You'd never know that these melt-in-your mouth Chickpea Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies aren't just vegan, but they are also gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free and nut-free. Enjoy alone or top with sea salt for a sweet and salty combo.
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Once upon a time, in a far away place (New Jersey), there was a girl who obtained a secret recipe from her father for the softest, chewiest chocolate chip cookies in all the land (still New Jersey).
The girl shared her cookies with family and friends, and even once used them to get out of trouble with her college RA for having a bottle of wine in her dorm (for the record, she was 21).
Everyone begged her for the recipe, but she kept it tight-lipped.
Some even went as far to say they were better than the cookies from that famous brand with the yellow packaging.
Oh, those sweet, chocolaty, buttery, heavenly confections...
Then one day, the girl gave up refined sugar and wheat flour, and so...her days of cookie making were over…THE END.
HOLD ON!
What kind of happy ending is that?
No, no, no!
That’s not how the story should end.
Let’s change things up a little…
And that’s exactly what she did - change things up.
First, she swapped white granulated sugar and brown sugar for coconut sugar.
But flour, oh, that was a pesky little problem she had on her hands.
So many gluten-free flours and yet none were quite right.
She thought her prince would never come.
And then, like a knight in shining armor, chickpea flour rode in on its steel horse (OK, fine it was a shopping cart) and saved the day!
The chickpea flour produced a wheat-free cookie with a similar consistency to her signature recipe.
It also provided a number of vitamins and minerals in addition to protein and fiber (You can check out all the awesome benefits of chickpea flour in this Healthline article).
But wait, there's more!
The chickpea fairy appeared out of nowhere and presented another magical ingredient that took this cookie to the NEXT LEVEL!
"Now, what pray tell could that be?" the girl asked.
"Why, aquafaba, my dear," the chickpea fairy responded.
Aqua...what??
In case you're unfamiliar with aquafaba, it is the liquid found in a can of chickpeas and acts as an egg replacement in vegan baked goods.
Sometimes, it is whipped, but other times (like in this case), it is used as is.
And even though she used vegan butter rather than dairy-based butter, her new cookie still had that signature buttery taste.
It even tasted BETTER than the original!
And so, she lived happily ever after eating lots of chickpea flour cookies at the Jersey Shore.
THE END. 🙂
Oh, you want to know how to make them?
Sorry, it’s a secret...
JUST KIDDING! 😉
How to make chickpea flour chocolate chip cookies - step by step
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F and lining an extra large baking sheet with parchment paper.
If you don't have a large enough baking sheet, you can bake in two different batches.
You just want to make sure the cookies are not too close to each other on the sheet.
Next, add vegan butter, coconut sugar, aquafaba and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl.
Mix together using a spoon until well-combined. In a separate bowl, combine chickpea flour, kosher salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Be sure to use a grain-free baking powder if you'd like to keep them grain-free, such as Pamela's.
You can also choose to omit the baking powder altogether and increase the amount of baking soda to elicit a similar result.
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture.
Mix together with a spoon.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Use a cookie scoop or your hands to create dough balls.
Press down on each dough ball lightly with your fingers...
until you've done them all.
Bake for 11-15 minutes until edges are light golden brown.
At this point, you can top each cookie with sea salt right when they come out of the oven, if desired.
Tips
- I know it's fun to eat raw cookie dough, but a word of advice...don't eat cookie dough made with raw chickpea flour! It simply does not taste good when raw and is not an indicator of what the final product will taste like after baking.
- If the dough isn't firm enough to make the balls, refrigerate it for about 10 minutes to firm it up before scooping.
Storing
Store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Note that they will soften up more when stored this way. You can also refrigerate them if preferred.
Related Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
- Chickpea Flour Brownies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
- Oat Flour Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cookies
Vegan, Gluten-Free Chickpea Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon vegan butter, softened but not melted (use soy-free if needed)
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 3 tablespoon aquafaba (measured as is in liquid form)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon gluten-free, grain-free baking powder (such as Pamela's)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup vegan, refined sugar-free chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life or Davis Chocolate)
- Sea salt to taste, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet (I used a half sheet pan) with parchment paper. If you do not have a baking sheet large enough, you can use two baking sheets and bake in two different batches. You just want to make sure the cookies are not too close to each other on the tray.
- Using a spoon, mix together vegan butter, coconut sugar, aquafaba and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl until well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine chickpea flour, kosher salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix together with a spoon.
- Fold in chocolate chips
- Use a cookie scoop (I used a #40 disher) or your hands to create 15 dough balls.
- Press down each dough ball lightly with your fingers.
- Bake for 11-15 minutes (mine took 13 minutes). If you are baking in two batches, ensure the second tray is kept away from the heat of the oven until you take the first batch out. You can keep it in the refrigerator if desired.
- If you are using the optional sea salt, sprinkle sea salt to taste onto the baked cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to ensure the cookies are set. Then, use a flat spatula (turner) to transfer cookies to a cooling rack for 10 more minutes.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs and other helpful information for this recipe)
Suggested Equipment/Tools
Notes
Nutrition
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Isabelle
This recipe is just plain delicious! I baked my cookies a little to long so they were nice and crunchy (which I found out kids tend to like) and instead of chocolate chips I added raisins and peanut butter I am happy to say this recipe
might just become the new favorite.
thanks Sherri !!!!!!!!!!
Sherri Hall
Thank you so much, Isabelle! I will have to try making them crispy too! And, great idea with the raisins and peanut butter...sounds so delicious! So happy you enjoyed them! 🙂
Shelly P
I made these! I also made a second batch and used orange extract instead of vanilla and added the grated zest of an orange to the dough.
Both batches were fantastic. Thank you!!
Sherri Hall
Thank you Shelly! I will have to try them with the orange flavor; sounds amazing! Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Shay
Turned out great. I’m in love .
Sherri Hall
Thanks so much, Shay! So appreciated! Glad you love the cookies! 🙂
Sheila Veenstra
I made this (several times) using coconut oil instead of butter, and using swerve instead of coconut sugar. We also spread it out on a pizza pan (holes in bottom) to make a cookie cake and it came out really well!!
Sherri Hall
Thank you for sharing, Sheila! Glad you were able to modify the recipe to suit your needs! 🙂 Did you happen to use the same amount of Swerve in place of the coconut sugar or did you have to change the measurements? Also, the idea of a cookie cake sounds awesome...I will have to try it! Hope you have a great rest of your week!
Bhawana
wow love this vegan chickpea flour cookies, you made them refined sugar free which is really tempting me to make them soon. great recipe share
Sherri Hall
Thanks so much, Bhawana! 🙂
Eden | Sweet Tea and Thyme
We've been trying more gluten free food in our house, gotta give these a try! My bestie is vegan, I know she'll love the surprise!
Sherri Hall
Thank you Eden! 🙂
Vicky
I love how you have managed to make a yummy chocolate chip cook that is good for you as well. I have never cooked with chickpea flour and excited to try it.
Sherri Hall
Thanks Vicky! You should definitely try chickpea flour; it's awesome! 🙂
Mary Bostow
I love to make vegan desserts. These vegan chickpea flour chocolate chip cookies sound so delectable. I can’t wait to try this recipe! Im adding these to my vegan cookie file! I’m pinning and sharing.
Sherri Hall
Thanks so much, Mary! Hope you enjoy the cookies! 🙂
Lisa Bynum
As I looked at your pictures, I thought, "These look just like that famous brand with the yellow packaging." 🙂
Sherri Hall
Thanks Lisa! I appreciate that! 🙂
Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness
These cookies look amazing! I am going to have to try this chickpea flour. I have people that eat gluten-free in my office I am sure they love these cookies.
Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness
I forgot to rate your recipe!
Sherri Hall
🙂
Sherri Hall
Thanks Dawn! Hope you enjoy! Chickpea flour is awesome! 🙂
Stephanie
These cookies sound fabulous Sherri and BTW I loved your cute little story. Sounds like I need to jump on the chickpea flour bandwagon ?
Sherri Hall
Thanks so much, Stephanie! 🙂 Chickpea flour rocks...and not just for baking, but for cooking too. I think you'll love it!
Steve
Hi, Had a bit of a fail as my cookies spread out too much - didn't waste them though they tasted great. I am just wondering if I got the cup to g measurement wrong? I used 1 us cup = 92g. What other reasons could there be?
Sherri Hall
Hi Steve! That's a bummer about the cookies spreading too much, but I am glad you were still able to enjoy them! I'm going to say that I do think it a result of not enough flour. I have not weighed 1 cup of chickpea flour myself, so I Googled what the equivalent should be in grams and found differing answers from 92 grams up to 142 grams. Personally, I'd try in between those numbers so as not to end up using too much and the cookies end up too dry next time. With that being said, I also found this article where the author says when she weighs 1 cup of chickpea flour, it comes out to 120 grams which is just about halfway between the measurements I found. So, I'd definitely go with that and please let me know how it goes. Thanks so much for reaching out!