Are Christmas cookies taking over your life? They aren’t for me just yet but I’m right around the corner from a MEGA bake-a-thon and quite honestly, I’m a little frightened by how many I may consume. You know the peanut butter blossoms? MY FAVVVVV. So classic, so peanut-buttery… just give me a few and a big glass of chocolate almond milk. Or hot chocolate with whipped cream. Why must the holiday season be so tempting?
Of course, I’ve really been trying to not go overboard with the sweets. I think I say that almost every Christmas; certainly this year will be better (I hope!).
I mentioned a few posts ago that I’ve been really into my black bean brownies, which help to keep me in check with my sweets since they taste indulgent but are healthy. Well the past week I’ve been baking batches of my chickpea blondies, a favorite recipe on Ambitious Kitchen. They’re full of peanut butter flavor and super satisfying.
Suddenly I got a little bored with the recipe. Not that they aren’t good, but I just kept thinking about I could experiment with the recipe to make it different. I really wanted to use a banana because hello — peanut butter, banana and chocolate is one of the best combos on the planet. You know it’s true!
I baked up a new batch and was quite happy with the results so I thought I’d share them with all of you! Here’s what I did differently:
Banana! The addition of banana allowed me to reduce the maple syrup in the recipe, therefore reducing all around sugar content. It added a slight banana flavor and reminded me of peanut butter chocolate chip banana bread. SERIOUSLY SO GOOD.
A scoop of protein powder! Now you may or you may not use protein powder, but I LOVE it and highly recommend using it in the recipe. I didn’t test it without the protein powder, so I’m not sure how they would come out. I used Designer Whey French Vanilla
Protein Powder but you could sub it for an unflavored whey protein powder or even a plant-based protein powder such as Vega
or Sunwarrior Warrior
. Pick your protein carefully because sometimes they can overpower recipes with their flavor; make sure you find one you really like!
Less peanut butter! I didn’t feel the need to use as much peanut butter because the recipe simply didn’t need it. I reduced the peanut butter by half and found it still peanut buttery enough and delicious!
Dark Chocolate Chunks! FORGET THE CHIPS! I’m telling you — chocolate chunks are where it’s at. I buy dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. You’ll need a 3 oz bar and you should aim for 70% cacao.
So, what do all of these changes mean? Well you get to have a bigger bar (yes, this recipe makes 12 bars instead of 16 in the original recipe). There’s an increase in fiber and protein, too! With only 140 calories for one large bar, you’ll be satisfied and feel great about eating them too!
I hope you love these bars because I know I do. And bonus: my boyfriend even said they were delicious.
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More healthy desserts you’ll love:
Grain Free Tahini Brownies (the best brownies I’ve ever eaten)
Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Grain Free Salted Chocolate Chip Pecan Blondies + video
Healthy Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Grain Free Omega-3 Fudgy Walnut Skillet Brownies
Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 ounce) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup all natural creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 medium ripe banana
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (about 1 scoop) unflavored or vanilla protein powder (check ingredients if vegan)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa, or dairy free if desired), coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray 8x8 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. I recommend an 8x8 baking inch pan as using a 9x9 inch pan may make the bars too thin.
- In a food processor, add all ingredients except chocolate chips and process until batter is smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the chopped chocolate.
- Spread batter evenly in prepared pan then sprinkle the rest of the chopped chocolate on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and edges are a tiny bit brown. The batter may look underdone, but you don't want them to dry out!
- Cool pan for 10 minutes on wire rack. Makes 12 blondies. Store covered in the fridge. Bars will last about 3 days.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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I made these with a whey casein blend vanilla protein powder, and they came out great. I reduced the maple syrup by a tablespoon because the protein powder I used was pretty sweet. Baked 25 minutes and texture was just like a traditional blondie, in my opinion. Thanks for the recipe.
What can you use as a sub for the protein powder?
Hi, there! I haven’t tested that recipe without the protein powder, but I’d check out this newer recipe which is very similar but doesn’t contain protein powder 🙂
a new take on chickpea blondies!
Hi Monique!
Do you think I could increase the amount of bananas in this recipe (maybe 2 medium, to get a stronger banana flavor) and compensate it with a bit more oat flour (instead of protein powder)?
Thank you so much, I’m looking forward to trying another one of your recipes!! they rarely fail me 🙂
Hi Laura! Sure you could try it! Let me know how it turns out for you 🙂Hope you find some more recipes here that you love.
Ended up keeping the same proportions, swapping the protein powder for oat flour and they turned out really good! My friends weren’t too enthusiastic about them (probably because I also reduced the maple syrup), but my mom and I loved them haha. Guess it’s a type of cuisine you have to be a little bit used to!
Great to hear! You’ll have to make these ones for your friends next (they’ll love them!)
Could I use chickpea flour instead of whole chickpeas?
I wouldn’t recommend it – the texture will be very different.
Looks delist. How would you sub cocoa powder in instead?
I love these bars so much! They are one of my favorite recipes to make and I love that they are both delicious and full of healthy ingredients! Sometimes when I make these I sub out the protein powder for oat flour and they work out perfectly.
I’m so glad you love these! Oat flour is a great swap here 🙂
Hi, amazing recipe! Could I substitute the Maple Syrup with honey or other thing? I cant find Maple Syrup that easily here in Brazil!
I’ve made these twice in the past month and love them! My fiance enjoyed it as well. I used a bit more banana than called for and with the protein powder I use they are more cakey than chewy. Since i used a birthday cake flavored powder, this was a welcome surprise. I topped the second batch with some rainbow sprinkles!
Amazing!! So glad you both love these. The birthday cake flavor sounds amazing 🙂
These are amazing!! I used barely 1/3 cup of Vega all-in-one vanilla protein shake, so it has the vegetable powder in there, as well. I was a little worried that it might be too much, but OMGosh these are amazing! I love all your recipes so I wasn’t too worried, but didn’t expect to love them as much as I did. My kids loved them, too, so they’re an excellent snack for the whole family.
Amazing! I’m so glad you (and the whole family) enjoyed!
Can you replace the protein with coconut flour?
Hello, can I use peanut butter powder instead of peanut butter?
I would not recommend it.
I make your other recipe of chick pea blondies that don’t have the banana All. The. Time!! I’m way excited to try these! 2 questions though, can I add an egg? I’m not vegan. And also, I usually make your other ones with Sunflower butter half and peanut butter half. Is the only reason you don’t recommend the sunflower butter because of the color?
Can I add any type of nuts to this. They look delicious !
Hi Monique! Do you think subbing chocolate protein powder and omitting the chocolate (I’m all out!) would be weird? Thanks for your wonderful recipes, as always!
I have everything but the protein powder. I’m not vegan, just gluten free. Is there something I can substitute or can the protein powder be left out?
recipe sounds super….I usually don’t have protein powders, can you replace this with a rice or oat flour. I would think leaving out all together would effect the content to baking. Thank you 🙂
Those were great. I added whole flax seeds and rather than using powdered whey, I used a little bit of liquid whey that I had left over from straining my homemade yogurt. They were really moist and yummy.
I love your recipes! But I have to say that when I made these, I had a weird thing happen….they turned BLUE all over during the baking process, and stayed that way. I followed the recipe – the only changes I made were that I used sunflower seed butter (my daughter is allergic to nuts) and I did not use protein power, because I didn’t have any. Any ideas as to what chemical reaction could have happened while baking to make them blue in color?
FYI – when you bake with sunflower seed butter and add baking soda/powder, the chemistry changes the color. Don’t worry they’ll still be fine to eat!
While these tasted awesome they were a major fail as they just fell apart 🙁
I bake all the time (and do so as part of my job) and haven’t had a fail like this in ages!
Oh no, sorry you had trouble! Since you bake all the time I’m going to assume that you followed the recipe exactly as written. In that case, I would assume it’s the protein powder. Which kind did you use? I’ve made these probably close to a dozen times without any issues.
Mine did too. I omitted the protein powder though and they were just super gooey. Would adding some almond flour make them stay together/seem cooked more? How much would you suggest?
The protein powder is pretty crucial to the recipe, so that’s probably why they came out the way they did. It’s important to follow the recipe. I would try my other blondies if you don’t want to use protein powder: http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/04/flourless-chocolate-chip-chickpea-blondies-with-sea-salt-vegan-gluten-free-healthy/
Thanks! I tried it again with the protein powder, and cooked them for an extra 10 minutes. They were still very dough-y. Honestly, I loved them like this, but didn’t really think they were the best to serve at a party. It must just be the chickpea texture? Oh well, more for me!
Oh no, sorry to hear that. They weren’t doughy for me at all, but it could also have been based on the protein powder you used.
Your original chickpea blondies recipe is my go-to pot luck dessert. I’m sure this one will be an even bigger hit!
This is such a delicious and healthy recipe! I could eat the whole pan, right??? 🙂
Oh this looks great! Do you have any experience with Pea Protein powder? I think I’m gonna try this with mine. I assume I’ll have to add more sugar and vanilla since mine is unflavored… Any suggestion as to how much?
I don’t have experience with pea protein however I don’t think you would need to add extra sweetener. I think they would be just fine!
Could I sub ground flaxseed for the protein powder?
I think you could, or you may be able to leave the protein powder out completely!
That’s my question too.
These look amazing! I’ll definitely be trying them out. Good luck with avoiding going overboard. I haven’t been so successful…
Chocolate peanut butter already had me swooning. Then these stats – 140 calories a bar – and protein and fiber! Sign me up 🙂