Looking for the chickpea cookies from Pinterest or Facebook? Here’s the original recipe! Scroll to the bottom of the post for a how-to recipe video.
Chickpea cookies! Chickpea cookies with no flour, no oil, no white sugar. These are just full of chickpeas. And they’re my very favorite healthy cookie so far!* I don’t know if they really classify as cookies so I’ll go with cookie dough bites.
And as a bonus, they’re grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. Just in case that matters to anyone out there! And if you’re worried about the chickpeas, don’t be. I don’t like chickpeas and won’t eat them but that didn’t prevent me from inhaling these.
* 2017 update: this post is 5 years old and I have a new favorite. :D You HAVE to try these paleo chocolate chip cookies if you haven’t already! There’s also a vegan option. And for hot summer days, these no-bake oatmeal cookies (naturally gluten-free + vegan) are my favorite!
I used homemade peanut butter in these cookies but store-bought (the kind with just peanuts and salt) works just as well.
Here’s how to make peanut butter! There’s also a video included. All you need is peanuts and a food processor (which you already have to pull out for this chickpea cookie recipe!).
These need the chocolate. Don’t go making them without the chocolate and then tell me that they weren’t sweet or gooey enough! These would be incredibly boring without the chocolate.
And for some weird reason, these cookie dough bites do not taste yummy in dough form. Baking them somehow brings out the sweetness and peanut butter flavor. Or maybe it’s just all that melted chocolate.
One thing I’ve learned since starting this blog is that people really love closeups of melted stuff. So there you go. :)
These aren’t the most beautiful cookie dough bites, but fresh out of the oven, with all that gooey chocolate, I bet you can’t tell that these are made with chickpeas. Or are grain-free. But cold? Yuck. These need to be warm!
You can either freeze the balls and pop a few in the oven whenever it’s on, or simply put them in the microwave until they’re warm and gooey again.
By the way, if you’re a peanut butter lover like I am, you have to try these healthy peanut butter balls. They’re also gluten-free and vegan!
Please read the following before asking a question! It will probably answer it. :)
- Tons of people have posted the nutritional analysis for these. They’re supposedly anywhere between 80-130 calories, which seems like a huge range to me. Please use a recipe analyzer like on CalorieCount if you need more information.
- You can use almond butter, sun butter, or whatever nut butter you like.
- The peanut butter should be the kind with only peanuts and salt. No added fat or sugar.
Be careful because there are some “natural” brands out there which aren’t really natural. I find that this peanut butter is usually expensive so I make my own.
You can make your own in only 5 minutes with a food processor. Check that out here. - Chickpea flour won’t work. I don’t think plain hummus will either.
- I haven’t tried anything other than chickpeas but others have used butter beans, navy beans, red kidney beans, great northern beans, and lentils with success. I generally don’t like goodies made with those types of beans but I love these cookies made with chickpeas. Please use chickpeas unless you have an allergy!
- Doing this in a blender won’t work and might kill the blender. Making these in a Blendtec blender or something equally powerful might work but I haven’t tried it.
- Adding random stuff like eggs… probably won’t work either. ;) Experimenting is great but I think this is a bad recipe to experiment with.
But thanks to the experimenters who left feedback, I’ve been able to update the recipe with alternatives to honey and peanut butter. Thanks everyone!
For my readers who are really sensitive to gluten, you might want to read my post on Is Honey Gluten-free? - For a totally sugar free version, use 30 drops of Stevia and cacao nibs.
- Do not double the recipe! It might be too much for your machine and could damage it.
- For a vegan version, you can’t use honey. Use agave.
- For a dairy-free version, use Enjoy Life chocolate chips. They’re just as delicious as regular chocolate chips. SO good!
And thanks for everyone who has pinned and left feedback. I really appreciate it. :)
Want more gluten-free treats? Here are some of my favorites!
Grain-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites (gluten-free with vegan and dairy-free options)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 14 1" cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel1
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter, SunButter Natural or almond butter - room temperature2
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey (agave or maple syrup for vegan)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder3
- a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips (use vegan and dairy-free chocolate chips, if needed)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.
- Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky.
- With wet hands, form into 1 1/2" balls. Place onto a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don't do much rising.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. The dough balls will still be very soft when you take them out of the oven. They will not set like normal cookies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the fridge) for up to 1 week.
Notes
- My can of chickpeas was 400 grams, 240 grams without the water, and I used all but a few tablespoons.
- Don't even try with regular peanut butter! They'll come out oily. You MUST use natural peanut butter. :)
- If you need grain-free baking powder, you can use 1 part cream of tartar + 1 part baking soda + 2 parts arrowroot.
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2106 comments on “The Original Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe (aka Chickpea Cookies)” — Add one!
37 comments are awaiting moderation!
Looks like a recipe worth trying. I will let you know what my kids think.
Helen – I hope you enjoy them! Is your cookie recipe online? :)
Brenna – I'm sorry! I don't know what to say if you followed the recipe exactly. Perhaps a difference with the chickpeas? Anyway, sorry. :(
healthy and delicious – Nobody has mentioned using Stevia before so I'm afraid I don't know what to say about that. Perhaps if you added some extra liquid? Sorry I'm not more of a help. Please let us know if it works out! It'd be a big help to other people, I think.
any suggestions for alternate sweeteners for people needing a low carb version? could you sub stevia and/or erythritol? would they hold together without the honey or agave? The more I learn about blood sugar (especially fructose), the less interested I am in even "natural" sweeteners that raise insulin…….
thanks!
rachel
mine look NOTHING like this… i follow the recipe exactly. :(
I have a cookie recipe that uses chickpeas too! These look great. I can't wait to try them. =)
ce32 – Haha. Love your comment. :) I'm thrilled that they worked for you using normal peanut butter! Thanks for letting me know. :)
Jennie – I'm happy the kids still liked them but they shouldn't be crumbly. They should be very soft so maybe you overbaked them, but I think it'd be pretty hard to do if you just left them in there a few minutes longer. Could it be that the oven temperature is off? Just a thought. :)
Marcella – Haha… yeah, black beans aren't my thing, but neither are chickpeas so who knows? Maybe it'd be okay. :) I'm glad that you enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback. :)
Anon – I used the homemade kind that I linked to in the recipe but hundreds of people have made these and I'm sure they all used different kinds. So just use whatever you have! Good luck. :)
Catrina T. – Yay, happy they worked with sunbutter! And also happy that your entire family enjoyed them. Thanks for the feedback :)
I made these using Sunbutter (since I am allergic to all nuts) and they are delish!! Regular staple in our home. :) My hubby and kiddos all loved them.
Hi! This sound great! What kind/brand of natural peanut butter did you use?
Thanks,
Beth
Just made these. Very good. I had to heat up my honey since it had crystallized, so it started melting the chocolate and made the dough a little darker. I used 60% Coco chips, and they are very rich that and chunky laura scudders. I put coconut oil on the cookie sheet and they did not stick. A cookie you can eat without spiking your blood sugar! Thanks! I like idea above for the mashed bananas. Black beans…I'd have to draw the line there. Sounds horrid.
I just made these and they tasted amazing! The texture was crumbly and they didn't hold together, though my children ate them all in minutes flat. Do you think I overbaked them? Regardless, I'll definitely make them again!
OMG!!! I just made these because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and wanted to check them out. These are "slap yo mama" good! Seriously? Healthy alternative and taste good, who knew? I did not have natural PB on hand and used regular and they turned out just fine. Haven't tasted them cold yet, but hot out of the oven they are delicious! Thanks for a Pinterest successful recipe pin!
Anon 1 – Sure, but why? They're already gooey enough. :)
Anon 2 – Yay! Happy you and your family liked them. :) I also dislike chickpeas but love these! Thanks for the feedback.
Guillaume – Happy you liked them! And of course you can do that. Thanks for asking. :)
Anon 3 – I'm happy your friend posted them too! :)
Amanda – Try searching for a recipe nutrition analyzer. Copy and paste the recipe into it… it should tell you the carbs. :)
NES DesignZ – Other people have used it with success! I've never used it, though, so I can't promise it'll work.
How do you think PB2 would work?
If anyone can figure out how many carbs are in a cookie, I would love them forever. :D
If anyone can figure out how many carbs are in a cookie, I would love this person forever. These look great.
So glad a friend posted these on FB. They are awesome =)
Just made them ! Delicious :-) I like to cook with cheakpeas : complete proteins and good texture to make cookies !
Question : Can I traduct your recipe in French and put it on my blog ? Of course I would put a link to here ;-)
Just wanted to thank you for this recipe. My family loved them! My husband said they were phenomenal. He and my son don't even like chick peas. They couldn't believe that the cookies were made with them.
do you think i could throw some coconut oil in there?
These cookies are amazing! I am a daycare teacher, it is so nice to have a "treat" for them that is actually full of protein and goodness. One of my personal favorties, everyone loves them & no one knows the secret ingrediant! -S
Hi Sondrea! So happy that the little ones like the cookies, especially considering the ingredients. :) Thanks for the feedback!