Made with wholesome, pantry ingredients like chickpeas, oats and honey, these chickpea chocolate chip cookies are soft, cakey and delicious. Naturally sweetened and filled with plant protein and fiber, enjoy them for a snack or treat.
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Chickpeas as the base of a cookie? Yes. Trust me.
If you haven't tried chocolate or vanilla bean hummus, then you might think that chickpeas in a cookie is a bit crazy.
But when you process chickpeas into a paste, they really do take on the texture of cookie dough.
I've been making dessert hummus for years now, but recently I got to thinking about if I could try turning it into a cookie.
The result? After a bit of tweaking the ratios and adding an egg- YUM!
If you're a dense and chewy cookie person, oat flour chocolate chip cookies might be more your speed.
But, if you are a lover of all types of cookies, then you should definitely give these a try.
They take on a soft, fluffy texture- not all that different from the top of a muffin and are fabulous for packing along for a snack or treat on the go.
So let's make some chickpea chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!
The Ingredients
- Chickpeas (AKA Garbanzo Beans) - You can use 1 can or use homemade cooked and cooled dry chickpeas- you need about 2 cups.
- Maple Syrup or Honey- If you'd like to use another sweetener, here is some info about maple syrup substitutes.
- Almond Butter- I love the toasty flavor that it adds to the cookies (as it does to these flourless cookie bars). See this post on almond butter substitutes for alternatives. If you need it to be nut free, you can experiment with using sunflower seed or pumpkin seed butter (though it will turn it green).
- Cinnamon Vanilla + Fine Sea Salt- Key flavors in most cookie recipes, especially oatmeal.
- Chocolate Chips- Feel free to experiment with another add in instead or leave them out.
- Rolled Oats- This adds structure and texture to the cookies and helps take the place of flour. Use certified gluten-free oats if you need the recipe to be gluten free.
- Baking Soda- Just a touch adds some lift to the cookies in order to develop their soft texture.
- Eggs- Eggs help the cookies to bind and to raise a bit for a softer texture. I experimented with and without eggs and preferred the fluffier cookie that the eggs yielded.
The Method
1. Rinse chickpeas. Drain the aquafaba and thoroughly rinse the beans and set aside.
2. Make the batter. Add everything except the chickpeas, oatmeal and chocolate chips, to the bowl of a food processor. Blend on high for one minute until combined and creamy.
Add the chickpeas and pulse for a minute.
Remove the lid and scrape down the edges.
Process for an additional minute then pause to scrape the edges again. Repeat 1-2 additional times until smooth and creamy.
Add the oatmeal and puree for 1-2 more minutes. The oats should be incorporated and finer but still have a slight texture.
Add the egg and baking soda and pulse until just combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips (you can run the food processor on low for a few seconds or stir them in so that they don't get broken up).
3. Shape. Scoop 2 tablespoons of batter at a time onto a lined baking sheet. The batter will be a bit runny and sticky- somewhere between muffin batter and cookie batter, so I recommend using a cookie scoop.
4. Bake. Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes until the cookies appear set but are still soft to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Enjoy! Allow cookies to cool completely or enjoy them warm (they're so good warm!).
Leftovers and Storage
To Store: Store leftover chickpea cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: Leftover cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Make it Your Own
- Change up the Add Ins- Instead of chocolate chips, you could add up to 1 cup of (or try a combination):
- Raisins
- Chopped Nuts
- Chocolate Chunks
- White Chocolate Chips
- Peanut Butter Chips
- Butterscotch Chips
- Dried Cranberries
- Peanut Butter Cookies- Use peanut butter in place of the almond butter.
- Blueberry Cookies- Juicy blueberries pair wonderfully with the flavor and texture of these cookies. After all, they are soft and cakey- kind of like a muffin top. So blueberries makes these cookies taste like the top of Blueberry Oat Flour Muffins. Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen (no need to thaw) in place of the chocolate chips.
Yes, I have tested these cookies with and without eggs. I found the cookies had a softer, more muffin-top texture with eggs which I preferred. They turned out denser without eggs but were still delicious if you need the recipe to be egg free. Here is a visual of the difference: left is with an egg and right is without.
Tips and Notes
- Follow the Order of Addition- For best cookie texture, the order of adding the ingredients is important. Whipping the nut butter first makes it creamy and adding the oatmeal last ensures the oats retain some of their texture.
- Rinse the Chickpeas Well- In order to avoid a bean-y tasting cookie, be sure to drain and rinse the chickpeas well before adding them to the recipe.
- Don't Over-bake- The cookies will continue to firm up once they are out of the oven so don't be tempted to bake them too long. They should appear just set on the sides and top while still being quite soft.
And if you liked this recipe...
...you might also like:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
- Protein Cookie Dough
- White Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies
Recipe Card
Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 (19 oz) can chickpeas or 2 cups cooked
- ½ cup almond butter
- ⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and ½ cup large flake oats
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Drain the and rinse the beans and set aside.
- Add everything except the chickpeas, oats and chocolate chips to the bowl of a food processor. Blend on high for one minute until combined and creamy.
- Add the beans and process for a minute then remove the lid and scrape down the edges. Process for an additional minute then pause to scrape the edges again. Repeat 1-2 additional times until smooth and creamy.
- Add the oatmeal and puree for 1-2 minutes. The oats should be mostly incorporated and finer but still have some slight texture.Add the egg until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips (or another add in).
- Scoop 2 tablespoons of batter at a time onto a lined baking sheet. (The batter will be a bit runny and sticky- somewhere between muffin batter and cookie batter).
- Bake at 350 °F for 10-12 minutes until the cookies appear set but are still soft to the touch. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Elisabeth Syratford says
Easy to make in food processor. Delicious and healthy treat! I used a cookie scoop. These cookies do not spread when baked so they do bake cake like which I enjoyed. I may flatten them next batch to see how they come out. I will make these often! Chocolate chip cookies are
My favorite and these satisfied my sweet tooth!
Janessa says
I'm so glad you liked these cookies!