The Original Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe (aka 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!
- Nutrient-Rich Ingredients: Packed with protein and fiber from chickpeas and natural peanut butter, these bites are as nourishing as they are delicious.
- Naturally Sweetened: Maple syrup or honey provides a subtle sweetness, eliminating the need for refined sugars.
- Diet-Friendly: These bites are gluten-free, dairy-free, and grain-free, making them suitable for various dietary needs.
- Kid-Approved: Their cookie-dough-like texture and chocolatey goodness make them a hit with both kids and adults.
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!
Ingredients Notes
These are just notes on select ingredients. Please scroll below for the full recipe!
- Chickpeas: Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas provide the creamy base for these bites. Use canned chickpeas for convenience, and make sure to rinse and drain them well to remove any briny flavor.
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! - Peanut Butter: This should be the kind with only peanuts and salt. No added fat or sugar. Be careful because there are some “natural” brands out there that aren’t really natural.
I find that this peanut butter is usually expensive, so I make my own. Here’s how to make peanut butter! All you need is peanuts and a food processor (which you already have to pull out for this chickpea cookie recipe!).
Other nut or seed butters also work great. I use sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version. - Maple Syrup or Honey: make sure to use maple syrup for the vegan version. For a totally sugar free version, some commenters have used 30 drops of Stevia and cacao nibs with success.
- 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.
- 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.
- Do not double the recipe! It might be too much for your machine and could damage it.
- Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge: A creamy, caramel-like fudge made with just four ingredients. It’s vegan, gluten-free, and comes together in minutes.
- Peanut Butter Apple Crumble: A delightful twist on a classic dessert, combining tender apples with a peanut butter oat topping. It’s gluten-free and vegan.
- Peanut Butter Protein Balls: Perfect for on-the-go snacking, these no-bake bites are packed with protein and flavor, and they’re easy to customize.
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies: Soft, chewy, and flourless, these cookies are a simple yet satisfying treat that’s naturally gluten-free.
- Healthy Peanut Butter Ice Cream: A rich and creamy no-churn ice cream that’s both vegan and paleo-friendly, offering a guilt-free indulgence.
Chickpea Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (205 grams) canned chickpeas well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel1
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 10 tablespons (160 grams) natural peanut butter SunButter Natural or almond butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) honey or maple syrup or agave for vegan
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips use vegan and dairy-free chocolate chips, if needed
Instructions
- 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 of the chickpeas.
- 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.
Anon – Yay, I'm happy you liked them! You make a good point with the protein. I completely forgot about that. So now I can feel better about eating half a batch at a time. :) Thanks for your feedback!
I just made these and they are divine! Love the gooey chocolatey goodness! And the best part, they are packed with protein! Great recipe!
Susiet – Hahaha. Your comment really made me laugh. Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the cookies. They're pretty weird but still delicious. :)
Jenna – Oooooh! That sounds even better. Is it kind of stiff like Biscoff spread or a little more liquidy like natural peanut butter? If it's stiff and not runny (I have no idea how to better describe it) then you might want to add a little canola oil. Just an idea. :) I hope they work out!
I found this on Pinterest – I plan on making these tonight and using TJ's cookie butter for a substitute for PB :) thank you!!
Holy Crap and Boy Howdie!!! I just found you by accident on Pinterest! Hello from another Texas food blogger! I must tell you, those cookies look fan-freakin-tastic! I might have to slap my mama over 'em! I WILL be making these soon and will give you creds!
Billie Jo – I think the chocolate is necessary because it adds some sweetness and gooiness. But if she's used to not having sugar, then I'm guessing she's used to cookies not being so sweet. So maybe it doesn't matter so much. Can she have grain-sweetened chocolate chips? Something like this:
http://www.sunspire.com/products/grain-sweetened-dark-chocolate-baking-chips
If you want to add something in, I'd add peanuts. They don't have sweetness or gooiness but they definitely go well with peanut butter. I'd love to hear what you think of them! :)
I'll definitely be making these in the near future. I notice you say the chocolate is a must. My friend's GF can't have any non-natural sugar (i.e., sweetened chocolate) and I'd like for her to be able to par take in baked goods I bring over. Any suggestions? Dried berries and/or nuts to add? Cranberries and almonds maybe?
Can't wait to make these (choc and non-choc versions both)!
Mindy – I guess that's the thing with them. Grainy. But I'm happy that other people have commented that they like them cold! I'll only eat them warm. I hope you can give them a try. :)
yum! there is a chocolate chip cookie mix by bob's red mill & it has garbanzo bean flour in it. i add extra chip & like your cookies it tastes best hot from oven & for the day that you make them. by the next day they do not taste good…kinda grainy (from the beans i presume) this looks super easy so i will have to try it!
Emily – I'm happy you all liked them! I'm surprised the oats addition worked. I would have thought that'd make them dry! So thanks for letting me know that this does work. And thanks for the feedback. :)
I just made these, my son and I are giving up wheat. We all loved them! I doubled the recipe, (I have 4 kids,) reduced the amount of honey, and added about 3/4 cup of old fashioned oats. They were really quite tasty. Thanks for the recipe!
Matthew – I'm so happy to hear that you liked the dough and the bites at room temperature! Thanks for leaving the feedback. And the "genius" part made me laugh. Thanks for that. :)
Blondie – Someone's tried with normal peanut butter, which kind of has the same consistency as Nutella, and they came out crumbly. So I'm thinking they might not work or they might need some extra liquid or some oil or something.
Just made these today and they were amazing! I even tried the dough to see how "gross" they were and I thought they were still delicious. I am currently eating a room temperature one and thinking what a genius you are! p.s. loooooooove chick peas. Every since I got pregnant (my daughter is now 2 months old) I can not get enough beans and lentils!
EMO – I've never tried it but I'm thinking since honey and agave are both liquid, it may. Although if you'd have to use a different amount, I don't know. Good luck. :)
Colleen – Thanks for letting us know that commercial peanut butter definitely doesn't work! I guess it makes sense because the natural stuff is just so much more fluid (at least mine is). I'm happy you still want to try again and thanks for leaving feedback. :)
Lisa – Oh no. I'm sorry to hear that. Did you cook the chickpeas yourself instead of using the canned ones? If you did that, maybe they weren't cooked enough. Otherwise, I have no idea. I used a full sized food processor and it does the job pretty quickly and easily. But there's nothing there that should be hard to process, which is why I'm confused. All the ingredients are soft except for the chocolate chips. Maybe it's just too small? I googled Cuisinart mini prep but the pictures I've found don't make it look so small. I really have no idea! Sorry it didn't work out. :(
What type of food processor are y'all using? I tried these today and the dough was wayyy too thick for my (Cuisinart mini prep) food processor to handle. I ended up trying to blend it and ultimately mashing with a spoon! Maybe my appliances just aren't up to the task?
I made these with Kraft peanut butter, as it was all I had in the house….had to cook longer, and still should have cooked some more….fell apart as we were eating them. but eat them we did :) delicious…definitely worth making again, with the correct ingredients!
Do you think I could use Agave Nectar instead of Honey?
Cass N Genie – It's weird but it definitely works. :)
Amazing! I would in a million years think to use chickpeas for cookies.
Anon – No problem! I hope you enjoy them. :)