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.
Thanks you very much for this recipe my boys loved it. My oldest son said it was, "Fudgulisious." I'm going to try your other recipes. Keep them coming.
acorinne – Wow, what an interesting change! Did they come out as muffins or cookies or something in the middle? I have to admit that I also have the palette of a five year old and liked them. Happy that the others did too! Thanks so much for telling me your changes and for the feedback. Have a great weekend. :)
Kelley – Oh my goodness are you adventurous! I guess chickpea cookies are strange, but I admire you for trying out black beans. I'm happy you and your husband liked them! Thanks for letting me know. :)
Amanda – Awesome! Good to know. And that's a good tip about the honey. Thanks for the feedback. :)
Anon – Oh no. I'm so sorry it killed your food processor. Do you think the dough was too thick or that maybe it was just on it's way out anyway? I killed my last food processor while making almond butter, something that I'd made dozens of times before. I'm happy you liked them but feel horrible about your processor. Did you walk away with it on? It really only took me about a minute. Sorry again!
very tasty for how healthy they are! One has to be careful about the honey though. Some honeys seem to be sweeter than others. Also, they bake fine without parchment paper. Kudos for this healthy but delicious recipe! :)
I just made these but didn't have chickpeas so I used black beans instead. Loved the dough and the cookies are really good too. Hubby even likes them (I didn't tell him what they are made of). Recipe is definately a keeper.
I actually cut out 1/4 C of chickpeas and subbed one small very ripe banana. I blended the two together in a food processor until completely smooth, and then added the rest of the ingredients. I also used raw honey.
The "dough" that I produced was the consistency of batter, so I poured them into muffin tins to bake. Not only was the batter amazing, but the finished product was too! Hot and cold!
I tried them on some of my friends that have the palettes of five year olds (without mentioning the word chickpeas…) and they LOVED it.
Did you still add the peanut butter?
Anon 1 – I hope they did! Thanks for letting me know that you liked them. :)
Anon 2 – Yay! If you liked the dough, I'm pretty sure you'll like them baked, so that's good. :) Thanks for the feedback!
Anon 3 – A few people have mentioned that they were going to try (it's the stuff you mix with water, right? Because you definitely need the liquid-y texture) but they left their name as anonymous, so when they came back to leave a review, I'm not sure if it was the peanut flour people or not.
If anyone sees this comment, could you please choose "Name / url" under "Comment as" and leave your first name? Having 100 anons is kind of difficult. You don't need a url! Just a name. :)
Can you use peanut flour instead of peanut butter?
Just made the dough! About to stick them in the oven…lol I actually like the dough…Thank you this is awsome! :-)
These are super delicious!!! i cant wait to see if i can get my family to eat them.
Cara – Haha. Well I'm happy you liked them! Thanks for leaving feedback. :)
Oh, my…these are SO GOOD! Thank you for the recipe…I think…I can't stop stuffing my face with them!! :-)
Anon 1 – Yay! Happy they worked. :)
Anon 2 – I don't recommend it but other people have tried it and said that it works. But I can't imagine having chickpea chunks is too nice.
Anon 3 – Well regular peanut butter could be a part of it but I have no idea why they would spread! Mine were super thick and didn't spread a bit. Hmm. Well, I'm happy they were still yummy! Thanks for the feedback. :)
sophia – A baking dish? Not a cookie sheet? I'm a bit confused but I hope they come out okay! They definitely shouldn't need any longer than 20 minutes. They won't get baked like regular cookies, but stay soft and gooey. They're supposed to be gooey. I hope it worked out! :)
I'm a virgin baker and have just tried these. Only problem is they've been in the oven for 20min, but it might be because I used a medium depth baking dish. What do you think?
I can't figure out what I did wrong(besides use regular PB). mine are very gooey and flattened out like cookies, but they are amazing! Even had one that wasn't warm, still pretty good! Can't wait for my husband to get home and try them! Thank you!
Patty
I don't have a food processor, can I still make these without it?
Thank you! These are great – I substituted white bean for garbanzo and they were fabulous!
marla – Thank you! :)
Patricia :) – First of all, thanks for leaving your name and adding a smiley. I had a huge smile when I saw it! Hehe. Are these vegan?! I thought they weren't because of the honey. Or is honey one of those questionable items that some people think is okay and others don't? But to be honest, I'm sure these would be lovely with some brown sugar! Although a little more liquid might be needed. A smoothie with peas?! Can you taste them? I need a way to make eating vegetables not such a terrible ordeal so that sounds interesting. Thanks again for your lovely comment!
Erin-I have just "stumbled" onto your site or I should say it "stumbled" onto my fb news feed. lol. These cookies look absolutey yummy!! I plan to try these soon!!This recipe is absolutely perfect as I am gluten free and a vegan!! I had guessed that the "secret" ingredient was a type of bean since I bake some cookies with another type of bean in it. I make a chocolate smoothie and the "secret" ingredient is frozen freen peas!! Is it ever good! Keep on baking!Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Oh do these look great ~ love that you used chickpeas!
Anon 1 – I'm happy they came out! Were they still gooey or more set?
Anon 2 – Yay! I'm so happy that your family liked them and thanks for letting me know. :) I love comments like this.
ALM – Woohoo! So happy you were happy with them. Thanks for the enthusiasm. I love it. :)
Anon – Great! Did you freeze the dough or the already baked cookies? If you let me know, I'll make a note of it in the directions. Thanks a bunch. :)
Emily – Hi! Ctrl + F and type "calorie". A few people have posted what they came up with.