These are made from a base of garbanzo and white beans, which blend into a creamy sweet dough that you can barely resist eating before transferring it to the pan. Because they’re made with beans, they are loaded with fiber and protein and fill you up pretty quickly, eliminating the need to munch on four before feeling satisfied. The best part? They only take about half an hour to prepare, start to finish. —AS
MAKES 16 COOKIES
1 (15-oz [425-g]) can chickpeas
1 (15-oz [425-g]) can white beans
½ cup (90 g) almond butter
3 tbsp (24 g) whole wheat flour
1 tbsp (15 ml) maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp (15 ml) agave nectar
1–2 tbsp (15–30 ml) nondairy milk, such as hemp
½ cup (90 g) vegan chocolate chips (or chunks!)
Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C).
The first step is by far the most tedious, but NOT skippable. First, open your cans. Drain each. Pour the chickpeas into a colander. Essentially, you’ll want to shuck your beans. To do this, squeeze each little bean until the outer whitish film surrounding it pops off. Discard the skins and put the shucked beans back into the colander. Shucked chickpeas kind of look like tiny brains, so it becomes easier and easier to tell the peeled from the not peeled. You kind of get into a groove after a few minutes and it all goes by really quickly. You really can’t skip this step or your cookies will be yucky and chunky and taste a little too much like chickpeas.
After your beans are shucked, you’ll need to combine all of the ingredients except for the hemp milk and chocolate chips in a food processor. Mix on high until combined completely. While the processor is on, add the drizzle of hemp milk until it all reaches a smooth and even doughy consistency. Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and fold in the chocolate chips. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart each. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.