Nutella Chickpea Blondies Recipe — Registered Dietitian Columbia SC - Rachael Hartley Nutrition (2024)

Clemson football is a fall tradition in our house. The hubs and I both graduated from Clemson, and Scott's actually a third generation grad. We used to get season tickets, right up on the 40 yard line, but we stopped a couple years ago because with travel, we were missingall the big games. Still, whenever we can, which is most home games, we make it back to our 'happy place' to see friends, family, and cheer on our Tigers.

This year is a little sadbecause the way our schedule has worked out,I'm not going to make it to a game until November. We missed a couple games for weddings, a couple more when we go to Vietnam, and FNCE (our national dietitians conference) is scheduled when we play Notre Dame for the first time since the 70s. Seriously Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, why didn't you consult me?

While watching the game on TV withfriends this past week, I realized how much I missed Clemson tailgating. I miss having all my friends together in one place. I miss driving through downtown Clemson. I miss post game beers at the Esso. I miss having happy college memories flood back to me as we walk around campus. And I miss these incrediblegluten free chickpea blondies my friend makes for tailgates (hi Tara!).

Blondies are one of my favorite desserts. I personally think blondies > brownies but that’s me. Anyway, when I saw my friend Tara brought them for a tailgate, I was thrilled, and immediately devoured one. It was one of the best blondies I ever had - and I’ve been around the block a time or two with blondies! When I asked her for the recipe, I was shocked when she told me that not only were they gluten free, but they were made with chickpeas - CHICKPEAS!

How to Make This Nutella Chickpea Blondies Recipe

Before I lose you, please know making blondies with chickpeas isn’t totally insane. Bean flours are commonly used in gluten free baking, which is made from finely ground dried beans. So using a can of chickpeas in these chickpea blondies is basically just like using hydrated bean flour…I’m probably still losing you aren’t I? But seriously, trust me. This nutella chickpea blondies recipe does not taste like you're biting into a bean burrito. There’s hardly any bean flavor at all, and the pureed beans provides a moisture and a dense texture.

The nutella spin in these chickpea blondies was a happy accident when I realized I was out of almond meal and didn't feel like running to the store. Since I had a bag of hazelnuts on hand, I pulsed them in the food processor to create a flour. Really, you could use any type of nut flour and you wouldn't go wrong!

To make this nutella chickpea blondies recipe, start by rubbing the hazelnuts in a dish towel to help remove the skins, which can have a slightly bitter flavor. Don’t worry about getting it all off - just give it a good rub down and you’re good to go. Half the hazelnuts are used to make flour in the food processor and the other half are chopped and added to the batter for crunch. The rest of the chickpea blondie ingredients get added to the food processor with the hazelnut flour and blended together in there - yay for minimal dishes! Stir the chopped hazelnuts and chocolate chips into the batter, bake, and you’ve got yummy, freshly baked gluten free blondies!

How to Store Nutella Chickpea Blondies

Store these nutella chickpea blondies covered in the fridge, and warm up for 10 seconds before serving. Since I like them baked slightly underdone, they’ll go bad on the counter, as my husband accidentally learned the hard way! You can also freeze them and defrost later.

Makes 12

Ingredients:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 2 large eggs

• 1/3 cup nutella

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup hazelnut flour (can make from pulsing toasted hazelnuts in a food processor to make a flour)

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add chickpeas, eggs, nutella, sugar, maple syrup, hazelnut flour, vanilla, salt, baking powder and baking soda to a food processor and blend until pureed. Stir in chocolate chips and hazelnuts.

3. Grease an 8 X 11 inch baking pan. Pour in blondie batter and even the top with a spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes until edges are golden and middle is set. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting into squares.