Chickpeas for Dessert?! Who knew?

Dina is not only a great baker, she is also a powerfully talented artist. Jane shows us an amazing painting that displays the pigs’ perspective on a truck headed into a slaughterhouse. Dina perfectly conveys the disparity of these innocent creatures headed to their untimely deaths. It has taken her a year to work on this painting because it devastates her. She has several other paintings that convey the innocence of these creatures that humans subject to speciesism. Dina has even painted the universal Vegan Flag with a few of the sentient creatures that inspired its creation. Art is a wonderful way to convey messages and evoke emotions in people. We hope people will see Dina’s amazing paintings and make the connection with all beings on this planet.

These “Blondies” made with chickpeas are a yummy healthy treat! They are vegan, gluten-free, high-protein, low sugar, and they have no refined sugar or flour. It’s hard to believe something this sweet and decadent is also healthy, but they are! Dina uses a food processor to make the chickpeas nice and smooth and she slowly adds the natural sweeteners and other ingredients. Once the mixture is mixed up, Dina puts it into a baking dish and covers them with the “good vegan chocolate.” Magically Dina already baked a batch before the JaneUnchained crew came over, and Patrizia and Jane thoroughly enjoy these delicious blondies. Try making your own chickpea blondies at home with Dina’s recipe below!

Set oven for *350

You will need a prepared 8” x 8” glass baking dish &  a food processor

Ingredients:

2 cans or pouches of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I use organic)

1 Cup unsalted almond butter (you can use peanut butter, but make sure   it’s “real” peanut butter and not that Jif-type stuff, your peanut butter’s ingredients list should say “Ingredients: peanuts” and that’s it!)

⅔ Cup Stevia for Baking

4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 T organic unsulphured molasses

2-3 T pure maple syrup

1 tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

Dash cardamom (if you have it)

⅔ bag of dairy-free dark chocolate chips (I prefer Guittard brand)

Directions:

Prepare a baking dish by lining with parchment or spraying with coconut oil spray, or however you usually prepare your baking dishes.

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Drain chickpeas and rinse thoroughly.

Dump chickpeas into your food processor and give them a few pulses just to break them down a bit.

Add 1 cup almond butter (or peanut butter if using), Maple syrup, Molasses, and Vanilla and process until roughly combined.

Add Stevia, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices, and process until thoroughly combined and smooth consistency. You don’t want any chunks of chickpea still left.

Add about ⅓ bag of chocolate chips slowly while the processor is going, for even distribution.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth/level.

Scatter about ⅓ bag chocolate chips over the top evenly, and it helps if you poke them each down into the batter just a bit so they don’t just sit on top and fall off when you serve the blondies.

Bake at *350 for 38 minutes…don’t overcook or they get dry!

Cool before cutting! They will keep in the fridge for at least a week (tightly covered)  but they won’t last that long! They also freeze well.

NOTES on the INGREDIENTS:

I use organic chickpeas and I make sure they’re in a BPA-free can/ pouch.

*Almond butter is a healthier choice! They are delicious with almond butter, and it’s a more “neutral” flavor, so the blondies taste more like chocolate-chip cookies. If you use peanut butter they definitely taste like peanut butter. Stevia For Baking is something I’ve used for a long time to cut down sugar in baking. Stevia is a healthy choice for a non-sugar sweetener. I put Molasses in these for the “brown sugar” taste and to add a healthy dose of Iron! Finally, it can be difficult to find chocolate chips in the grocery store that are dairy-free. Most of the regularly-available chocolate chips have dairy in them (for no good reason) as well as other bad ingredients. The good ol’ Toll House brand chips are a very inferior grade product!! I like Guittard brand “extra-dark” 63% cacao chocolate chips in the red bag. The best-quality chips you can find at a “regular” grocery store!