Healthy snacks are sometimes considered boring or tasteless, but this chickpea cookies recipe begs to differ. It offers all the same qualities as regular cookies—delicately sweet, comforting, and tender but with a chickpea twist that seamlessly mixes in a nutty taste.
Plus, it’s unbelievably simple so whether you’re new to baking sweets or are experienced, you should have no trouble whipping up a batch or two.
What Do Chickpea Cookies Taste Like?
Chickpea cookies come with the best of both worlds—the heart-melting sweetness of the chocolate and peanut butter combined with the nutty deliciousness of chickpeas. Texture-wise, they lean more towards the soft side instead of being candy-like hard and crunchy.
If you like cookies with a soft, chewy center and an outside layer that is somewhat crispy and crumbles nicely in your mouth, give this recipe a try.
Main Ingredients
Making these chickpea cookies from scratch is easier than you think, especially when the ingredients are all just baking staples. Here’s a simple list of what you’ll need:
- Chickpeas: We opted for canned chickpeas since it barely requires any preparation and tastes nearly as good as dried ones.
- Peanut butter: To enhance the cookies’ nutty taste and rich texture, we added some peanut butter to the mixture. If you are allergic to peanuts, switch it out for almond butter or any other suitable alternative.
- Chocolate: We can’t imagine this recipe without the luscious richness of dark chocolate. It melts right into the chickpeas and creates a seamless mixture of intricately sweet and nutty flavors.
- Sweeteners: As mentioned above, we used small amounts of sugar and honey to give these cookies that tender sweetness. We went with brown sugar instead of white because it has a much deeper and more toffee-like flavor thanks to the additional molasses.
- Leavening agents: baking soda and baking powder: These ingredients help the cookies to expand and give them that pillowy soft texture.
- Butter: This is undoubtedly a baking essential. It enriches the cookies’ creamy texture and keeps them buttery soft. For the best result, we used it at room temperature.
- Vanilla: Just a little bit of vanilla extract can make all the difference. Its floral notes tie all the different flavors together and subtly enhances the overall taste.
- Flour: We used all-purpose flour to bind the ingredients together and give the cookies a firm yet delicate structure. The flour also helps absorb excess moisture to prevent sogginess.
Are Chickpea Cookies Healthy?
Cookies are considered to be unhealthy mainly due to the overwhelming amount of sugar used in most recipes. Bearing this in mind, we limited the sweeteners like sugar and honey to just a quarter of a cup each. We also cut the saturated fat down to just 3.5 g by using only a tablespoon of butter.
The highlight, however, is the chickpeas, which load the cookies with fiber—known for improving digestion and lowering cholesterol levels. This legume also offers various other essential nutrients like vitamins (B6 and B9) and minerals (magnesium, potassium, selenium, etc).
This recipe does also include other indulgent foods like chocolate and peanut butter, but much like the remaining ingredients, we also moderated their amounts so that the cookies can be enjoyed without heavily affecting your diet.
How to Store the Leftovers
When stored properly in airtight containers, these chickpea cookies can last for up to a week in the fridge. They might stick together so you should add a piece of parchment paper between them.
Want More Chickpea Treats? We’ve Got You!
It should come as no surprise that chickpeas are good for more than just cookies. If you’ve got a sweet tooth but want to enjoy some guilt-free treats, check out our Chickpea Brownies Recipe. It still has that classic rich, dark chocolatey taste and fudgy, moist texture we all love so much in classic brownies, but made all the more enticing with a nutty chickpea undertone.
Chickpea Cookies Recipe
Whether you’re new to baking sweets or already familiar with them, you should have no problem following this chickpea cookies recipe. It requires only the bare essentials and comes together in a few simple steps, giving you a healthy snack that tastes utterly irresistible.
- by Luna Regina, 2023-02-09
- cook TIME 40 mins
- prep TIME 5 mins
- total TIME 45 mins
- COURSE snack
- CUISINE American
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 233 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 20 oz canned chickpeas
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 3 oz dark chocolate
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook:
Slice the chocolate: Slice 3 oz chocolate into small pieces.
Make the cookie batter: In a food processor, add 20 oz canned chickpeas, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/3 cup peanut butter, and 1 tbsp unsalted butter and process until creamy and thick.
Add the chocolate: Transfer the dough to a large bowl, add the sliced chocolate, and use a large spoon to stir it in.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F to prepare for step 4.
Bake the cookies: Mold the dough into round discs then lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 °F for 35 minutes.
Note: Leave a little space between the cookies since they will expand and flatten during the baking process.
Let the cookies cool down: When the time’s up, remove the cookies from the oven then leave them at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to cool and solidify.
Enjoy: Note that they might taste better after a day or two.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
- Carey GeniusTasty cookies made with chickpeas.