Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
I hadn’t really intended to do any baking today, nor had I set out to come up with some kind of healthy sweet treat. These bars were born because after lunch today, I was still hungry and rummaging through my cupboards looking for something else to eat. On the shelves I found a can of garbanzo beans, some peanut butter, a couple bags of chocolate chips, and not much else. My first thought was a peanut butter hummus, so I pulled out my food processor and dumped in my findings. After whirling them together with some honey, I had a taste. It was delicious and instantly reminded me of cake batter. I realized that these ingredients carried much more potential than a hummus(sweet hummus…sometimes my imagination gets away from me).I added some more standard baking ingredients, working slowly to make sure I got the flavor just right. Once I had the right consistency, I threw the batter into the oven and waited anxiously for it to finish. Even though I knew the flavor was good, I couldn’t help but doubt that a cake made out of garbanzo beans would be worth eating. Bracing myself for the worst, I took the cake out of the oven. After letting it cool, I cut the cake into bars. Each bar came out of the pan looking moist and fluffy. It looked how it should, but I was still skeptical that it would taste right. No matter how hard I’ve tried, every healthy baked good I have ever come up with has tasted like health food. I didn’t want this to be the same. I took my first nervous bite and was soon taking a breath of relief. It tasted like cake, wonderfully peanut buttery cake. Success!
I felt that the bars needed some kind of topping, so I made a quick sauce in the microwave using peanut butter, maple syrup, and milk. The sauce made the bars slightly sweeter and enhanced the peanut butter flavor. I wish now that I had added some chopped nuts to the top as well.
Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Makes 8 bars
- 1 15.5oz can Garbanzo Beans(rinsed and drained)
- 1 Egg
- 3 Tbs Honey
- 3 Tbs Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Peanut Butter(Natural, Unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add everything except the chocolate chips to a food processor and run until the mixture is smooth.
Add the chocolate chips and pulse the processor until they are slightly broken up and incorporated into the batter.
Pour batter into a small rectangular baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The inside should set, but still a little wet. It is better to take it out undercooked than overcooked. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.
*To make the sauce add a quarter cup each of peanut butter and real maple syrup to a microwave safe dish. Put it in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir in a couple tablespoons of milk.
Enjoy!
Tags: cake, chocolate, dessert, Food, garbanzo beans, peanut butter, sweets
Nice idea slipping the garbanzo beans in there! These do look very moist and tasty. Well done-Yum!
I love this! I have a cookbook that uses veggies in baked goods and I know people who swear by it, hope to try it soon!
These sound great! Love when you stumble into a great recipe!
I’m on it – was gonna make my favourite chickpea chocolate cake, but why not this one – can’t beat pb!
I stumbled onto your blog from foodgawker and HAD to let you know about the most amazing garbanzo dessert I’ve ever tried. (And with 300ish comments, I’m not alone) It’s not my recipe, but I’ve already made it three times! So I had to share: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/31/deep-dish-cookie-pie/
I’ll have to try yours too!
Tempting recipe. Maybe I could just substitute beans with chickpea flour somehow..
I’m sure you could, but I’m not sure why you would bother. Chickpea flour is just ground up chickpeas and if you use the precooked whole beans, it adds moisture to the bars.
How very interesting this is! They sure do look moist and delicious!
WOW these look delicious! I can’t believe they’re healthy! Great recipe!
What a way to come up with a recipe. They look delicious. I love the extra protien from the beans. I am bookmarking this for later!
Elise! This makes me want to actually LOOK for garbanzo beans in my cupboard instead of giving them to the food pantry!!
I love that you snuck beans in here – how clever! They look amazing!
Great recipe. I would have never thought of using garbanzo beans.
All I can say is WOW! I made these this afternoon and am so impressed. They are so moist and tasty, I would never have guessed you could do this with chickpeas! Well done!
[...] bit of veggies in a sweet treat, this is a brownie actually made out of a legume! This recipe from Elise’s Kitchen uses chickpeas as the base for these incredibly delicious brownies. Trust me, these taste [...]
YUM! these look SO delicious…I might have to try these out!
Hi! This was just what I was looking for. Truly, I had a craving for “healthy” chocolate peanut butter SOMETHING and you really don’t know how hard it is to find. Thank you so much! BTW: my daughter’s name is Elise! She’ll get a kick out of this.
Hope you enjoy them!