Gluten-free Dairy-free Vegan Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Chickpeas might not be your first ingredient choice when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. And I won’t lie to you—I was skeptical at first, too. It just didn’t add up: Beans? Cookies? How on Earth could these be good together? Well, I’m gonna tell you how.
The secret to a great gluten-free (and vegan!) chocolate chip cookie is chickpeas.
First of all, chickpeas have an earthy, nutty flavor that lends itself deliciously to sweets. They are packed with protein, fiber, and other nutrients, which makes them healthier than refined white flour. This recipe uses canned chickpeas, which means you could even have some aquafaba left over.
What the heck is aquafaba? This word translates literally to “bean water”—it’s the liquid left over in the can once the chickpeas are out. And it’s amazing! Because it’s rich in several different types of proteins (and more we don’t have time to get into today), aquafaba is incredibly useful for creating stable culinary foams. It makes a fantastic egg substitute—even in meringues. You won’t be using the aquafaba in this recipe, but feel free to drain your chickpeas over a bowl and set your aquafaba aside for later use.
How do you make sure your gluten-free vegan cookies have the right texture?
My amazing Gluten-free Vegan Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe produces cookies that are soft and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness. Trust me—no one will will even be able to tell they were made without flour. The trick to making these healthier cookies the best they can be is to process the chickpeas REALLY well. Your dough will look like hummus when you have blended it enough. That’s how to give your cookie the perfect texture.
Pro tip: Experiment with different nut butters in your gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
The nut butter in this recipe helps bind everything together and enhances the nutty flavor that the chickpeas offer. I love that this recipe works with so many different butters: peanut butter, almond butter, or even cashew butter. Give your favorite kind a try! If you are going to use a vegan chocolate chip, I highly recommend Enjoy Life—theirs are really good!
Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas
- ½ cup creamy peanut or almond butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup or agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Mary’s Cognac Barrel-Aged Pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (3.5 ounces) Enjoy Life vegan bittersweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Roll the chickpeas around over a layer of paper towels to dry them off.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the chickpeas, peanut or almond butter, maple syrup or agave nectar, baking powder, vanilla extract and salt. Pulse to combine, scraping down the side of the bowl periodically, until the dough is smooth. Add the chocolate chips. Pulse briefly 4 times to combine.
- Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop, form 12 cookies and arrange them on the prepared pan. To make this easier, try dipping the scoop in slightly warm water between scooping each cookie. Alternately, form the cookies into a ball with your hands using 2 tablespoons dough per cookie.
- Bake for 14 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned and puffed. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container at room temperature.