Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars

In a whiplash-inducing swerve from my last post (uber decadent monkey bread) I’ve got a delightfully healthy sweet treat here for you today. These Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars are quick and simple to put together and are packed with plant-based, wholesome, whole ingredients. My version here is a minimized adaptation of a recipe from Butternut Bakery that I love. These types of bars are all over the healthy food inter webs right now, and this is just my favorite way to make them.

They can quickly become a fully vegan thing, if you opt for vegan chocolate chips as well – that’s a perfectly fine option.

Myself, I’m not a vegan, so I just use regular semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips when I make these, and it helps balance everything out beautifully. But just use what you like!

Heathy Cookie Dough Bars: How they Work

These healthy, wholesome bars come together in a simple loaf pan and consist of three layers:

1. A dark chocolatey cookie base (dates, superfine almond flour, dark cocoa powder, maple syrup, stevia-based sweetener)
2. A “cookie dough” layer (skinned chickpeas, superfine almond powder, peanut butter, stevia-based sweetener, vanilla, maple)
3. A silky-smooth chocolate coating (just melted chocolate and coconut oil).

The whole thing is made in a food processor (this is the one I use), and honestly this recipe couldn’t be easier. The only thing that takes any time is getting the little skins off of the chickpeas, which is easy and weirdly meditative.

How Do You Remove the Skins from Chickpeas?

Rinse and drain them first, and then, working with one at a time, pinch/snap the skins off of each little garbanzo baby. They should slide off easily for you, and you can just dispose of them all when you’re finished. I know, I know – it’s a wee bit tedious, but worth doing.

Why should you remove the skins from chickpeas?

You could leave them on if you like. Sure, no problem. But just know that if you leave the skins on the chickpeas, the “cookie dough” layer in these bars will taste of chickpeas. There’s a lot of “essence” in those skins. Removing them really helps maintain a neutral flavor in your “dough.”

We’re just looking for the texture and consistency that the chickpeas will bring to the bars – not the flavor. They’re really an amazing ingredient here, and this step of popping off their skins in worth doing for sure.

What you’ll need:

This isn’t my original recipe, and is an adaptation of a couple that I’ve seen floating around recently. One was from Butternut Bakery, and it totally intrigued me. So, this is an adaptation of her version, just made a little bit cheaper and with an ingredient or two removed.

For the chocolate cookie base:

10 pitted dates (Medjool)

⅓ cup dark cocoa powder

1 TBSP maple syrup

½ cup superfine almond flour (such as Bob’s Red Mill)

1 tsp Stevia-based or monk fruit sweetener (such as Truvia)

For the cookie dough:

One 14.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

⅓ cup peanut butter

½ cup superfine almond flour

3 TBSP maple syrup

1 tsp Stevia-based or monk fruit sweetener

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

¾ to 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the chocolate coating:

1 heaping cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

How to make these Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars:

Spray a loaf pan with natural spray and line with parchment.

In the bowl of a food processor, add the dates, cocoa powder, maple syrup, almond flour, and sweetener of your choice. Process until smooth and blended. Press into the bottom of the loaf pan, in an even-ish layer.

Prep the chickpeas: You’ll need to remove the skins from the chickpeas, or else the cookie dough will taste like chickpeas (not the idea). To do this, lightly pinch/squeeze each chickpea between two fingers until the skin pops off; it’s almost like a snapping motion. This is worth doing and should only take about 10 minutes. 

To the (now empty) food processor, put the peeled chickpeas, peanut butter, almond flour, maple syrup, sweetener of your choice vanilla, and the salt. Process until smooth – it should come together in a doughy ball. Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times to mix. Press into the pan, over the chocolate cookie layer. 

Put the ¾ cup chocolate chips and the coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl, and melt according to package directions, stirring occasionally, as needed. Pour all over the top of the cookie dough mixture, ensuring it reaches the edges and is even. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or until the chocolate on top is set. Cut into bars and enjoy.

If you like the looks of these Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars, you might also enjoy:

Salted Toffee Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft and Chewy S’mores Cookies

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