Easy Vegan Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

These easy vegan chickpea chocolate chip cookies are super chocolatey, and crisp like regular cookies on the outside but have a softer more fudgy cookie-dough-like center.

These cookies are also vegan, gluten-free, low in added sugar (just a touch from the molasses), and the dough can be made and baked in less than half an hour. So no need to feel guilty about tucking into some delicious vegan cookies studded with chunks of soft dark chocolate and chewy raisins!

I love me some spicy Mexican-stye hot chocolate cookies so I’ve added some cayenne. The mild chili after-bite complements the chocolate flavor divinely, but don’t worry, if you’re not a fan of the heat you can remove the cayenne altogether.

My son just got a palate-expander fitted, so it was important to me that the spice-level be child friendly, and the cookies softer, so as not to displace the expander or be difficult for him to eat (hard crunchy foods are a no-no right now).

Like other flourless cookie or brownie recipes, the not-so-secret main ingredient in this recipe is chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Wait, come back, don’t run away!

I PROMISE you, you can’t taste the beans at all! But unlike other flourless recipes, this cookie dough actually tastes nice. Feel free to taste it (but leave some for making the actual cookies please, as they taste a hundred times better).

If you’re not a fan of the tahini used in the recipe, or are having difficulty getting a hold of it, you can substitute it with peanut butter.

If you’re a big fan of delicious vegan cookies you might also want to check out my vegan chocolate walnut cookies and my vegan pumpkin cookies. My spiced vegan hot chocolate mix makes a perfectly creamy spiced cup of hot chocolate to pair with these spiced cookies, or you can neatly wrap up the cookies in cellophane and gift along with some hot chocolate mix!

How to make the cookies

Vegan chickpea chocolate cookies are super easy to make, even if your food processor is a bit rubbish like mine. It cannot be made with a blender though, as you would need to add too much liquid to get the mixture moving enough.

Your cookies would then be bubbly mushy mounds. Don’t do it. It’s a waste of ingredients (trust me, I tried it with my equally rubbish blender first). You have been warned…

The dough needs to be silky smooth. As I only have a mini food processor I processed the dough in four batches and mixed them together. Roughly chop up the dates and mix them with the next six ingredients (the chickpeas, tahini, molasses, vanilla extract, balsamic vinegar, and plant-based milk) in a large mixing bowl , as in the image below.

I used a sugar-free almond milk, but any plant-based sugar-free milk should do. If you’re not bothered about adding sugar you can use regular plant milk, but the cookies are perfectly sweet as is.

The molasses is optional, as it’s basically added sugar, but I think it’s worth it for the depth of flavor it brings to the table.

Add the chickpea mixture to a food processor and process until it resembles a smooth thick hummus, as in the image below.

Add all the other ingredients (the raisins, ground flaxseed, cocoa, ground almond, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips, salt, and optional cayenne pepper). The amount of cayenne pepper depends on your personal preference and when you are going to eat the cookies.

Half a teaspoon will result in perfectly spiced cookies the first day, and a higher level of heat the second day. 1/4 teaspoon will be barely perceptible the first day and mildly spicy the second day. You do you.

If you don’t like raisins you can omit them or replace with goji berries or dried cranberries. You can use either chocolate chips or chopped-up chocolate (just make sure it’s vegan). Personally I prefer to chop up chocolate as I like large uneven chunks.

Once you’ve added all the ingredients to the bowl, mix until well-combined as in the image below. If you have a fantastic food processor you could probably add all the ingredients to the processing bowl (except the raisins and chocolate chops) from the very start without chopping up the dates or mixing anything first. As I said, my processor is not great, so I prefer not to take my chances and make its job as easy as possible!

Preheat the oven to 360F (180C). Use a large cookie scoop, an ice-cream scoop or a large spoon to portion out the dough onto a tray that has been lined with baking paper.

The dough is a little stickier and more difficult to work with than regular dough. You’ll need to dip the scoop or spoon in water between cookies to prevent the dough from sticking to it.

Lightly wet your hands and flatten the cookies and round them if needed. These cookies won’t flatten out while baking so it’s important you shape them pretty close to how you want your final cookie to look like.

You should get around 14-16 cookies, depending on how large you make them. The cookies will only rise slightly and shouldn’t spread at all. Place them in the oven and set a timer for 15 minutes.

When the timer goes off, take out the cookies and leave to cool on the baking tray for another 15 minutes. Trying to move them sooner will result in sad broken cookies, as they firm up more when out of the oven.

After 15 minutes use a spatula or fish slice to gently lift them up and place on wire racks to cool down faster (or you can just leave them on the baking tray to cool if you’re not as impatient as me.)

At this point you’ll be sorely tempted by the sight of oozing chunks of chocolate to try a cookie – DON’T DO IT!

While the dough tastes nice, the cookies do NOT taste great when warm. It will be a waste of a cookie. Leave them to cool completely (all the way through), and they will be much tastier.

Substitutions

If you don’t like any of the ingredients used to make vegan chickpea chocolate chip cookies, or don’t have them to hand, here are the ones you can swap out or omit:

Dates: You need to use dates in this recipe and can use the regular less expensive (Deglet Nour) dates, or if you only have access to Medjool dates you can use about seven of them instead of the ten regular dates.

Tahini: Have a seed allergy or just not a fan? While I assure you that you can’t actually taste the tahini, you can swap it out if needed for peanut butter or any other nut or seed butter. Peanut butter will give a slightly peanutty flavor but if you like peanuts then I guess it’s all good!

Molasses: You can omit the molasses, although I strongly suggest you don’t if you have a choice as they give a lovely flavor. Take out altogether or replace with agave syrup.

Vanilla extract: I love vanilla in cookies but you can swap this out for your preferred extract – rum extract for a bit of rum and raisin flavor, orange for orange chocolate, mint because who doesn’t like mint chocolate with a slight kick? The choice is yours.

Raisins: Hate raisins or don’t have any to hand? While I love their chewy texture in these cookies, you can substitute with goji berries or dried cranberries, or leave out altogether – which leaves more space for chocolate chips so you can add an extra 1/3 cup chocolate chips!

Dark chocolate: Dislike dark chocolate? I love the intense taste in these cookies, paired with spicy cayenne, but you can swap out the chips/chocolate (whichever you’re using) for your favorite vegan brand of chocolate.

Storing your cookies

Once your cookies have completely cooled, carefully transfer them to an airtight container. They can then be stored at room temperature for up to four days, although they are best eaten on the first two. Note that these cookies, like most chickpea cookies, do not freeze well and I do not advise freezing the dough either.

Due to the small amount of active raising agents in these cookies I recommend making the dough shortly before you are about to use them. You may make it ahead of time and leave in a sealed container in the fridge but your cookies would then be softer and flatter.

Allergy information

These chickpea chocolate chip cookies are so tasty and vegan. If you’re not vegan then it won’t be an issue for you, but if you are please remember to check that the chocolate and cocoa you are using are dairy-free.

Although these cookies are dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free, they are not nut and seed free.

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I hope you enjoy these delicious vegan chickpea chocolate chip cookies, tag me on Instagram (@the_fiery_vegetarian) or leave a comment below if you do end up making them.

Although they may be eaten so quickly you won’t have time to take a photo…Just saying…

Enjoy!

Originally published July 29th 2019.