I was always skeptical of people who baked with beans. Why put something like that into a dessert? It just seemed odd. However, I have since changed my tune after this recipe and I think you might too. You may have to omit telling people what’s in them until after they try them (like I had to do with my husband!) but trust me on this one, they are awesome!

To be clear, I definitely didn’t come up with the genius idea of putting chickpeas into desserts (whoever did, thank you) but I’ve put my own spin on it and think the final product is fantastic.

Here’s how you make them (8×8 pan of blondies):

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (375F)
2. Roughly chop a 150g bar of semi-sweet chocolate (I wouldn’t recommend going any darker but feel free to if you want) and set aside into a medium-sized bowl
3. Throw 1 can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained), 1/2 cup cashew butter, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 4 dates (pitted), 1 small ripe banana, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla and a dash of salt into a food processor and blend until everything has come together
4. Throw that mixture into the chocolate bowl and mix together
5. Transfer the mixture to an 8×8 pan – if you use a non-stick one, you shouldn’t have to grease it at all (if not, feel free to grease it very lightly)
6. Bake for 20 minutes if you like your cookies under-cooked (like I do) or 25 if you want them more well-done

It’s very important that you let the pan cool for as long as possible -ideally at least an hour so the mixture can set. Also, feel free to taste test along the way since there aren’t any raw eggs in the mixture it’s completely fine to do so.

To note – these are going to be fairly thin. If you want to double the batch, absolutely do so but do it in 2 separate pans. If these are too thick they won’t come out as well.

Ingredients:

• 150g semi-sweet chocolate bar (nothing over 70%)
  • Chocolate chips would be a fine substitute
• 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup cashew butter
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 4 dates, pitted
• 1 small ripe banana
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• dash of salt

I’m already thinking about a black bean brownie recipe and/or different ways to use this batter – more to come soon…

Let me know what you think!

CHH