If you’re looking for an appetizer to bring to a Valentine’s Day party this year, we’ve got the perfect recipe for you. It’s sweet, satisfying, and — oh yeah, good for you. It’s easy to see why the healthy cookie dough recipe featured in Episode 4 of What the Fudge has gone viral.
In fact, Katie Higgins, the food blogger behind Chocolate Covered Katie, says that the popularity of her healthy, edible healthy cookie dough recipe is what allowed her to be a full-time blogger.
Watch Katie make this recipe in Episode 4 of What the Fudge:
If you love cookie dough even more than baked cookies, this recipe is for you. No eggs (so no salmonella worries) and no flour…and it has a crazy-cool secret ingredient, to boot.
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“It’s been featured in Bon Appétit, Cooking Light and ABC News. This cookie dough dip is more famous than I am,” says Katie, who says she created this recipe while trying to make white-bean brownies.
“I came up with the idea for the cookie dough dip after the popularity of black-bean brownies. I wanted to be different,” she says. “I tried it a few different ways — and the final way when it actually tasted good, I was just eating the batter, because who doesn’t eat raw cookie dough batter?”
Chickpeas…in cookie dough?
First thing first: Let’s address the secret ingredient. Yes, there are *chickpeas* in this cookie dough, and surprisingly, you can’t taste them at all. The chickpeas replace the flour and eggs.
“I know that sounds crazy, but just trust me. It’s delicious,” says Katie.
Start by draining a can of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) into a strainer. Rinse them well to get rid of the chickpea juice, then pour them into a food processor.
“I use the garbanzo beans in so many of my recipes. They’re one of my favorite beans to work with,” says Katie. “They’re very neutral. The texture is thick, so it thickens recipes really easily. It binds recipes together and it’s a great vegan ingredient to have on hand.”
Cookie dough blending tips
To blend the chickpeas to the right texture, you need a food processor, not just a blender.
“A food processor evenly disperses the dough. When I tried it in the blender, I got these big, chunky pieces of chickpea in there. You don’t want that! I do put the disclaimer on the recipe that says it will be better if you have a food processor.”
If you must use a blender, Katie suggests mixing the dough in small batches to help get the chickpeas chopped down into a smooth batter.
Peanut butter, please!
Instead of oils or regular butter, Katie next adds 1/4 cup peanut butter to the food processor to give the dough a creamy texture.
“This will make it taste a little bit like peanut butter cookie dough,” she says.
If you aren’t a fan of peanut butter or have an allergy, Katie says you can use coconut butter, sunflower butter or almond butter.
She next sprinkles in a dash of salt to help bring out the sweetness.
Baking soda in a no-bake recipe?
Baking soda is typically used in cookies to help them rise while baking, but Katie likes to add it to her no-bake recipes for extra flavor.
“People have actually left comments on my site saying, ‘You do not know what you’re doing. You’re putting baking soda in no-bake recipes,’” she says. “Actually, I know *exactly* what I’m doing. It’s for the flavor…I tell people, if they don’t want to put it in, then don’t put it in, and see what the difference is. I actually really like putting it in there.”
Sweeten it up
To give it that sweet, delicious cookie-dough flavor, Katie adds in 2/3 cup sugar, but she says you can use maple syrup or agave as a substitute.
“This isn’t my healthiest dessert, but there’s a lot less sugar than normal cookie dough dip. There’s also not the cream cheese or butter that’s in normal cookie dough dip.”
Finish it off with 3 tablespoons rolled oats — or you can make it grain-free by using almond flour or flax meal, along with pure vanilla extract for flavor. Blend all the ingredients thoroughly until the mixture is smooth, without any chunks.
“Do you know what’s missing? The chocolate chips are missing! This is the most important part, so let’s add those in. You don’t have to measure these. Just throw in what you think,” Katie says.
Voila! Healthier cookie dough
“It looks exactly like cookie dough, but does it taste exactly like cookie dough? Oh, yeah!” she says.
Her favorite way to serve the cookie dough dip is with graham crackers, or with gingersnap cookies. You can even slice a banana in half and spread the cookie dough on it for breakfast.
“It has rolled oats, it has chickpeas, it’s high in protein — so it can actually be a healthy breakfast, especially if you’re putting it with bananas. You can even dip strawberries into it. I know some people put it on their pancakes.”
Have fun indulging in this healthy cookie dough dip, whether you serve it with a graham cracker or a pancake…or even just indulge by the spoonful!
Note: Check out Katie’s sugar-free version, too.
>> Click here for Katie’s healthy cookie dough recipe
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DON'T MISS AN EPISODE!
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