Flourless Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies
I know it sounds strange, but these Flourless Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies are super delicious. They're made with chickpeas, peanut butter, and lightly sweetened with maple syrup or agave. They're naturally gluten-free + vegan and a tasty and healthy alternative to regular peanut butter cookies.
It's officially Throw Back Thursday today! Let's celebrate with a heaping plate of Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies.
And yes, I'm fully aware that putting chickpeas in the title of a peanut butter cookie recipe post doesn't sound like much of a celebration. I get it. It's a weird combo. But hear me out!
A few years ago (4 1/2 years ago to be nearly exact) I posted this #tbt recipe for the first time. It was when it was all the rage to be gluten-free. I swear that everyone I knew was on a gluten-free diet and everyone who was (and still is) celiac was rolling their eyes at everyone who was lucky enough to be able to choose not to eat gluten.
I think people have started to chill out on the gluten-free fad. I know I have. But even though I don't shun gluten like a bite is going to kill me (it's not going to kill me) I still don't like to eat a ton of it. I just feel better if I don't binge gluten. Are you the same?
Rounding back to these Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies …
Yes, they're made with chickpeas. No, there's no gluten to be found in them. And no, they're not as weird as they sound.
Truth → They're really pretty awesome.
I'm not going to sit here and try and convince you that Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies taste exactly like regular peanut butter cookies. That would be a lie. If anyone ever tries to tell you that they're either lying to you or they haven't eaten a peanut butter cookie for so long that they forget what they taste like.
I'm always honest with you guys about what a recipe tastes like. These cookies are delicious, but you're not going to fool anyone into thinking they're a ‘regular' cookie. BUT … no one will guess they're made with chickpeas.
The flavor of the cookies is really great. They're loaded with chocolate chips, so chocolate is what you mostly taste. The peanut flavor comes through a lot since there's tons of peanut butter in the recipe. They're softer than a regular peanut butter cookie, too. It almost seems as though they're undercooked even though they're not.
They don't get crisp around the edges like a regular cookie. It's like the entire thing seems a little underdone, which is awesome. I love soft and chewy cookies, so these guys are right up my alley.
I also love that I can give my daughter an extra cookie and know that she's eating mostly good things. #win
Original post date: October 19th, 2013
Last night, after staring at far too many delicious looking treats on Pinterest (you guys do that too, right?) I came down with a serious peanut butter cookie craving. Serious enough that I really really really wanted one, but not serious enough to feel like eating a whole batch of butter and sugar. I know butter and sugar is one of the best combinations in the world- like these crazy delicious Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies – but I wanted to keep these a little healthier.
Please don't run away just yet. I promise you that healthy cookies can taste good too!
Once in a while I wonder if I should share certain things with you guys. Like this afternoon, I've had the most random mix of mostly cheesy music on. Right now Pitbull is singing through my stereo, “I know you want me. You know I want you.” and I'm staring at these super yummy flourless chickpea peanut butter cookies and … you know where I'm going with this, right? Sometimes (most of the time) it's a little embarrassing how big of a cheese ball I am 🙂
But hey, when the shoe song fits …
I need to warn you guys that these flourless chickpea peanut butter cookies have a rather strange sounding ingredient, at least as far as cookies go. But don't worry, you won't taste the chickpeas even a little bit. I had them the first time this summer when my handsome man's very talented daughter, Kaitlin, made them at the cabin. I was a bit apprehensive about eating chickpeas in my cookie; it sounded just a little too healthy for my liking.
These cookies are super peanut-y and have a soft, almost undercooked, texture. And they're addicting. Very addicting.
And one more thing, not only are these chickpea peanut butter cookies flourless, they're vegan and gluten-free too. Win win win!
If you love these Flourless Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies as much as I do, make sure to give them a 5-star review in the comments below!
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Flourless Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies
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Prep Time: 10 mins -
Cook Time: 12-14 mins
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Total Time: 25 mins
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Yield: 28 cookies 1x
Description
I know it sounds strange, but these Flourless Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies are super delicious. They're made with chickpeas, peanut butter, and lightly sweetened with maple syrup or agave. They're naturally gluten-free + vegan and a tasty and healthy alternative to regular peanut butter cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 – 14-ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 3/4 cups of cooked chickpeas)
- 1 cup smooth, all-natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup agave, maple syrup, or honey
- Optional: 1/4 cup coconut sugar (Depending on how sweet you like your cookies. Can sub brown sugar.)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Add drained chickpeas and honey or maple syrup to a food processor or high-powered blender (don't use a regular blender) and blend until smooth. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl.
- Add all remaining ingredients and mix until thoroughly blended. The batter will be sticky, don't worry.
- Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
The original pictures of these Flourless Chickpea Peanut Butter Cookies:
If you’re interested in learning a few tricks that I did to improve my food photography, check out the posts 10 Food Photography Tips for New Food Bloggers and The 10 Best Food Photography Props to Improve Your Food Photography and The Food Photography Equipment I Use.
Can I half this recipe with it turning out?
I haven’t tried it but I suspect that it will work just fine. 🙂
Can you actually omit the sugar?
Do you mean the honey or maple syrup? Or the coconut sugar? You can omit the coconut sugar but I’m not sure if the recipe will work without the maple syrup. If you try it, let us know how it goes. 🙂
These are really yummy. I made them with agave and they returned out great. I have to admit, I was skeptical but even my teenage boys and husband said they really liked them.
I’m so happy to hear your whole family loved them!
WOW. These are amazing and I love the ingredients! Bravo for figuring this out!!! Vegan cookies can be so complicated! Really impressive! The taste is fantastic! PS… How did you get yours so nicely shaped in your beautiful photos? Lol
Thanks! I’m so happy to hear that you like them!
And I just make sure that they’re round before baking them, fixing them with my fingers a little if needed before they go into the oven. 🙂
Love these cookies. I’ve had so many people ask for the recipe.
Only change I make is, after I’ve blended the chickpeas and sweetener until smooth, I throw in all the other ingredients (except chocolate chips) and blitz until well mixed (not smooth). It chops up the peanuts a bit and give a really nice consistency to the cookies.
★★★★★
I like the suggestion of blitzing the dough a little. I bet it is good!
Thanks for sharing! Does the chickpea flavor come through at all? What a great way to be gluten free!
I don’t find that the chickpea flavor comes through, but the texture is different than a regular peanut butter cookie. It’s a little chewier. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
They keep well for several days in a sealed container. 🙂
These look so good! Do you use this dough base for any other recipes?
No, I haven’t. But now I’m thinking I should brainstorm other ways of using the dough. 🙂
I made this recipe but substitute PB for Sunbutter. My cookies however came out green on the inside once cooled!? Has this ever happen to anyone before and why are they green inside?
Maybe something to do with the Sunbutter? I’ve never had that happen before!
Baking soda reacts with sun butter, turning it green. It’s totally harmless…just makes your baking a funny colour.
Thank you so much for letting us know!
I baked this many times already. I followed the recipe but made some variations in terms of the nuts and chocolate chips.
Last weekend I baked it with dried blueberry and used date syrup. My family and office colleagues liked it.
It is rewarding to bake vegan goodies when your non-vegan friends and family like it too.
Love the tweaks you’ve made to the recipe! They sound delicious!
I am trying to get my husband to eat more legumes, and plant-based foods, so I thought I’d give these a try. I made the first batch last week with no chocolate chips, and he declared them “pretty dang delicious!” He has been asking me to make them again, so I tried them again today with chocolate chips. They’re in the oven, and I’m sure he’ll love these ones even more, as he is a huge fan of the chocolate-PB combo. Thanks for the great recipe!
ps. “pretty dang delicious” is high praise indeed, as my husband is a cookie snob 😉
That’s amazing! I’m so happy to hear he likes them!
Great recipe. For people who don’t know about a nice sweetener alternative – try making this with 1/3 cup of date sugar, which is just pulverized dates.
★★★★★
Great call on the date sugar!
These are amazing! I was pretty skeptical at first but super happy with how they turned out. Not exactly like a regular peanut butter cookie but really tasty in their own way. Will make them again!
★★★★★
Happy you tried them! They’re one of my fav healthy cookies!
I put pumpkin seeds in along with some blueberries ,since I didn’t have chocolate chips, Pretty tasty!
I’m so happy you like them!
I made these and they did not turn out. I only substituted sunflower seeds for the peanuts. They never spread out just looked like drops of dough after 12 minutes in the oven. Any suggestions? Thanks
The only thing I can think of is that maybe the peanut butter wasn’t quite as oily. It’s the oil (or butter in most cookie recipes) that causes the cookies to spread out.
Could you use maple syrup instead of agave?
Absolutely you can!
These cookies are amazing! I’ll be making them over and over again. Thank you for the great recipe!
★★★★★
These cookies don’t look strange at all! I never would have known that you included chickpeas. Everywhere I see chickpea cookie dough or dessert-style hummus, but I rarely see baked chickpea cookies! Looks fantastic, and the peanut butter flavor is so perfect!
Awww thank you so much, girl! I owe all credit for the creation of this recipe to my stepdaughter. She was the genius who first made them for me!
I was skeptical at first, but I figured I’d give this a try.
They turned out very nicely. Binge-worthy, in fact.
You might want to flatten them a bit before baking.
★★★★
I’m so happy to hear you like the cookies!
After I read your text and the comments as well, all I can say : hooked 🙂 Thank you !
You are so welcome!
Thanks for this concept! I’m going to try a variation on this with Almond butter and sliver almonds, and craisons in stead of choc chips. ( Since I have some almond butter and slivered almond and craisons on hand ) I also have dried chick peas that I’ll soak overnight then cook them in my insta-pot pressure (which I do for hummus) .
I’m inspired! Mike
Recipes are the best when you can make them your own, aren’t they?!! So happy to be the inspiration behind your almond butter chickpea cookies!
I just made these and they’re great, rather amazing, in fact. I used a can of black beans because I didn’t have chick peas and although the cookies were dark, you’d never know they were made with beans. I also used maple syrup. I will definitely make these again. Thank you for the recipe!
If I do not have maple syrup do you think agave would work instead of honey to keep them vegan?
I definitely think it will work great. I’m not super familiar with agave but I believe it is sweeter than maple syrup and honey, right? Maybe try adding a little less and tasting the batter as you go till you get the sweetness you like 🙂
Chickpeas in cookies, absolutely amazing, and they looks so yummy!