I don’t normally go putting weird things in my cookies but look what happened here. These are just full of chickpeas. And they’re sweetened with honey and have no added fat like oil or butter. 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 and gluten-free. 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.
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 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.
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.
2/18/13 Update: Tons of people have posted the nutritional analysis for these. Click “older comments” at the bottom of the page to view more comments and then hit ctrl + f and type “calories” or “nutrition.” I’m not going to post the analysis here because they seem to differ wildly.
A few other answers to questions that have come up several times:
- Chickpea flour won’t work.
- Doing this in a blender (unless it’s a Blendtec or something) won’t work and might kill 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. But thanks to the experimenters who left feedback, I’ve been able to update the recipe with alternatives to honey and peanut butter. Thanks everyone! And someone has also adapted these to be totally sugar-free. See that comment here.
And thanks for everyone who has pinned and left feedback. I really appreciate it. :)
Grain-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 14 1" cookies
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter, SunButter or almond butter
- ¼ cup (80 grams) honey (commenters have used agave and maple syrup with success!)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it
- ½ cup (90 grams) chocolate chips
Directions
- 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 1½" 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.
Notes
- My can of chickpeas was 400 grams, 240 grams without the water, and I used all but a few tablespoons.
- 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.
680 comments on "Grain-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites" — Add one!
Ha ha ha! I made these wonderful choc chip cookies bites, and forgot to put the choc chips in!
This is the second time I made them. The first time I did put choc chips in, but this time I thought I would tinker around with the recipe and I had seen someone’s suggestion of adding coconut. So I did, add coconut, but forgot the chocolate!
Well, they are goood to!
Can’t wait to try them with both now.
Thanks for the yummy recipe I can make for my gluten free friends.
The most important part is left out…the calorie and fat content.
A coworker of mine recently gave me this recipe and I thought I’d give it a try. It turned out quite good, but even though I used natural peanut butter it still turned out much too oily. I’m going to try again with some PB2 (Is that what it’s called? I’ve never used it before) and if that fails, I’ll try a combination of that and the natural peanut butter I used before. If it’s not too much trouble to ask, what’s the fat/calorie information on your peanut butter? It might help me figure out a better proportion to use.
Regardless, I fed them to my brother, who, while realizing they weren’t flour, definitely didn’t suspect they were chickpeas until I told him! (He then proceeded to eat several more.)
The peanut butter I used was just ground up peanuts and a little salt.
http://www.texanerin.com/2012/01/how-to-make-homemade-peanut-butter.html
I just checked my peanuts and there’s 52 grams of fat + 629 calories per 100 grams. I hope that helps!
And I’ve never used PB2. I hope it works for you! Awesome that your brother ate these despite knowing about the chickpeas. :) Good luck with the next version and thanks for the feedback!
hi there! i’m excited about trying these, but my daughter does not like peanut butter…any idea how i could alter the recipe? thx!
Hi Serina! You can use Sun Butter or almond butter. :) I hope you’ll enjoy them!
I found your recipe and tried them today. I was a little hesitant, but wow, they came out great! I used too many chocolate chips (didn’t measure them), but still came out great! Looking forward to trying your other recipes too!
http://blog.gregoryjwright.com/baking-gluten-free-vegan-cookies-on-a-rainy-day/
You used too many chocolate chips?! Oh, what a pity. ;) I’m happy you liked them and I’ll go check out your post. Thanks for the feedback and review! :)
I’m wondering if anyone has made these starting with dry chick peas. My kids are histamine intolerant and can’t have canned beans. I wonder if soaking dry chickpeas would be enough or would I need to boil them?
I’m pretty sure you’d need to boil them, Karen. I don’t recall anyone mentioning using dried chickpeas, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work. If they’re boiled, they should be like the canned ones, shouldn’t they? Good luck! Let us know how it goes. :)
Erin,
I’m sorry for the really bad thoughts I thought about you when I first saw this recipe. I’m sorry I doubted you. I’m really sorry I rolled my eyes and said “those are GROSS and stupid and I’ll never make them!”
Because, jokes on me and here I am, like 3 months later, trying to go gluten-free and I needed cookies. So I tried them. And they are REALLY good. You’re right in that they are much better warmed up than cold. BUt overall, these are perfect for my oooey gooey chocolate chip cookie craving.
Bahaha. Thanks for this comment. :D And it’s definitely natural to think of these as gross before or even after trying them. I mean, there’s chickpeas in there! How weird is that? I’m happy that you enjoyed them! And good luck with the gluten-free thing. I have lots of other gluten-free recipes but this one is definitely the oddest. ;) Thanks again for the comment and the rating!
I made these with Jiff natural PB. Would that qualify as “natural”? Also used dark chocolate chips. They turned gooey but not as cookie like as they look in you pics. Much darker.
I wouldn’t say so. I really like Jif natural, but it’s not natural. Natural peanut butter should just have peanuts and salt listed as the ingredients. I hope you can try them again with “real” natural peanut butter! ;)
Any ideas how to make them amazing and gooey without regular chocolate chips but 70% cocoa? Im pretty big about no processed foods and easy easy on sugar…but soooo want these!! :)
I think they would lose some of that gooey chocolate factor without the chips. Can you use organic/natural chips? Or high quality chocolate shaved into chunks?
Chocolate chunks / shavings would be great! That’s actually what I use. And organic / natural chips sounds great, too!
I’m sorry I don’t know. I’m afraid that if you add cocoa, you’d need to add some more honey, which kind of defeats the purpose. But hey, how about cacoa nibs?!
What if you made them with coconut oil chocolate?? It’s very very easy, just melt coconut oil and mix in sweetener of choice and cocoa powder, then freeze until hardened and break into chips. It also makes a delicious “frosting” for cupcakes, bars, etc.
Oh, I like that idea! Thank you. I will definitely try something like that in the near future. :)
I found this recipe from someone who was making GAPS approved s’mores. She has a separate listing for the homemade marshmallow, graham crackers, and dark chocolate bars. The chocolate bars are made with unsweetened Ghirardelli chocolate (no soy lecithin), coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract. You could make the bars and then break them into chips for the cookies. It’s a lot of work, but if you want unprocessed chocolate chips it may be worth it.
http://homesteaderkitchen.com/recipes/homemade-honey-sweetened-chocolate-bars/
Thanks for the link, Jessica! I like the thought of this. It sounds like a lot of work, like you said, but perhaps worth it. And you can always make a big batch… meaning less work. Thanks for the tip! :)
These were really good. I used 1 can of chick peas (a little over 15oz) and subbed with cashew nut butter. I kind of miss the crunch of the outside of a normal cookie, but these are soft and delish.
I did not like the batter at all, so I am glad the cookie tasted much better. I will be trying different nut butters in the future – perhaps some hazelnut butter.
I’m happy that cashew butter worked out! I think you’re the first to mention using that so thanks for the tip. I hope your future experimentation with the nut butters goes well! Thanks a bunch for the feedback and the rating. :)
Sorry, I forgot to rate the recipe. Five hearts, definitely!
Thanks for the rating! And thanks for coming back to rate them. Very nice of you. :)
I just made those and they are delicious. I used a full can (540ml) of Chickpeas, well-dried, and
I just used a hand-held blender to make them smooth. Putting the vanilla in with the chickpeas helped with the blending.
I used a full cup of chocolate chips and added 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut.
I don’t think I’ll tell my husband that the main ingredient is the abominable chickpea!
Haha. Yeah, definitely don’t tell him! And I like your doubling of the chocolate chips. That’s never a bad idea. :) And I love peanut butter, chocolate and coconut together so I’ll have to try your version! Thanks for the feedback. :)
I have made these twice now, the first time they turned out beautifully!! This time I tried to double the batch, which was a huge mistake! I almost broke my industrial strength food processor!! It was too much for it. I still managed to finish them. Haven’t tried one yet but I’m sure they will be just as delicious as the last time I made them!! I also put in a little Saigon Cinnamon. Outstanding.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that doubling didn’t work out. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll add that to the notes in the recipe so other people can learn from your experimentation. And cinnamon? Sounds interesting! Thanks for the feedback and rating. :)
These cookies are amazing! I too found them on facebook, but not under your name, and I’m so glad I’ve found your website. I had four very picky boys gobble these up today and beg for more, as they had no idea they were so good for them. Thanks for sharing your recipes! The only addition I made was a splash of vanilla, and the dough itself was out of this world!
Well thanks for coming to find the recipe. :) And vanilla sounds great! I never realized there wasn’t any vanilla in this recipe, which is just plain silly. Thanks for the feedback and rating! Much appreciated. :)
This FB group seems to have posted your recipe without giving you credit.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/jbdixon/?directed_target_id=0
“Jump on the Skinny Bandwagon with me”
I guess that means the cookies are popular. :)
Thanks so much for letting me know! It’s a private group so I can’t see the post but I’ve written the moderator. I hope she will add a link to the recipe. :) And thanks for coming to find the original recipe and not just using the copy and pasted version (I’m assuming that’s what they did) And I guess the cookies are a little popular. Maybe because they’re a little weird? I honestly don’t know. ;) Thanks again!
This is how I found the recipe – but then rather than scroll through my entire facebook feed to find it, I googled “chickpea peanut butter cookies” and got here. Thanks so much!!! These were awesome. I flattened them out and they turned out great. ALSO, in case anyone is wondering, brown rice syrup also works as a sweetener. It was all I had, and it worked great :)
Okay, this was the conversation in my house when I was making these delicious cookies. They’re made from chick peas-chick peas? I don’t want any….lol. I went ahead and made the cookies and let’s just say everyone loved them and are begging me to make more. Thank you for this delicious recipe-who would have ever guessed these cookies are made with chick peas! We love them!! <3
Haha. I love that your family still had an open mind after finding out that they were made with chickpeas! That’s awesome. :) Thanks for the feedback and the rating!
They taste amazing, but why are mine crumbly?
I’m sorry they came out crumbly. I think you’re the first one who has mentioned having that problem. Did you use natural peanut butter? And follow the recipe exactly? Or did you maybe bake them a little too long? They should be gooey when taking them out of the oven.
They weren’t dry crumbly,they just fell apart, I didn’t have a food processor but I did have something similar to grind up the chickpeas, but no complaints, they were yummy
I am gluten intolerant and my daughter is diabetic. We LOVED these cookies. It has been hard to find recipes that go with both diets. Thanks for letting me enjoy cookies with my kids. Keep the recipes coming!
Thanks for your feedback, Suzy! I’m so happy to hear that these fit both your and your daughter’s diets. :) Cookies are an important part of life (at least according to me ;)) so I’m thrilled that you and you kids can eat them together now! Thanks again for your very nice comment.
Am I able to use a blender instead of a food processor? Would it turn out the same way?
I don’t think that’d work unless you have a super high power one like a Blendtec or Vitamix. In my blender, you need a lot of liquid for it to work and this just doesn’t have that.
I just made these delicious morsels, and they’re absolutely delish! Great way to eat chickpeas, refreshing change from the usual chickpeas in hummus, salads, and soups.
Thx for great recipe!
And thank you for your feedback and rating! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the cookies. :)
Are all your recipes health-minded, like for diabetics?
I think all except about 4 are. Not for diabetics exactly, but definitely healthier. They’re either 100% whole grain, gluten or grain free and reduced sugar. And healthier options to butter, which I rarely use. I hope you find something you like! :)
My breastfed baby is has MSPI and more and im a chocolholic, so I make these every week!!
Every week?! Woohoo! So happy to hear that you enjoy them so much. Thanks for letting me know! :)
Just made these and they were amazing! I though the dough was really good too! Thank you soooo much for the recipe. /Love from Sweden
Jag är så glad att du tyckte om den och degen! Tusen tack, Ellinor. :)
I didnt have garbonzo beans so I used canned lentils! VERY good!!! Couldn’t even stop eating the batter ;) …
Happy that you liked them, Kristie! And lentils?! Interesting sub. :)
Thank you so much for this recipe. I was a little skeptical, but I loved it and I feel like it’s going to help me live a bit healthier while coping with an enormous sweet tooth. :-)
That makes me so happy to hear, Bethany! And yeah, it’s hard not to be skeptical with these, isn’t it? They are indeed pretty weird. ;) Thanks a ton for your feedback!
Making these tonight with some pb2. Have tried to find ways to incorporate it into recipes requiring pb. I reconstituted it just now & added the vanilla to it & popped it in the fridge. Also plan on using agave nectar for the first time. Well let you know how it turns out.
Sounds like some interesting subs! I hope they work out for you. :) I’m excited to hear how it goes!
If Pinterest had awards, this would definitely be my pick for best baked good! These are great!
Thank you, Sara! I am honored. :) And so happy that you like the cookies!
I love these treats! One cookie is filling and great for the sweet tooth! Personally, I think these are better than flour filled peanut butter cookies :) I have made them several times and definitely agree they are better warm. I do freeze mine and then pop individual cookies in the microwave. Warm and yummy! So glad I found this recipe -thanks for posting!
I wish I liked these more than the flour version. I like them the same when warm, but when cold? Give me a normal cookie! ;) The freezing tip is a great one. I’m definitely going to try that next time! Thanks for your tip, your review and the rating. I really appreciate it! :)
Made these with natural coconut chocolate pb and they were delish! Thanks for the tip to take off the skins on the beans. Will try these again with another natural flavored pb. Thanks
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Anita! Thanks for the feedback. Let us know how the other peanut butters go. :)
LOVE these cookies…..and I like the uncooked dough….I have also made these with hershey cinammon chips(which are only available in USA not in Canada) instead of chocolate chips…..
I wish cinnamon chips were available worldwide! Hopefully you live close enough to the border to get some every now and then. And I’m so happy that you loved the cookies. Thanks for the feedback! :)
The pictures enticed me to go ahead and try this healthy cookie, and I’m sooooooo glad I did. I think it’s hilarious that my kids (and the hubby, too!) have no earthly idea that they ate chick peas and they loved it! So delicious and easy. Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Congratulations on tricking your family into liking chickpeas. :) It’s fun, isn’t it?! I’m thrilled that you all enjoyed them and thanks a ton for taking the time to leave feedback and for rating them! I added that feature two days ago so I certainly appreciate it. :)
OMG, had to try these when I saw the list of ingredients. Looking for healthier versions of sweet treats as I have a very sweet tooth. Chickpeas, hate the smell hate the taste but needed to try. I used normal peanut butter which made them oily but very much edible. I could of ate the dough before baking them. They are actually nicer to eat cold however, mine came out darker than the picture above so I’m not too sure what that is due to. I may even try stevia instead of honey and might even cut back a little on the choc chips. I made 20 of these balls. Mine were darker so wasn’t as pretty as I hoped but the taste was MAGNIFICENT absolutely loved them. Easy to make, whizz it all up in a food processor, roll and bake. Easy as.
Thanks heaps for the recipe.
I HATE the smell of chickpeas. When I open the can, I just feel sick. But I wash them off and get on my with cookies and it all gets better. :) Some people have mentioned that these come out darker than the pictures but all I can think of is that some ovens are off a little? With their temperature. Or maybe not. But I’m happy you still enjoyed them. :) Thanks a lot for your feedback!
These were so incredible! I loved the dough too! Well, they are baking so Im hoping they are even better in a few minutes! I used chunky natural and grade b mayple and love almond extract so that went in too. Sooooo good! I have a gluten free 5 year old but they all liked the dough so far! I can see lots of add ins – cherries, coconut, oats, – I hope chick peas are good for you!
Ooh, that sounds good! Did you use 1/4 cup of maple syrup or a different amount? Love your changes! And yes… chickpeas are definitely good for you so you can give these to your kids and not feel that guilty. It still has some maple syrup, but it’s so much better than a cup of sugar. Right? ;) Thanks a lot for your feedback!
Somewhere in there I saw someone mention trying coconut sugar, but never saw what the outcome was. These are great (used dark chocolate as hubby is mostly dairy free) and I want to make them for a vegan friend. I know people have used agave and it has worked well for them, but the coconut sugar idea makes me curious. Any idea how much to substitute? Thanks :) — Denise
I see someone mentioning coconut nectar but not coconut sugar. And I mentioned coconut sugar at some point, but that was in regards to something else. I love coconut sugar but don't know how it'd work here since you'd be missing the liquid. And basically the only liquid. I'm sure you could experiment and add some soy milk or something but I have no idea how much you'd need to add. I'd definitely go with the agave. :) Good luck!
Wow! Thank you so much for this incredible recipe! I've made these twice in a week now. I did substitute maple syrup for the honey as I'm a vegan and the results were spectacular! When I made the second batch today, my dough was warm from the food processor when I added the chocolate chips, so rather than fight it I just stirred them in and the result was fabulous little peanut butter cookie balls with chocolate swirls! These are bound to become a fixture in my rotation. Yummy!
Hi Patti! Sorry for the slow reply. I’m happy to hear that maple syrup worked out. I think you’re the first to mention that! And chocolate swirls sound even better than chips. :) Thanks for the feedback!
I've made these several times. I find the consistency of the cookie better is you rub off the outer shell of the chick peas/garbanzo beans. Also, since I'm not supposed to have sugar, I used raw cocoa nibs.
I don't all the other nutritional information, but the batch I made had 18 cookies. Making each cookie approximately 111 calories.
Thanks for the calorie info! And I’ve never tried rubbing off the outer shell. That’s a great tip! Thanks a bunch. :)
I just made these and used CACAO nibs instead of chocolate chips and 30 drops of Stevia instead of honey. I am sugar-free, so it was nice to find a recipe that can work as a "dessert" for me :)
Now that’s interesting. I’m really surprised that Stevia drops instead of something else liquid worked. That’s awesome! I think I’ll add that info the to the notes. Thanks a bunch. :)
I just made these as well and we had mixed reviews.. My 15 year old said they were ok. But my 3 year old picky as ever eater LOVED them and kept asking for more! Hubby and I both thought they were very good. Great for beating the sugar cravings!!Thank you Thank you!
I hate to burst your bubble – but this recipe can be tweaked and cookies cooled and they still taste great! I added nutella, cinnamon, and regular peanut butter. Yes, they were more oily, but it wasn't a big deal. Also, I actually prefer them at room temperature or even cooled rather than when they're hot.
wow these were amazing!! I thought even the raw dough was pretty good but definitely hard to believe they are made with chick peas. My husband loved them too. I also brought to my friends and her and her daughter loved them and her husband who had a bad experience with chick peas before ate one and was surprised. He liked them too!! Thanks for sharing. Not sure how people think of this stuff but i'm glad :-).
Just made these, I wanted to wait and leave a comment till afterward I made them first since it was hard sorting threw all the comments for recommendations or reviews from those whos already tried them. I followed everything except I did add coconut flakes since I have some that need used up and I didn't have parchment paper so I feared they'd stick but nope! They are super ooey and gooey! Very peanut buttery. My husband who isn't big on baked goods liked them and so did my 7yr old son. I didn't tell them they had chick peas till after they ate them so they couldn't pass judgement lol. They both like them!! I shared on Facebook for my grain free friends. :)
These look amazing. Can't wait to try them out.
Does anyone have any tips for high altitude with these? I don't know if I needed to change the temp, cook longer, mine turned out kind of gooey.