Grain-Free Chocolate Chickpea Tahini Blondies

Chickpeas and tahini are easily two of my favorite ingredients. They’re in heavy rotation in my diet, and I have numerous recipes here on the blog that call for at least one of them (or both, as is the case in my favorite kale salad). I’ve always loved using tahini in dessert recipes because it stands in beautifully for nut butters in things like cookies and tart crusts. I tend to steer clear of chickpeas in desserts though, because their flavor can be a bit too prominent – if you’ve ever baked with one of the old-school GF flour mixes you probably know what I mean. Still, when I cooked up a big pot of chickpeas the other day I got the urge to use a portion of them in something sweet, so I came up with these grain-free chickpea tahini blondies. I wanted to keep these blondies vegan so there’s no egg or dairy in them, and I figured while I was at it I would make the recipe as inclusive as possible, so I left out grain- and nut-based ingredients as well. However, if you’ve got a sesame allergy in your household but nuts are okay, substitute cashew or almond butter for the tahini.

Figuring out which ingredients to add to the chickpea and tahini base to achieve the flavor and texture I look for in a good blondie was a fun challenge for me. I knew I wanted to maintain the nuttiness of the chickpeas while tempering their beany flavor, and since chocolate pairs beautifully with tahini, and espresso and cinnamon are both great matches for chocolate, I decided to add all three. I also went with maple syrup and coconut sugar as the sweeteners here because I love that caramel-like brown sugar flavor in my blondies, and the fragrant maple helps mellow out the beaniness of the chickpeas a bit more. (FYI spell-check wanted me to correct “beaniness,” but if it isn’t an actual word it needs to be, so I’m sticking with it!)

Then there was the matter of texture – even if it tasted great, without egg or traditional flour to hold it all together I would’ve had a damp, mushy mess on my hands so I needed some thirsty grain-free flour alternatives here. If you do any GF or vegan baking you probably already know that ground flax is a great egg substitute, so I threw in some of that. Coconut flour soaks up moisture like a sponge, but use too much and you end up with a super sandy or crumbly texture, so I added just enough to dry things out a bit. I knew I’d have to include a third “flour” to add a little bulk to the dough and get that familiar bar cookie characteristic of a traditional blondie, and I realized this was the perfect opportunity to use some of the mesquite flour that’s been languishing in my pantry!

And no, mesquite flour does NOT taste like the savory smoky mesquite you associate with wood chips or BBQ. It’s a gluten- and grain-free powder made from the ground up seed pods that grow on mesquite shrubs in the deserts of the Southwestern US and South America, and it’s actually considered to be something of a superfood. It’s rich in fiber, protein, and minerals, and has an enchanting aroma and flavor with notes of coffee, cocoa, hazelnut, and molasses so pairing it with the other ingredients in this recipe was really a no-brainer. The only drawback to using mesquite flour is that it’s not something everyone keeps in their pantry, nor is it an item you can pickup at your local chain supermarket, so I order mine online. I promise it’s worth the purchase, you can even stir it into your favorite dairy-free milk alternative for a delicious drink that makes chocolate milk pale in comparison.

Are you ready to bake up a batch of these delicious and nutritious blondies? The dough comes together in a matter of minutes, so it’s a terrific option when you’re short on prep time and craving a sweet baked treat. Get that oven preheated stat, because you’re going to be ready to pop the pan in there before you know it.

Set up your food processor and measure in all the ingredients except for the chocolate, then secure the lid and process everything until you have a uniform and relatively smooth dough.

 You may still see little bits of chickpea unless you have a super powerful processor, it’s not big deal. I need to replace my blades, so mine never gets completely smooth anymore.

Remove the blade from the processor and add 90 grams (½ cup) of the chocolate, then fold it into the dough.

Wanna stick your finger in there and taste? Go ahead! It’s perfectly safe since there’s no raw egg.

Grease an 8×8 baking pan, and spread the dough into the pan using a spatula.

Bake the blondies at 350°F for the first 25 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees, lower the oven temperature to 325°F, and continue baking them for another 20 minutes until the surface and edges are browned and starting to crack, and the center feels just set when you press it gently. Place the pan on a cooling rack to allow the blondies to firm up for about 10 minutes, then use an offset spatula or a very thin knife to loosen around the edges of the pan. Flip the blondies out onto the rack bottom-side up, and let them cool completely.

While the blondies are cooling, melt the remaining chocolate in a microwave or double boiler, stirring until smooth.

Lay a lightweight cutting board on top of the blondies, and hold it in place with one hand on the cutting board and the other underneath the cooling rack. In one smooth motion, flip the entire stack over so that the blondies are now right-side up on the cutting board. Cut them into 9 squares, drizzle with melted chocolate, and treat yourself!