Chickpea Cookies and ChatGPT (short version)

Hey everyone, I understand that not everyone wants to read lengthy, wordy posts, so I shortened my previous post about my chickpea Toll House cookies experiment. Enjoy!

Hey everyone! Hope you're doing well! Today, I’m sharing a healthy and tasty post about my journey to eat healthier. I've been an avid label reader since my son Josh was young. Over the years, I’ve realized that many processed foods, even the so-called healthy ones, contain undesirable ingredients.

I'm working on cutting out sugar, especially cookies, which are my weakness. While I typically avoid store-bought cookies, I sometimes buy Mexican wafer cookies for PB, they have less junk. I love dipping cookies in my after-dinner coffee, but I often end up eating half a package!

Thanks to Facebook and other social media videos, I've discovered cooks who use healthy ingredients to recreate unhealthy foods. Inspired, I decided to make Toll House-style chocolate chip cookies with better ingredients. Here's my recipe (more my experiment, no real measurements this time, maybe later):

- **Ingredients:**

  - 1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed, save the juice!)

  - Coconut flour

  - 5 pitted dates (softened in boiling water)

  - Maple syrup

  - Celtic salt

  - Coconut oil

  - Aquafaba (chickpea liquid)

  - Baking powder

  - Chocolate chips

- **Instructions:**

  1. Blend drained and rinsed chickpeas into a fine mass.

  2. Pulverize dates with a bit of hot water.

  3. Mix chickpeas, dates, coconut flour, maple syrup, and salt.

  4. Add coconut oil and aquafaba for moisture.

  5. Separate dough for 2 cookies, add baking powder and chocolate chips.

  6. Bake at 350°F for 12-20 minutes.

Initially, the cookies were crumbly. Adding an egg improved the texture. I plan to use oat flour and more eggs next time. I also forgot the vanilla extract. I sought advice from ChatGPT.

ChatGPT suggested the following tips to reduce crumbliness:

1. Increase binding agents (extra egg or aquafaba).

2. Add moisture-retaining ingredients (applesauce or Greek yogurt).

3. Use different flours (almond or oat flour).

4. Add a small amount of starch (cornstarch or tapioca starch).

5. Chill the dough before baking.

6. Adjust temperature (lower) and baking time (longer).

I found that chickpeas make a great base for cookies, providing a healthier alternative to traditional ingredients. Despite my dislike for whole chickpeas, they work wonderfully in this recipe.

Have you tried baking with coconut flour or chickpeas? How did it turn out for you?

Thanks for visiting!

Wretha

Original, more wordy version of this post can be found here:
https://www.wretha.com/2024/06/chickpea-cookies-and-chatgpt.html

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Wretha,

Thanks for visiting!