Coconut, White Chocolate & Orange Chickpea Blondies

Chickpea blondies?! YESSSS!! And they are amazing! Know one thing about me: I’m not one of those people who try to make everything ‘healthy’ (and just for the record, these blondies contain butter & brown sugar = yum!!). Having said that, if you have followed me for even 5 minutes, you know I’m a huge fan of canned beans. They are one of my favourite pantry staples. Why? Because for two bucks you’ve got yourself a can full of plant protein and fiber.

While out on a run the other day (where my culinary creative juices flow), I thought ‘I wonder if chickpeas would work in blondies – the way black beans work in brownies?’ Click here for my Black Bean Brownie recipe (they are outstanding BTW) – scroll to bottom of attached page for recipe.

I gave it a whirl (literally, because you need a food processor for this recipe) and it worked! Students at my cooking class were my taste testers (bonus of attending one of my cooking classes) and they devoured them.

The following recipe is based on my Coconut White Chocolate Blondie recipe from my cookbook ‘Delicious & Doable ~ Recipes For Real and Everyday Life’ (grab your copy here), but with a citrus twist.

Hope you love them as much as myself & my students.

Ingredients

• 1 (19oz / 540 mL) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed and patted slightly dry
• ½ cup (125 mL) brown sugar
• ¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
• ¼ cup (60 mL) softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¼ cup (310 mL) flaked sweetened coconut (you can use unsweetened if you prefer)
• ½ cup (125 mL) white chocolate chips (or finely chopped white chocolate)
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) coconut extract
• ½ tsp (2 tsp) baking powder
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
• zest of one orange (lemon or lime would work too – but I prefer orange)

Garnish

Additional white chocolate, melted (about 2 oz/60 g) optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180 C). Line an 8 X 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Place chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse until roughly chopped, scraping down sides of bowl when needed.
3. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until mixture is very well combined. Be sure to scrape down sides of the bowl when needed.
4. Place mixture in prepared pan (it will appear very wet, that’s okay) and bake in center of pre-heated oven for about 35 minutes, or until blondies have set and edges are lightly brown.
5. Remove from the oven and cool completely (ideally overnight, so they set. If you cut them too early, they may crumble slightly). Once cool, cut into 16 squares and drizzle evenly with additional white chocolate (if using). Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days (but they won’t last that long!), or pop them in the freezer for future indulging.

Delicious & Doable Tips:

~ garnish with some toasted coconut (on top of melted white chocolate so it sticks) for added crunch and more coconutty flavour.
~ sprinkle melted white chocolate (garnish) with some flaky sea salt.

Where to Find ‘Delicious & Doable’ Across Ontario

‘Delicious & Doable ~ Recipes For Real and Everyday Life’ can be purchased here or at one of the below retailers across Ontario:

Type Books ~ 883 Queen Street West, Toronto
Lemonberry ~ 2 Orchard Heights Blvd #10, Aurora
Fanfare Books ~ 92 Ontario St, Stratford
Casual Gourmet ~ 1027 King Street West, Hamilton
The Post Office – 18 Front St. N, Thorold
Chef’s Paradise ~ 1314 Bank Street, Ottawa
Gift It Grey ~ 19492 Opeongo Line, Barry’s Bay
Creative Cook ~ 35 Manitoba St, Bracebridge
Muskoka Brewery ~ 1964 Muskoka Beach Rd, Bracebridge
Stephen’s Butcher Shop ~ 8 Harris St, Port Carling
Hilltop Interiors ~ 1150 ON-141, Rosseau
Cedar Canoe Books ~ 72 Main St E, Huntsville
Clark’s On Main ~ 1090 Main Street, Dorset
Bigley’s Cottage Kitchen ~ 39 Bolton St, Bobcaygeon
Farmer’s Daughter – 72 Main St E, Huntsville
Kitchen Bits ~ 1390 Kingsway, Greater Sudbury