Hey there . . .

I made you a snack.

A healthy but delicious little treat.

Something super yummy, totally guilt free.

And this sweet, yummy, delicious little something is made with a secret ingredient . . .

can you guess what it is?

Chickpeas!!!!!

Wait, wait don’t go.

I know what you’re thinking, “Em, seriously you’re trying to sell me on a dessert made with chickpeas. Really?! Ain’t nobody got time for that?!”

Yes I really, really am!

I know I have seen all kinds of recipes to make brownies with black beans and blondies with chickpeas all over the interwebs , Pinterest is just loaded with them but I was never really interested.

Until I saw this recipe that the beautiful Robin shared over at Knead to cook. I don’t know what it was but after reading her post I was sold, I had to give them a shot. Maybe it was because of the pure delight I sense in her “voice” at having successfully fed her family a secretly healthy, clean eating treat that was made with chickpeas without them even knowing. You know how I love to sneak people food they think they hate or wouldn’t normally eat right?! Evidence → here, → here and → here.

I gotta be honest, once I pulled these bad boys out of the oven I almost tossed the entire pan straight into the trash. They smelled wonderful but they do look a little funky. Well not the half I had sprinkled with a little roughly chopped dark chocolate, those looked fine.  I mean who what wouldn’t look all kinds of fine covered in shavings of dark chocolate? But the half that was all naked, that hadn’t been showered with chocolate chips . . . yeah those guys looked a leetle funky.

But I stuck with it and I am so glad that I did.

And you know what . . . these cinnamon spiked peanut butter blondies really are pretty darn good. Much better than I ever expected them to be.

The initial bite has a slight cakeiness to it but then it somehow morphs into this subtly sweet melt in your mouth kind of fudge. Total win!

You can definitely tell that they are a healthier little treat but still, they really are very good and totally satisfy that mid morning, pre/post workout, mid afternoon 330itis, late night well let’s just say that every present sweet treat craving we all know all to well.

And these cinnamon spiked peanut butter blondies are probably the healthiest blondies you will ever eat, they are low in fat and loaded protein and fibre.

They are also made without any butter, flour or refined sugar yet they are perfectly sweet, all kinds of delicious and somehow just melt in your mouth.

These cinnamon spiked peanut butter blondies are sweetened naturally with maple syrup and vanilla extract so they are all natural, grain free, flourless, vegan, paleo friendly I mean these blondies pretty much fit into every special needs diet there is.

Unless of course you are allergic to peanut butter . . . but I am pretty sure you could successfully sub in any nut butter you like. And if you’re allergic to all nuts I bet you could sub in some mashed banana or even apple (or pumpkin) puree.

Perfectly and subtly sweet, cinnamon spiked blondie bites with a hint of peanut butter and a gentle hum of caramel.

Let me tell you they passed the ultimate test. Both spunky husband and sweet darling daughter of mine ate these babies up. Of course I didn’t (and still haven’t) mentioned what the secret ingredient is. I didn’t even tell them that there was a secret ingredient, just “hey I made some super healthy blondies if you wanna give them a try” all casual like, as you do and away they went.

And you know what . . .

They loved them. Like, loved them, loved them.

Even the funky looking naked ones.

Loved them!

Sweet darling daughter of mine ate 3 in a row without skipping a beat.

Not even kidding. I left the room for a second and came back to an empty plate. #thatsmygirl

So stop fighting it people, go make this super healthy cinnamon spiked {secret ingredient} peanut butter blondies. Then go feed them to your friends and family, I promise you they may know that they are a healthier little treat but they will not deny that they are all kinds of delicious and unless you tell them I assure you they will never know about the chickpeas.

You secret is safe with me 😉 mwahahahaha

Super Healthy Cinnamon Spiked {Secret Ingredient} Peanut Butter Blondies
Very slightly adapted and re-written in my own words from this recipe shared by Robin at Knead to Cook
Makes 24 super healthy, insanely delicious cinnamon spiked peanut butter blondie bites

Ingredients –

1 can of chickpeas, drained,  rinsed & peeled* (optional but highly recommend)

1/2 cup of peanut butter (PB2 works too)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of coconut oil, melted and cooled

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

a pinch of salt flakes

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1 Tablespoon of dark chocolate chips roughly chopped

Method –

1 – Preheat your oven to 175’C (350’F) and line your brownie pan with baking paper (or lightly oil and dust with flour if you prefer). Set aside

2 – Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips into your food processor/blender and process until smooth and well combined.

3 – Pour batter into your prepared pan, sprinkle half (or all) with chocolate chips and bake for 20-25 mins, until the edges are golden and a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs attached when inserted into the centre.

4 – Allow to cool in the pan (I popped mine in the fridge overnight) then slice into 24 delicious little squares, grab yourself a big ol’ glass of milk and eat, eat, eat

Enjoy xoxo

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Question of the day –

Have you made any secret ingredient recipes, sweet or savoury you can share?