“Great cookies!” Someone exclaimed as I passed around the tupperware container. And, as is custom at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, home of the famous elimination diet, they added, “Are they gluten-free?”

Little did this particular colleague know, these cookies aren’t just gluten-free, they’re grain-free, dairy-free and egg-free. What’s the secret ingredient? It’s not almond flour, as most grain-free recipe experts might suspect, but chickpeas. Yeah. So, before you stop reading, just try them, they’re easy to make and you’ll be able to fool your friends (and maybe even yourself) too.

This recipe is similar to the White Bean Blondies and Black Bean Brownies recipes, which can be made in a pan or in mini muffin tins. After posting one of these recipes, someone responded with a comment about calories, comparing them to a lower-calorie packaged Weight Watchers cookie. So, let me be clear: the recipes on my blog are primarily used to serve as creative inspiration for people looking for hypoallergenic whole foods recipe options. While Weight Watchers, or another “healthy” brand, might sell a cookies that are only 30 calories each, ask yourself if they are healthy: do they contain fibre? Healthy fats? Or do they contain chemical additives? Are there nutrients in them that promote health, i.e.: are you healthier after eating them?

I personally try to follow and promote to others a whole foods diet, selecting and eating foods that are available in as close to their natural forms as possible. This means eating healthy fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals and ingesting fewer chemicals, preservatives and artificial flavours and sweeteners. It’s a food philosophy that involves eating fruits and vegetables and making your own food, including baking your own cookies, from real ingredients, rather than picking them out of a box. So, while these cookies might contain slightly more calories and fat than a packaged “healthy” counterpart, they might cause you to snack less and feel more satisfied or at least fill your body with some antioxidants and anti-inflammatory fats, lowering your risk for chronic disease down the road. Also, don’t forget that, when it comes to weight loss, fat is really your friend.

Just a thought.

Now, pass the cookies, please!

Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas

2 tbs natural peanut butter (or almond butter)

2 tbs maple syrup (organic, natural)

1/4 cup flax seeds, milled

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients, minus the chocolate chips. Blend until the mixture is uniform and dough-like. Add in the chocolate chips and spread throughout. Grease a cookie sheet (using olive oil). With hands, roll about 1 tbs of cookie dough, press slightly and place on cookie sheet. This batter makes from 16-20 cookies. Cook cookies in the oven for 30 minutes. Allow to cool and serve!