As you’ve probably gathered, I like chickpeas. I’ve been wanting to try making chickpea cookie dough for the longest time and I finally got around to it yesterday. I have to say, I was a little disappointed. I mean it was fine, but the texture was kind of grainy, and not as ‘dough like’ as I would have hoped. Luckily, I had the brilliant idea to add about a 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, which totally changed the texture and replaced that beany aftertaste with rich chocolatey goodness. Rolled around in a little extra cocoa powder and I ended up with a perfect healthy treat! So the moral of the story is, when life gives you mediocre chickpea cookie dough, add some cocoa powder and make energy bites.

• Ingredients •

16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp nut or seed butter
1/4 cup maple syrup 
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup cocoa powder + more for rolling (I like Droste but Hershey’s works too)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse oats into a fine flour, this should take about 3 min. Next, add in chickpeas, maple syrup cocoa powder and nut butter. Pulse until smooth, stopping every couple minutes to scrape down the sides. Transfer to a bowl and fold in chocolate chips if using. Refrigerate for at least 30 min before rolling.

2. Coat the bottom of a shallow dish or bowl with about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. Using both hands, form about 2 tbsp of dough into a ball, and roll in cocoa powder. Repeat with remaining dough, adding more cocoa powder if needed.