Pumpkin Chickpea Blondies with Chocolate Chunks
Pumpkin chickpea blondies with chocolate chunks are an easy vegan and gluten-free fall treat. Think of a cross between a fudgy brownie and a cookie bar, but with pumpkin spice!
Servings: 9 pumpkin blondies
Calories: 81kcal
Equipment
- Food Processor or blender
- 8" x 8" glass pan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chickpeas (1) 15.5 ounce can
- ¼ cup almond butter see notes
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup maple syrup see notes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup oat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup dark chocolate 70-85%
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a glass pan with cooking oil so the blondies do not stick. Alternatively, make two parchment paper slings that overlap and hang over each side of the pan for easy removal.
- Add 1 ½ cups chickpeas, ¼ cup almond butter, ⅔ cup pumpkin puree, ½ cup maple syrup, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, ½ cup oat flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt to the pumpkin chickpea mixture. Mix with a spatula.
- Chop ½ cup dark chocolate into chunks. Mix about ⅔ of it into the batter.
- Spread the blondie batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be quite thick, use a spatula to spread it into an even layer all the way to the edges of the pan.
- Sprinkle the top with the remaining ⅓ of chopped dark chocolate. Use your finders or a fork to slightly press the chocolate into the batter.
- Bake the blondies for 27 to 30 minutes. You will know they are ready to come out of the oven when the top is set and fully baked, but the inside is still a little wobbly.
- Allow the pumpkin blondies to cool for about 30 minutes before removing them from the pan. They will still be warm but they will hold together.
- Slice them into 9 squares and enjoy!
For this recipe specifically, I didn't peel the chickpeas and after blending the result is still creamy. If you're particular about texture, you can always peel them. Place the chickpeas on a clean dish towel, cover them, and rub them around. They should fall right off and you can pick them out.
Notes
Nut/Seed Butter: I tested this recipe using almond butter, but any nut butter or seed butter will work. Peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower butter are all great options!
Maple Syrup: I tested this recipe with varying amount of maple syrup and the texture stayed pretty consistent. Depending on how sweet you want the blondies you can use between ⅓ and ⅔ (104 grams and 208 grams). The blondies are not overly sweet as you would expect a traditional pumpkin blondie. As my sister would describe them, they are a nice fall harvest loaf. But everyone's taste is different!
Storage: Store leftover pumpkin chickpea blondies for about a week in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave for about 25 seconds and they are as good as new.
Nutrition
Serving: 1pumpkin blondie | Calories: 81kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 0.3mg | Sodium: 122mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg
