworths)
- The granulated sweetener I used was Monkfruit Sweetener, available from Woolworths also.
- Dampen your hands when rolling the balls to avoid the dough sticking to your hands
- Roll in balls and press down either with heel of your palm, or a fork dipped in water each time – the water is so the fork doesn’t stick to the dough and make a mess
- You can use an ice cream scoop to get the dough out if you find that easier to create uniform sized cookies
- Extras:½ cup diced dried apricots, or ½ cup of granulated peanuts, or swap the ground cinnamon for ground ginger.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners.
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