These cookies are not only easy to make, but incredibly delicious. You'd never know there's not a bit of gluten, dairy or egg to be seen.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes - Cooking Time: 12-15 minutes - Serves: 16 Cookies
Ingredients
1 400 gram Can of Chickpeas, rinsed well and drained
1/2 Cup of Nut Butter (almond, cashew, or peanut)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
1/2 cup Brown Sugar (I prefer Coconut Sugar as it gives it a lovely caramel taste)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 tablespoons of Ground Almonds
1 tablespoon of Melted Butter (good fat) or Coconut oil (use coconut oil for dairy free/vegan)
70 grams (about 1/2 cup) good quality dark eating chocolate, finely chopped (with at least 70% cocoa solids (check label if you want dairy free/vegan))
Directions
Preheat oven to 170℃ and line a baking tray with baking paper
Pat chickpeas dry with paper towel. Place in a food processor with nut butter, vanilla, brown sugar, baking powder, ground almonds, and butter or coconut oil. Blitz until all ingredients are well combined and have formed a cookie dough consistency.
Add dark chocolate and pulse briefly to distribute the chocolate throughout the cookie dough.
Roll heaped tablespoonfuls of cookie dough into balls (having wet hands helps stop the dough from being too sticky to roll) place on prepared baking tray, about 3cm apart (they will not spread much). Flatten slightly with the back of a wet fork.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and leave cookies to cool slightly.
Use a fish slice to transfer them carefully to a wire rack to cool completely- they are quite delicate.
These cookies are delicious eaten warm, but can be stored in an airtight container in the pantry for up to a week, or frozen for several weeks when you wish to eat one or two!
Just warm for 10 seconds in the microwave and the chocolate will melt and go deliciously gooey.
Calorie Content: 81. But wait a minute…think of the goodness these cookies are giving you. And you are only going to have one, right?
Nutritional Information
Chickpeas offer a variety of health benefits; improving digestion whilst assisting with weight management by improving satiety. They are a rich source of vitamins and minerals particularly fibre.
Fibre content: one cup equals 12.5g of fibre. Fibre promotes regularity improving bowel functioning.
High in protein: one cup is equivalent to 18 grams of protein. Protein facilitates every function in our bodies and is the essential building blocks for repair and restoration of the body. A 2014 study concluded that eating at least 30g of fibre daily will reduce inflammation, improve blood glucose regulation and may assist with weight reduction (Bernaud et al. 2014).
Chickpeas are also a great source of the minerals Iron, Magnesium and Potassium. Additionally, they contain Vitamins B, C, E and K. They are natural antioxidants protecting our bodies from free radical damage. Really, whats not to love about chickpeas?
Nut Butters
Nuts are a wonderful source of vitamins, mineral and nutrients. Containing heart-healthy unsaturated fats, phytosterols, (naturally occurring compounds found in plant cell membranes), protein and fibre. One of the major benefits of consuming nut butters is they are high in Vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects essential fats in our body whilst supporting healthy skin and hair and enhancing our immune system.
Almond Butter is one of the most nutrient dense nut butters available. Containing several important nutrients for maintaining strong bones — considerably more calcium, magnesium, manganese and phosphorus than peanut butter. Two tablespoons of Almond butter provides 50% of your vitamin E requirement.
Cashew butter is smooth, creamy and slightly lower in fat than other nut butters, and one of the best sources of monounsaturated fatty acids, essential amino acids (proteins) and magnesium. Beneficial for blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol control as well as maintaining good bone health, assisting the immune system whilst ensuring good metabolism.
Dark Chocolate
Cocoa is rich in plant chemicals called flavonoids. Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants for the body and help to protect the heart. Dark chocolate contains up to three times more flavonoid-rich coco solids than milk chocolate. Flavonoids have been shown to support the production of nitric oxide in the the inner lining of the blood vessels, helping the blood vessels to relax; improving blood flow and thereby lowering blood pressure.
Dark Chocolate is rich in Iron, Copper, Magnesium and Zinc wonderful for immunity, also contains Phosphorus and Flavonoids. Dark chocolate may be high in calories; however, chocolate like nuts can improve satiety. Choosing dark chocolate and eating modest quantities may offer the greatest health benefits.