Gluten free chocolate cookies made with chickpea flour! They’re surprisingly excellent, with a nice texture and a nice chocolate flavour. Obviously healthy-ish, lightly sweetened with maple syrup, but definitely a treat.
With the new recipe update, they are very much like flourless brownie cookies, and the texture is significantly improved. There are still some notes to keep in mind with these (mostly with chickpea flour and liquid) so take a look at the notes section below if it’s your first time making the cookies.
Because I don’t follow a gluten-free diet, I really aim to get the perfect texture on any GF recipes I share – if it’s not as good or better than a spelt version, it isn’t posted. These are really, really good.
If you don’t want to buy chickpea flour just for this, I have several recipes on OE that use it – sweet potato latkes, strawberry rhubarb crisp, and you can always make socca. It’s great for binding and thickening, and works well in veggie burgers (like in these black bean meatballs) and sauces.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Chickpea flour: this can be found with South Asian foods either at the grocery store, in specialty shops, or online. It will be marked as chickpea, gram, besan, or garbanzo flour.
- Cocoa powder: use either cacao or baking cocoa, either work here. Cocoa makes a richer, darker cookie. Make sure you’re using cocoa and not cocoa drink mix – there shouldn’t be any sugar, milk solids, etc. in the ingredient list.
- Vanilla: I use vanilla powder because extract is prohibitively expensive here. Use a teaspoon of extract in place of the vanilla powder and whisk it in to the liquid ingredients. No vanilla? Use cinnamon or another spice you like instead.
- Maple syrup: for this recipe, maple syrup, honey, and date syrup can all be used interchangeably in the same amounts. Maple syrup will make a very slightly less sweet cookie and honey is rather sweeter, so it’s a good way to adjust based on your sweet tooth without adding to the ingredients. I particularly like date syrup in these.
- An egg: I haven’t successfully made these without egg, but you can try these vegan chocolate tahini cookies for a good alternative. There are some comments laying out vegan options (e.g. using a chia egg) but since this isn’t a vegan website and I haven’t found the vegan versions satisfactory, I don’t have a tried and true sub.
Step by Step
1. Mix the dough: whisk the dry ingredient to break up any clumps, then mix the wet ingredients in.
2. Add chocolate: stir in the chopped chocolate to incorporate. Don’t worry too much about over-mixing.
3. Transfer: scoop the cookie dough out onto the prepared baking sheet, about two tablespoons each, for nine cookies.
4. Bake: bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are cracked and the edges are just firm to the touch.
Recipe Notes
Chickpea flour varies pretty significantly from brand to brand and it’s important to take a good look at the texture of the cookie dough after mixing. It should be just like regular cookie dough in consistency and very glossy in appearance.
If the dough is dry, which will be the most common issue, then add a tablespoon of non-dairy milk, mix, and add more if needed, mixing between each addition. If it’s your first time using chickpea flour then it may be worthwhile to use a slightly lesser amount of flour and add more as needed to get the same texture as pictured above.
Don’t be tempted to reduce the amount of coconut oil – they texture is poor with a lesser amount. I know it’s a bit high for one of my recipes but these are very well worth it.
How to Store
Storage: keep in a sealed container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Freezing: place fully cooled cookies in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months.
Newsletter
Expert Tips
- Line the sheet: these do stick a little to the baking sheet, so I recommend lining over greasing for this recipe.
- Don’t taste the raw dough: the chocolate covers up the chickpea flour taste completely BUT it’s very important not to taste the raw dough and try to avoid smelling it, too. Wet chickpea flour smells awful and you might be tempted to toss it if you taste it before baking.
- Don’t over-bake: if over-baked, the cookies will be dry and cake-y, so err to the side of under-baking if unsure.
- Mix the oil and syrup: this helps to cool the coconut oil down further in case it’s still warm and prevent any egg scrambling, so you don’t have to wait for the oil to cool.
- Use room temperature ingredients: I keep my eggs on the counter and always forget to mention this, but it should be at room temperature for this recipe for the best results. To quickly bring an egg up to room temp, submerge it in warm water for five minutes.
More Gluten-Free Desserts
Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Almond Flour Brownies
Chocolate Hazelnut Tart
Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies
If you make these Chickpea Cookies or any other dairy-free cookie recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Double Chocolate Chickpea Flour Cookies
Ingredients
- 110 grams chickpea flour besan/gram flour
- 25 grams cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 teaspoon extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 80 grams coconut oil, melted
- 80 ml maple syrup or honey
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 100 grams dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, vanilla, and salt.110 grams chickpea flour, 25 grams cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- In another dish, whisk the coconut oil and maple syrup, then add the egg and whisk again until fully combined.80 grams coconut oil, melted, 80 ml maple syrup, 1 large egg
- Stir the coconut oil mixture into the flour mixture, mixing until no streaks of flour remains. Stir in the chocolate to evenly incorporate.100 grams dark chocolate, chopped
- Scoop the dough, around 2 tablespoons per cookie, onto the baking sheet. Flatten each cookie slightly with your palm (wet your hands to prevent sticking).
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops are cracked and the edges are just firmed. Don’t over-bake.
- Cool the cookies for ten minutes on the pan before removing and cooling completely on a rack. They’ll keep in an airtight container for at least three days and freeze well.
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was originally published in February 2018. It has been updated with improvements to the recipe, and new photos and text, as of October 2020.
Sarah says
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! It blew me away how good these are! In fact, after letting them cool and then chill in the fridge (in a sealed container), they were even better. I’m going to have to double it next time because this first batch is almost gone.
**As you mentioned, chickpea flour really varies. I used Bob’s Redmill and only needed 90 grams to make these PERFECT. 🙂
Alexandra Daum says
I’m so happy you like it, Sarah! Thanks for your note on Bob’s chickpea flour, that’s really helpful.
Angela Holloway says
can you use unsweetened chocolate in this recipe?
Alexandra Daum says
I haven’t tried it, but other readers have had success with unsweetened chocolate. The cookies will be less sweet, of course, but it should work.
Autumn says
I didn’t have any chocolate chips so I added a little extra maple syrup and a heaping spoonful of all natural peanut butter. Seriously the perfect cookie
Carol says
I just made these cookies and now wish I had tripled the recipe. I ground my own chickpea flour (I grind all my own flour) because I think the taste of fresh flour is far superior to store bought flour. I also substituted cacao butter for the coconut oil. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly. These cookies have the perfect level of sweetness, not nearly as sweet as typical chocolate chip cookies, along with a wonderful mouthfeel, again not the oil/greasy feel of some other chocolate chip cookies. I used my favorite dairy free dark chocolate chips. All in all, I am thrilled. I have made so many different chocolate chip cookies, especially in the last year, and these have become of my favorites. Thank-you.
Mimi says
Hi! These sound absolutely delicious and I’ll try making them today with vegan egg substitute.. would also love some almond flavour in there, do you think I could sub the coconut oil with almond or peanut butter? Cheers!
Alexandra says
Hi Mimi, I hope they work with the egg sub! I wouldn’t sub all of the coconut oil, but you could take away half of the coconut oil and sub almond butter, I think. You might need a little more nut butter to reach the right texture so definitely refer to the process shots to see the consistency is correct. I hope that helps!
Mimi says
hi there. followed the vegan option mentioned in of the comments (egg sub and coconut milk instead of oil) and first time i left them in a bit too long since the surface never started cracking, today i took them out in time and they were soooo soft and delicious! didn’t dare to use the almond butter yet, cause i feel it might conflict with the bit of chickpea taste that sometimes comes through, but banana also works as an egg sub instead of the chia/flax eggs!
BASAK ERTUNC says
thank you so much for this ı made them yesterday they were great and they are even better the 2nd day. yum
Daphne says
Since we tried out this recipe we’ve been making the cookies at least once a week! They’re super nice and intensely chocolatey, and also not too sweet. Last time I added some fresh chopped cranberries which gave some extra flavour. We’ve been eating these for breakfast as well!
Tina says
I just made theses for the first time and they are delicious. However, my batter never turned to a texture clise to being able to roll it into little balls. Any idea what i did wrong? So in the end i got 5 huge cookies, its ok there are only two of us.
Alexandra says
Hi Tina! I literally just took the new update for this recipe out of the oven and took pictures, and the updated version will be up later this week. Some types of chickpea flour absorb way more liquid than others, but I did reduce the flour by 1/4 for the updated cookies and increased the sweetener a bit so they’re more brownie-like and the batter is easier to work with. Check back on the weekend : )
Valeria says
I make my own chickpea flour at home but does it have to be roasted chickpea flour or it doesn’t matter ?
Alexandra says
Hi Valeria! I’ve made these with homemade raw chickpea flour with no problems, though I do find that my flour mill doesn’t get quite as fine of a grind. It’ll still work with homemade but store bought roasted chickpea flour is definitely a bit finer and makes a softer cookie.
Natasha says
They were good but a little dry and puffy, I followed the recipe just as it says, Andy suggestions?
Alexandra says
Hi Natasha – they are a little bit on the puffier side, but shouldn’t be too much so as long as baking soda was used. If they were a bit dry I suggest a slightly shorter baking time.
chris says
I’m neither vegan nor gluten free. And these cookies are surprisingly delicious. I found the recipe while s rolling for something to do with some chick pea flour. Made them once with butter instead of coconut oil. Then several more times substituting 1/4 c avocado oil, in an effort to minimize saturated fat. There’s a slight change in texture but still great. Thanks
Clarissa says
I love these cookies! My boys love them as well. So easy to make. I only need one cookie to satisfy my chocolate cookie craving so I like that. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will keep making them for sure.
Carmen says
Hi Alexandra, I was looking for a way to use up some chickpea flour I had, but now I’ve had to buy more flour because this recipe is such a winner! Just made my fourth batch. I increase the choc chips but otherwise stick to the recipe and everyone loves them, including my mum and my very fussy 4 year old. Thanks a million for posting your awesome recipe. Much love from Western Australia!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
That is absolutely lovely to hear, thanks Carmen! So happy you like the recipe : )
Shameema says
Hi can I swap the honey/maple syrup for coconut sugar?
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I don’t recommend doing a 1:1 swap for this recipe as you’re going from wet to dry and it’ll dry out the cookies. You might be able to get away with it by adding quite a bit of milk, but I haven’t tested this.
Patricia Rohlandt says
Is Pea flour (whole dry peas) the correct flour to use please?
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Chickpea flour is also often labeled besan or gram flour, it’s different from pea flour. You might need to look with alternative flours or with South Asian/Indian foods in the store.
Katy says
These cookies are amazing! I’ve been using chickpea flour for years but only in savory recipies. Such a delight to discover it can be used for sweets as well. We are a gluten free, dairy free household and these cookies check all the right boxes for us. I’ll be making them again and will try the chia egg option suggested in the comments section. Thanks so much for sharing.
rebecca says
Hey!
Thank you for the recipe! I thought they would be gross as the batter was rank! But they turned out decent! I wanted to post a photo but couldn’t, they look great and were light and fluffy inside. Spot on cooking time. I added a splash of oat milk (Dont ask why lol) the batter was more sloppy but they were lovely still! I appreciate your time sharing this xx
rebecca says
Reading more, I see you did warn about the batter haha – what’s up with that!?? Thanks again x
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hah, yes, chickpea flour is absolutely disgusting raw for some reason. Maybe this recipe needs a disclaimer! I’m glad you liked the cookies : )
Joanne andersen says
I haven’t tried these cookies yet but wondered if I could substitute quinoa or millet flour for the chick pea Flour. I am sensitive to all lectins and any bean or lentil is out for me.
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I haven’t tried them with an alternative flour but millet might work. You may need to play around with the amount slightly as it is a bit less absorbent than most chickpea flours. If you try it, please let me know how it goes.
Nicole says
Just made these for my husband and brother-in-law who are gluten free.
My cookies got a bit puffy even though I followed the recipe exactly (other than subbing vanilla extract for powder), but they were still pretty good. I did try the dough (just for fun and because you said not to!) and it was disgusting (as you said it would be!). The gross flavor cooked out and the cookies tasted pretty good, although a bit dry. I also had to use small choco chips because that’s all our store had, and I’d recommend against it! The big chips are definitely needed in this recipe to distribute the sweetest because the rest of the cookie is not sweet. This recipe was just what we needed to use all of our chickpea flour that my instantcart shopper accidentally bought me…
I will definitely make this recipe again, but next time I’ll sub butter for the coconut oil (as others have done), I’ll add a bit more honey, a bit less baking soda and the regular sized choco chips. I also think they could be cooked for a bit shorter – maybe 9 minutes instead of the 10-12 I was doing. (Our oven is brand new and stays pretty hot!).
Thanks for the recipe! Cheers!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
Hi Nicole! Glad you liked the recipe despite a couple issues there. Please keep in mind that reducing the baking soda will probably make the cookies denser/puffier as it contributes more to spread than rise in a cookie. You might want to add a tablespoon of milk instead. Chickpea flour can differ so much from brand to brand so tweaking the recipe slightly to suit yours is a good idea!
Nu says
These cookies are so tasty, lovely recipe!
Instead of chickpea flour, I used red lentil flour & furthermore I used olive oil instead of coconut. My oven also broke so I had to cook them on the stovetop. They turned out so well. And yes the raw batter tastes really bad hahah.
Andrea says
I want to try them! Can we substitute the honey for dates?
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I haven’t tried it so I can’t make any guarantees but I think (?) honey would work!
Fiona says
Make a date syrup!