Peanut Buttery Chickpea Blondies

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After making the super decadent, but still good-for-you dark chocolate black bean brownies from Straight Outta Compston’s Kitchen, I got super inspired to try using other beans in desserts. Back home in Arizona, I used to buy a dessert hummus which was oh-so tasty and guilt-free, so I knew chickpeas lent themselves well to be used for sweets, too.

And while beanie desserts might seem like a strange, or even desperate push by health professionals and food bloggers in America to get us all to improve our diets, beans are commonplace in desserts in other countries.  In Japan, what we know as beans in the west (pulses, by definition) are a very common dessert item. Sweetened azuki beans are used as toppings for ice cream, or mashed into a paste to fill pastries and mochi.

There's a crepe café here on the Big Island serving matcha crepes filled with adzuki beans, and they are amazing! In Dominican culture, there is a dessert called habichuelas con dulce, translating to sweet cream of beans which is typically prepared around Lent.

Photo from Goya. Click for recipe.

Dessert bars like brownies, blondies, and cookie cakes were born in the USA. But there's nothing stopping us from twisting them up a little bit to make them better for us. The best thing about bean-based bars is that you can have them as a dessert OR for breakfast 😉

So embrace the bean, and give my gooey, peanut-buttery blondies a try!

Peanut Butter Chickpea Blondies

(Makes 9 bars)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Bake time: 35 minutes

1 can organic, no-sodium chickpeas

½ cup aquafaba (liquid from the chickpeas)

¼ cup coconut oil

¾ cup creamy peanut butter*

¾ cup raw sugar

½ cup brown rice protein powder

3 tbsp ground flax + ⅓ cup water OR 2 eggs

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

*If making these for someone with peanut or treenut allergies, use 2 tbsp coconut milk and 1/2 cup shredded coconut for a friendly twist. Or try these with sunflower seed butter!

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and oil a 9” x 9” pan.
2. If making the vegan version, combine ground flax seeds and water in a small bowl and let sit for 5-6 minutes.
3. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend until the batter is a smooth consistency.

4. Pour batter into greased baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top appears dry and begins to crack.

5. Allow to cool completely before cutting into 9 bars.
6. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. These freeze well and will keep for 3-4 weeks in the freezer.

I really enjoy these reheated in the toaster oven with some chia jam on top. It makes for a fun pb&j bar, and the jam adds a little extra sweetness to the bar! You could also try swirling strawberry jam into the batter before baking, or add dark chocolate chunks to the batter!

If you weren't already enjoying beans in your deaserde, o hope I've opened your eyes to the possibilities and potential that my favorite fibery food contains! Does your family or heritage have bean-based desserts? Share in the comments! I would love to hear and learn all about it!