Chickpea & Peanut Blondies

📝 Ingredients

• 1 tin chickpeas (265 g drained)
• 120 g peanut butter with no added sugar
• 1 egg
• 80 g brown sugar
• 30 g vanilla whey protein
• 1 tsp baking powder (5 g)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 60 g dark chocolate chips (40 g in the batter, 20 g on top)
• 1 pinch of salt

🍴 Utensils

• Blender (food processor or stand blender)
• 20 × 20 cm square tin
• Baking paper
• Colander
• Flexible spatula
• Large knife

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line the square tin with baking paper, leaving it overhanging on two opposite sides: these flaps will act as handles to lift out the blondies without breaking them.
2. Drain the chickpeas in the colander, rinse them well under cold water to remove the tinned taste, then dry them by rolling them in a clean tea towel. Any remaining water would make the batter sticky and stodgy.
3. Put the chickpeas in the blender bowl with the peanut butter, egg, brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Blend for 2 to 3 min, scraping down the sides twice with the spatula, until the batter is perfectly smooth with no lumps.
4. Add the whey and baking powder, then blend for another 20 seconds, just long enough to incorporate them. The batter should be thick and sticky, like soft cookie dough: that's normal, it spreads easily with a wet spoon.
5. Fold in 40 g of the chocolate chips with the spatula, pour the batter into the tin and spread it in an even layer with the back of a wet spoon. Scatter over the rest of the chips (20 g), pressing them in lightly.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 min: the edges should be golden and the centre just set, still slightly soft when pressed. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out with a few moist crumbs but no raw batter. If overbaked, they become dry.
7. Leave to cool completely in the tin, for at least 1 hour: the blondies firm up as they cool and would break if cut while warm. Lift out using the paper and cut into 8 rectangles with the large wet knife.