Fudgin' Good Chocolate & Coconut Chickpea Cookies

Ordinarily I have a pretty low opinion of chickpeas - it it just me or are they a bit like dry little balls of fart? No offense to the legume lovers but I just think they're a bit fucking average, and I find hummus a bit ho-hum. However, when I throwing together these chickpea based chocolate & coconut fudge cookies for my biggest little one, I 'quality' tested the mixture and I realised I'd actually made chocolate hummus and transformed it into something actually worth eating! With that revelation I could just about be convinced to change my view - then again, being a whore for cacao I'd be prepared to eat just about anything with the words chocolate fudge tagged on!

These cookies make a great little snack with a good whack of protein and healthy fat thanks to the chickpeas, nut butter & coconut that form the basis of the recipe. They're also stupid easy to make and the finished result has proven popular with kids big and small in our house, with a just crisp enough outside to conceal the deliciously fudgy centre inside.

Get this stuff

1 can chickpeas

1/2 C nut butter

1/2 C shredded coconut

1/3 C cacao

2 T almond milk

1/2 C rice malt syrup, maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar or sweetener of your choice1t baking powder

1/4 t pink salt

1/2 t vanilla paste

Optional Icing

2 T each of cacao, nut butter, coconut oil, rice malt syrup or your preferred liquid sweetener

Do this with it

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees fanbake and line a tray with baking paper.

These were made as snacks for my 20 month old and they're so fucking simple they can they made with one hand while negotiating with a grabby, handsy toddler perched on the bench 'helping'. Hell they're so damn simple I reckon I could just let the kid loose in the kitchen to make her own now she's seen me do it a couple of times!

All you need to throw all ingredients in a kitchen whiz, crank that sucker up to high and puree it all into a creamy chocolate hummus cookie dough. Now taste it and tell me that's not the best possible use of those little fart nuggets you've ever come across.

To make the cookies dollop tablespoon size blobs onto your cleverly pre-prepared baking tray. This mixture is gooey, veeerrrry gooey so you may want damp fingers also to help shape the cookies if you want them looking little less rough - although I prefer the term rustic which is the lazy girls term for can't be fucked.

Throw them in the oven and check at about the 20 minute mark when they should still be a little soft to touch but not gloopy and have a crust on the outside. That means they're about perfect as they'll firm up more as they cool but will keep that fuck off good fudgy centre.

Now these are bloody good just as is, but I had a request for an icing recipe to make them a bit like afghans and frankly, that's bloody genius! Icing is always a good idea in my world so, I've included the recipe as an optional extra if you want to make them a little more indulgent and maybe a little more for the grown ups.

It's as simple as mixing all the icing ingredients together in a bowl to create a smooth, creamy texture that's, wait for it... just like icing! If your coconut oil is hard you'll need to soften it a bit, it should be soft and malleable but not liquid, about the same as peanut butter. If you get all excited and nuke it for too long it's no major drama, just mix all the ingredients together and let the icing sit in the fridge for a wee while to firm up to a spreadable consistency.

I'm sure I don't need to spell out the final step - go ahead slather that good shit on top of your biscuits - just make sure they've cooled down or you'll end up with a big crumbly sloppy mess, albeit a delicious one. To finish you can even add a walnut half to the top if that's your kind of gig.