Apr 1, 2020 4 min read

When the going gets tough, those who want to eat sweets get creative.

Cooking at home has always been a great love of mine; baking not so much.

But as we all (hopefully) heed the warnings and minimize our trips out during the COVID-19 outbreak, running to the store just to pick up baked goods isn’t an option.

Making a quick, edible cookie dough with pantry staples is.

The base of it seems a bit odd, I know, but if you can get over the fact that this “dough” is made with chickpeas, I think you’ll love it.

It does not taste savory, I promise, nor does it taste like chickpeas.

Well-rinsed, dried and de-skinned beans are key to that – so is the choice of nut butter used in the five-ingredient dough.

Peanut butter works just fine, and it’s something most people are likely to have on hand at home. However, because it has a strong flavor, the dough will taste like peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

Almond butter, which I prefer, gives it less of a nutty taste. Sunflower, cashew or any other nut butter will also work.

The dough can be eaten with a spoon (who doesn’t appreciate the decadence of doing that?) or thinned out with some water to be more dip-like, and served with graham crackers.

If you’ve got single serving vanilla yogurt cups at home, you can even stir in a few chunks of it, pop it in a container and freeze it for some cookie dough frozen yogurt.

Necessity is the mother of all inventions. While I certainly didn’t “invent” this (sweet hummus is sold in lots of grocery stores), I think we all could use some simple ways to make do during this tough time.

As so many of us are stuck at home, our kitchens can also be our sanctuaries. The internet is an unlimited source of pantry-style recipes that will keep families nourished with what you’ve got on hand at home.

While I’d urge everyone who is able to support our locally-owned restaurants by getting take-out during this difficult time, I also know that not everyone may be financially able to do so and may have to prepare meals at home.

Those meals needn’t be bland, and as this cookie dough recipes shows, they can be innovative and fun.

I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy as we collectively weather this storm.

Our country, our state and our communities will get through this.

Edible Cookie Dough

1 can chickpeas

4 tablespoons nut butter

2 tablespoons agave

3-4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate chips

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Spread some paper towels on a sheet pan and dump them there. Top with another layer of paper towels and gently roll them back and forth to get the skins off. (Parents – that’s the quick method. If you want to keep your kids busy for 15 or 20 minutes, ask them to de-skin them individually.)

Put them into a food processor and pulse a few times to break them up. Add the nut butter of your choice, vanilla and agave. Pulse a few more times, scraping down the sides and repeating the process until it’s all blended. Adjust to your taste by adding more agave or vanilla. If you want it more of a dip-like consistency to eat with graham crackers, add water 1 teaspoon at a time. If you want it like a thicker dough, no need to do that.

Scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips. Eat with a spoon. Refrigerate any leftovers.