I've been experimenting with trying to eat less inflammatory ingredients and these cookies really hit the spot. They are perfectly chewy and packed with protein thanks to the 'secret' chickpea ingredient. 

They also make a fantastic nutritious snack for fussy children, and being so simple to make you can get them involved too!

So here you go...

Ingredients

• 1x400g tin of chickpeas (drained)
• 2 tbsp peanut butter (smooth)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 70% 100g dark chocolate
• 1 tsp liquid balance
• 1 heaped tbsp maple syrup
• A few drops of almond milk
• 1 scoop (30g) vanilla, peanut or caramel protein powder (optional)

Decoration (optional)

• 70% dark chocolate (however much you’d like!) 
• A pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place drained chickpeas into a food processor (a good blender also works) and pulse for approximately 10 seconds.
3. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and baking powder; pulse together. The mixture or 'dough' should form a large ball in the food processor.
4. If using a blender you may need to add a little dairy free milk and if it goes too runny you can recover by freezing the mixture and cooking when slightly hard.
5. Remove blade from your food processor, then stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Use a spoon or ice cream scooper to scoop dough out onto your baking sheet. Bake cookies for 17-20 minutes. The cookies will be slightly underdone, and that's ok! You want them that way so that they are soft and chewy.
7. Drizzle with melted dark chocolate and sprinkle with a little sea salt.