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.
These look fantastic but look to be a bit on the high side for one dough bite. I added the ingredients into MFP and came up with the following:
Calories 143
Carbs 15
Fat 7
Protein 5
Fiber 2
Sugar 8
I substituted Maple Syrup for Honey so I could cut down on the sugar a bit. I'll give these a try for sure though. :)
Just made these to go with our gluten free pizza tonight! Thanks for the great cookies!!!
Brittany Walker
walkermommmy2@ymail.com
These are no egg too! you should add that to your no flour, no sugar, etc list.
Trying to find the nutritional info on these.. Carbs, cals, fiber etc.
Thanks
Ashley – So happy that you liked them! They're not supposed to be hard like a normal cookie, but gooey (at least when warm!) Thanks for letting me know how they came out. :)
Nomi – Yay! That's great to hear. Thanks for leaving feedback!
Made these today and they were a hit! I was able to use sunflower butter and it worked well! Thanks for your post!
Made these today… Super delicious!!! Don't know how solid they're supposed to be but mine aren't really solid at all.. regardless they are super yummy and I want to eat every last gooey bite of them :)
Miryam – That's a good tip! Thanks. :)
Tanya – I hope everyone likes them! Thanks for the comment. :)
Anon #1 – Thanks for letting us know that it worked without a food processor! I'm happy they worked out. :)
Anon – Clogged around the blades?! Yikes. Maybe next time you could put the chickpeas in the food processor (since they didn't seem to clog around the blades) and then add the other stuff. Just an idea! I'm thrilled that it still worked for you. Thanks for letting me know!
I made these and they were wonderful! The only problem I had was getting the stuff to mix well in my food processor – I think the peanut butter just clogged around the blades. So, I put it in a bowl and used a hand held mixer. I think next time I'll try to squash the chickpeas by hand first before mixing in a bowl. Thanks for the great recipe!
Just took these out of the oven. Yum! I really like them. You'd never guess they were made out of chickpeas.
I don't have a food processor, so I had to use my mixer and then squash some tough peas with a spatula, then mix again. So they were a bit 'chick-pea-chunky', but not bad. I also used a cookie scoop (small) and got 24 bite-size cookies.
Thanks for sharing!
I am trying these now! My first batch is in the oven as we speak! The true test will come when I give one to my husband and one to my three year old. Thank you for sharing your awesome blog!
Hey,
one thing I forgot to mentioned that I actually put in my method instructions.
Using a cookie scoop works really well in shaping the balls. A bit less of a mess with my hands :-) Also I think I under baked mine last time so since I am now making them again I am going to bake them for an extra 5-10 minutes :-) I want the crack look to it!!
Mark – Thanks. I hope you can try them out!
Carrie – I'm happy you found me too! It's good to hear that you liked them and thanks for pinning and the feedback. I'll go check out your post now. :)
Um…don't have a photo, since they are gone already but pinned and made your cookies last night! DELICIOUS! Thank you – so glad to have found you!!
Yum!! These look so delicious!Thanks for the interesting recipe.Fantastic Cookies recipes
kbonikow- Runny?! That's strange. Mine was really thick and sticky. I forgot to take pictures of the dough, but you can see here in Miryam's post what the dough should look like.
Cookie dough balls
Maybe your chickpeas were exceptionally watery? I can't imagine a more runny peanut butter than what I used, so it can't really be that. Sorry I don't have a more solid answer for you! I hope they were still edible. :)
Yum, I just made these delicious looking cookies! Mine however didn't come out looking like yours! Mine were quite runny when I put them on the cookie sheet, so when they cooked, they flattened out quite a bit? Any idea why??
christenjackson – I hope you like them! :)
I will definitely be giving these a go. :D Thanks for the interesting recipe.
Elissa – I'm happy you still liked them without the chocolate! And thanks for letting us know about your agave sub. :)
Janell – I hope you get the chance! They're quite yummy. :)
Yadira – Thanks for your comment! It seems that peanut butter varies a bit from brand to brand. I just threw my peanuts in the food processor and it was pretty runny. I'm happy you still liked them. :)
Chocolate Inspector – I agree that real chocolate peanut butter cookies are better. So much better! But I'm like you and I'd rather eat several of these than eat just two regular peanut butter cookies and then feel guilty. But to be honest, I never eat two. I eat like 8. Thanks for the feedback!
MrsB – Yay! I'll go check out your post later. Thanks for leaving your link. :)