Healthy baking has come a looooong way. Especially in my kitchen. I remember back when I did most of my “healthy” baking and it consisted of mass amounts of whole wheat flour, Splenda (God forbid) and tons of egg whites. Thankfully, I now know what healthy really means….REAL ingredients that are not artificial, preservative laden bombs. And most of those recipes honestly, well, they weren’t that great. Let’s just leave it at that.
But the healthy recipes I’m finding nowadays are a whole other story. They are chocked full of nutritious and real ingredients. And I have yet to come across one I did not LOVE. Seriously. Such is the case with these cookies. I found the original recipe on the Texanerin Baking blog and only tinkered with it a bit. Ok, that’s a lie. The first time I made it I messed with the recipe ALOT and while I managed to create what could be considered the most amazingly delicious healthy peanut butter and chocolate chip fudge EVER, they didn’t quite bake up like a cookie. Not to say they weren’t good..just not very cookie like. So I tried the recipe again and stuck as close to the original as possible with only a few minor changes. And they. Were. Awesome.
Don’t let the beans throw you off…it’s amazing how great they work for gluten-free baking and meld seamlessly with the other ingredients. The first time I used beans for these Chocolate Cupcakes with Tart Cherry Frosting, I was highly skeptical, but the recipe turned out awesome and honestly it was one of the best chocolate cakes. In my opinion at least. So give beans a try in your baked goods! They add loads of protein and fiber which our bodies need!
Enjoy!
- 1½ c. (15 oz. can) Chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
- ½ c., plus 2 T. All-Natural Peanut Butter (no oil, salt, sugar, etc)
- ¼ c., plus 2 T. Honey
- 1 t. Baking Powder (I use aluminum-free)
- ⅛ t. Salt (I use Pink Himalayan Sea Salt)
- 1 T. Pure Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ c. Chocolate Chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, blend together all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, until very smooth. Scrape the sides and top to get the small pieces of chickpeas and process again until smooth. Scrape into a medium size bowl and stir in the chocolate chips. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. Drop by large spoonfuls onto the baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes and let cool completely on a wire rack.
