Chickpea cookie dough

Cookie dough has been on my list to make for such a long time. I wanted to make a healthier version so that I wouldn’t feel guilty if I would eat too much of it. I must admit that I haven’t tried cookie dough before I went vegan and I was excited to finally give it a go. It’s been overwhelming to see so many recipes all over the internet, and therefore I have decided to create my own. I’ve been inspired by a few recipes but did some changes based on the ingredients that I had in my pantry and voila! My cookie dough was so delicious! Even my husband, who was very skeptical about using the chickpeas, loved it.

I have tried to make the recipe with canned as well as cooked chickpeas, and I must say that I prefer the cooked version as you can’t taste the chickpeas at all. If you’re using canned chickpeas you need to rinse them very well to make sure that your cookie dough won’t taste like beans. I cook a big batch of chickpeas every Sunday, so I just added a little more for my cookie dough.

What do you need?

1 ½ cup cooked chickpeas
¼ cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup almond flour
4-5 tbsp date syrup (start with 2 tbsp if you like it less sweet)
1/3 cup chocolate chips
¼ cup chopped nuts (whichever you like) – optional
Pinch of salt

How to make it?

I’m sure that most of you know how to cook chickpeas but there might be some who have never done it and might need the instructions (not that there are not enough of them all over the internet – I know). Soak the chickpeas first. Use enough water as it will triple in size. I usually leave it in the water overnight (around 12 hours) and then cook it until it is soft. It might take anywhere between 1.5 hours to even 3 hours. While cooking, collect the white foam that will be created on top – the chickpeas will be easier to digest.

Once done, rinse the chickpeas well and transfer it to the food processor. I like to start making the cookie dough while the chickpeas are still warm as I want the chocolate chips to melt in the mixture. If you want them to stay firm, you will need to wait until it is cold. Add all other ingredients (except of the chocolate chips and nuts) to the food processor and process until nice and smooth. At this stage you want to taste it and add more sweetener if you like. I have tried the mixture with my husband for a few times until I was happy with the sweetness.

Remove the mixture from the food processor and place it in a bowl. If the mixture is warm and you want your chocolate chips firm, place the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes first.

Add the chocolate chips and chopped nuts and combine it well. I find it easy to use a wooden spoon, but you might want to try using a spatula if it doesn’t work for you. Place the mixture in the fridge and let it set for about 30 minutes. Now, you’re ready to form small balls. But you can also eat the cookie dough directly from the bowl. If you choose to do so, then I would suggest letting it sit in the fridge a little longer as I prefer the taste better when the cookie dough is cold. But it is up to you. You can store it in the fridge for quite a long time. I have tried max 5 days and it was still delicious. Normally, it doesn’t last this long though as we eat it in a couple of days.

I hope that you like this recipe and that you will try it too.

And as I only took one photo of my cookie dough here are a few photos from my not so recent walk as well 😊

Recently, the weather hasn't been treating us so nicely, and I like to think back of those sunny and warm days...

Thank you for reading!

Cheers!