Recipe

Chickpea Cookies with Coconut, Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Name: Chickpea Cookies with Coconut, Peanut Butter and Chocolate
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 72 min
Ingredients: 240 g cooked chickpeas, drained, rinsed and well dried (weight without liquid); 80 g smooth unsweetened peanut butter, well stirred; 70 g brown sugar; 1 large egg; 50 g oat flour; 30 g unsweetened dry shredded coconut; 60 g chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips; 4 g baking powder; 1 pinch of salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla

Homemade soft chickpea cookies made with cooked chickpeas, shredded coconut, peanut butter and dark chocolate chunks. Easy and baked.

CiberCubaNovember 6, 2026

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Preparation15 min
Cooking22 min
Total time1 h 12 min
Servings16 cookies
DifficultyEasy

These cookies are a modern adaptation, not a traditional Cuban recipe nor classic butter cookies. The base is made of already cooked chickpeas, blended with peanut butter, and the nod to home cooking comes from the shredded coconut and peanuts, two flavors we have known all our lives in Cuba in nougats, cones and homemade sweets.

They come out soft, with a tender crumb and barely golden edges; do not expect a crunchy cookie. They are ideal for an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk, and they are prepared in just over an hour including chilling and cooling.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 °C, with top and bottom heat and no fan. Line a large tray with parchment paper.
Drain, rinse and dry very well the already cooked chickpeas with absorbent paper or a clean cloth. Do not use dry or raw chickpeas.
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Place the chickpeas, peanut butter, egg, brown sugar and vanilla in the food processor. Blend until you achieve a paste as smooth as possible, stopping the motor to scrape the sides when necessary.
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Transfer the paste to a bowl and mix with the oat flour, shredded coconut, baking powder and salt until integrated.
Add the chopped chocolate and mix it with a spatula. It should result in a thick and somewhat sticky dough.
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Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes to make it easier to shape the cookies.
Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. With slightly moistened hands, form balls and flatten them on the paper to 1 cm thick, leaving at least 2 cm between them, as they expand very little. If they do not fit, bake in two batches.
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Bake for 18-22 minutes, until the surface is set, the edges are lightly golden and the interior is cooked though tender. They should not have raw egg wet dough left inside.
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Let them rest 10 minutes on the tray and another 10 minutes on a rack before eating: as they cool they firm up, but they will remain soft.

Tips and variations

Chickpeas must always be cooked. Use already cooked chickpeas (canned or homemade), never dry or raw soaked ones. Drain them, rinse them and dry them very well: if they remain wet, the cookies will come out pasty.

Peanut butter, not whole peanuts. The recipe calls for smooth peanut butter; stir it well before weighing to integrate the oil that usually separates on top.

Texture. As they cool, they firm up a bit, but they will remain soft. Make sure the interior is cooked: they should not have raw egg wet dough.

Two batches. If they do not all fit on one large tray, bake them in two batches and add the time of the second batch to the total.

Storage. Once cold, store them in a covered container in the refrigerator (at 4 °C or less) for up to 3 days.

Allergens. They contain peanuts and egg. Check the label of the oats and chocolate, as they may contain gluten or milk. Do not consider them gluten-free unless you use certified gluten-free oats and verify all ingredients, and they are also not sugar-free: they contain brown sugar and chocolate.