Name: Chickpea Cookies with Peanut Butter
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 15 oz can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed); 1/2 cup peanut butter; 1/3 cup almond flour; 1/3 cup rice flour; 1/4 cup maple syrup; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tbsp chopped peanuts

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These Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies are soft, chewy, and easy to make. With whole food plant-based ingredients they’re oil-free, refined sugar free, vegan, and gluten-free.

I’ve been experimenting with using chickpeas in my baking recipes as of late, and I have loved the results. Chickpeas in baking? Yes, you heard that correctly!

The chickpeas give cookies and brownies a soft chewy texture while also adding protein. There’s no need for added egg or milk in chickpea cookies because they bind the cookies while adding moisture and texture to your cookies.

These are not savory cookies either. They’re subtly a sweet plant-based dessert, and I promise you can’t taste the chickpeas at all. The wonderful thing about chickpeas is they have an already subtle flavor, so when added to desserts and blended with other ingredients that flavor fades to the background.

After having great success with my chickpea brownies, the next best step was giving chickpea cookies a try! To my great delight, but not surprise the kids loved these cookies.

They’re a fresh new take on peanut butter cookies topped with crunchy chopped peanuts. My kids love anything with peanut butter, and these were no exception. They’re so healthy and low in sugar that when they asked for a cookie for breakfast, I obliged, winning mom points!

Why You’ll Love these Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies…

Soft and chewy texture
Added crunch on the top
Simple and easy recipe
Only 8 ingredients
Done in 30 minutes
No oil
Gluten-Free
Vegan
Dairy-Free
Egg Free
Whole food plant-based ingredients
Kid approved
Added protein

Ingredients You’ll Need

15 oz can of unsalted chickpeas drained and rinsed
½ cup of natural organic peanut butter
⅓ cup of blanched almond flour
⅓ cup of rice flour
¼ cup of maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon chopped raw peanuts

You can use canned chickpeas or if you make your own chickpeas you can use 2 cups. I have heard people say that their baked goods don’t have as much of a chickpea taste when they make their own chickpeas rather than using canned. I haven’t noticed a big difference between the two, and use canned for ease. Also, I like to save the aquafaba (liquid from can of chickpeas) to use in other recipes.

To sweeten these cookies you need a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup. It’s not only a natural sugar, but it also adds moisture to these cookies which is necessary as the chickpeas create a dense dough.

overhead of cookie with a bite taken out

Tools and Equipment You’ll Need

Using a food processor is what makes this recipe so easy. Honestly, you can’t make these cookies without it. You need the food processor to completely breakdown and blend the chickpeas with the other ingredients. The last thing you want are chunks of chickpeas in your cookies.

How to Make Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies – Step by Step

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. Process until chickpeas are completely combined with other ingredients and there are no chunks of chickpea left. Dough will begin to form a large ball in the food processor.

chickpea cookie ingredients in food processor

Step 2: Transfer dough to a bowl. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Note: I ran out of parchment paper when I was making these cookies and had to make do with my non-stick sheet pans. Luckily the cookies didn’t stick, but I still recommend using parchment paper if you have it!

Step 3: Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place on baking sheet. Repeat until all dough has been used. You should have between 22-24 balls of dough.

Step 4: Using your hand gently press to flatten the dough into rounds. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top, gently pressing them into the dough so that they stick.

Step 5: Place cookies in preheated oven at 350 F on the middle rack. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Variations

Nut Free-If you have a peanut allergy use sun butter and top with sunflower seeds. If you also have a tree nut allergy use ⅔ cups of rice flour instead of ⅓ cup to sub out the almond flour. Or you can use ½ cups of oat flour. Oat flour absorbs more liquid so you’ll need to use less.
Chocolate Chip Cookies-Turn these cookies into chocolate chip cookies by adding a ½ cup of dairy free chocolate chips. Combine the chocolate chips into the cookie batter after you remove the batter from the food processor so that you don’t break up the chocolate chips into tiny bits.
Almond Cookies-You can turn these cookies into almond cookies by using almond butter and topping with chopped almonds.

Top Tips for Making the Best Chickpea Cookies

Be sure to drain and rinse canned chickpeas
Use chickpeas without added salt
If making your own chickpeas use 2 cups of cooked chickpeas
Use a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup for needed moisture
Use a cookie scoop for even and uniform cookies
Roll and press dough to create flat rounded cookies
Press peanuts into dough to help them stick

How to Serve and Keep

Serving Ideas-Serve as a dessert, treat, afternoon snack, or even enjoy as a breakfast cookie. Shh…I ate two for breakfast this morning!

Store and Keep-Keep at room temperature in a covered container. Cookies are best enjoyed fresh, but they will keep for up to a week. They will become a bit dryer as the days pass, so enjoy them sooner rather than later.

Freeze-You can also freeze the dough and bake them later. After you make the dough, roll into a log, wrap in saran wrap and store in an air tight container. When ready to bake remove from the freezer and thaw dough in the refrigerator. Then follow the steps above to prepare the cookies.

If you like these chickpea cookies, you’ll love these Chickpea Brownies!

Check out these other vegan cookie and chickpea dessert recipes!

If you’ve tried these Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies, please rate the recipe and let me know how they turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!

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