Chocolate Chickpea Flour Cookies
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These easy chocolate chickpea flour cookies are a complete dream when you want something healthy, nutty, and chocolatey. The chocolate flavor bursts through, while the grain-free flour keeps things 100% gluten-free. A delicious bake for school events, party tables, and holiday gatherings!
Table of contents
Look, I’m a huge fan of cookies.
Warm and comforting gingerbread men, wholesome breakfast cookies, or decadent chocolate hazelnut cookies – you name it, and I’m ready to dig in.
But what I love more than anything is to create cookie recipes that are not only indulgent but healthy, too.
Because I think there’s nothing better than a sweet, chewy cookie that’s actually good for you!
And that’s exactly what these chickpea flour cookies are!
A decadent nourishing snack that looks heavenly and is actually good for you.
Made with healthy fats and wholesome ingredients, you can easily chow down on 2 (or 5!) without an ounce of guilt!
What Is Chickpea Flour?
Chickpea flour is a protein-rich flour made from ground garbanzo beans.
It’s particularly popular in South Asia and is used to make everything from bhajis to pakoras!
Compared to almond flour or coconut flour (which are great if you’re on a gluten-free diet!), it’s less dense and contains more soluble fiber.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chickpea flour: Otherwise known as garbanzo bean flour or gram flour, this gluten-free gem is the star of this recipe! You can either make your own or grab some from a local health food spot or a South Asian grocery store.
- Baking powder: To give a bit of rise to the cookies.
- Sea salt: Just a pinch for extra flavor and to balance the recipe.
- Vanilla powder: Vanilla powder has a way more intense flavor than old-school vanilla extract, making it a perfect natural sweetener for this recipe. Just remember that it’s super concentrated, so you don’t want to overmeasure! If you only have vanilla extract, that’s fine to use, too!
- Cocoa powder: We only want the best cocoa here! Make sure to use good quality cocoa powder without any added sweetener or ingredients.
- Extra virgin olive oil: This is to add moisture to your cookies (and no, you can’t taste it!).
- Almond butter: Creamy almond butter gives a nutty flavor to the cookies, and it’s glorious as a topping. Feel free to use hazelnut, cashew, or peanut butter instead! If you’re allergic to nuts, use more olive oil in the dough and skip it as a topping.
- Maple syrup: Lots of people use brown sugar or coconut sugar for chickpea flour cookies. But using maple syrup makes this one of the healthiest sweet snacks around, as it’s 100% naturally sweetened!
- Almond milk: Any milk works (including soy, oat, rice, or cow’s milk!), but almond milk is slightly creamier and sweet, and I find it works really well in these cookies.
How to Make Chickpea Flour Cookies
- Preheat the oven: Bring your oven to 330F (170C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside for now.
- Combine the ingredients: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (so, chickpea flour, baking powder, and salt!). Take some time to break up any clumps you might have, or sift the ingredients through a strainer over the mixing bowl. Then, you can add the extra virgin olive oil, almond butter, maple syrup, and almond milk. Make sure you mix the ingredients properly to get rid of any lumps!
- Craft the cookie dough balls: Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. You can wet your hands with some water to avoid too much sticking. To make things easier, use a spoon to scoop the dough and use your hands to roll it into even balls.
- Move your dough balls to the baking sheet and prep them: Place your dough balls on a cookie sheet and gently flatten the tops with the palm of your hand. You’re looking for a cookie shape that’s relatively flat, as the cookies won’t spread while cooking.
- Add your toppings: Ah, here’s the fun part! Top your cookies with a swirl of almond butter and a few high-quality dark chocolate chips.
- Bake the cookies: Bake your cookies for around 10-12 minutes in a single layer until golden brown.
- Cool and enjoy: Allow your cookies to rest for 5 minutes before moving them over to a cooling rack to get to room temperature. Enjoy with a fresh glass of your favorite milk for dessert or as a satisfying, healthy snack!
How to Store
You can store these garbanzo flour cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.
If you’d like to freeze them, wait for your chickpea cookies to cool and transfer them to freezer-safe bags or plastic wrap.
They should last for up to 2 months. Thaw them at room temperature before eating them. You can also warm them up for a few minutes in the oven and they will taste as if they’ve just been baked.
Do They Taste Like Chickpeas?
Garbanzo beans usually have a mild nutty flavor that’s very slightly earthy.
But you won’t really taste the chickpeas here. These cookies have a deep, rich nuttiness, with the cocoa powder giving them extra depth, and those chocolate chips – they’re just the cherry on top!
Trust me, take a bite, and you won’t believe there are beans in there.
Why I Love These Chickpea Flour Cookies
- This cookie recipe is made with wholesome ingredients and contains antioxidant-rich healthy fats.
- They’re naturally sweet and easy to make.
- You don’t need to use chilled dough to make the magic happen (no spreading!).
More Cookie Recipes
- Healthy Breakfast Cookies
- Almond Crescent Cookies
- Almond Thumbprint Cookies
- Healthy Christmas Cookies
- Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Amaretti Cookies
If you try this chocolate chickpea flour cookie recipe, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how much you liked it!
Chocolate Chickpea Flour Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup chickpea flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder - or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cocoa powder - unsweetened
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - note 1
- ½ cup almond butter - note 2
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup almond milk - (or regular milk, soy milk, oat milk)
Toppings
- 3 tablespoons dark chocolate - cut into small chunks – or use good quality chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 330F (170C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, vanilla powder, and salt to break up any clumps. You could also sift all the dry ingredients if you see any clumps. Add the extra virgin olive oil, almond butter, maple syrup, and almond milk, and mix well.
- Using a spoon, divide the dough into 14 balls. Wet your hands with some water.
- Use a spoon to scoop the dough, and then use your wet hands to roll the dough into balls; place on the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Very gently flatten the tops of the cookies with your hands to give them a cookie shape (they won’t flatten when cooking).
- Top with a swirl of almond butter and some chocolate chocolate chips(or dark chocolate chunks).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them onto a cookie rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Tag @gatheringdreams on Instagram. I want to see it!
Wow, these were so good. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much, Sandra. So happy you liked them!