The best things really do come by accident, and this is what these vegan chickpea blondies were. I set out to make brownies, ran out of cacoa and had to get creative. I

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m not personally vegan, but truly admire those who are.

You can be vegan, and eat your cake too! I made a large batch of these delicious blondies, so feel free to halve the recipe if you

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re only cooking for a few people – this recipe makes 20. The only thing I used that wasn

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t vegan was dark chocolate, but you can easily supplement with a vegan chocolate like Pana.

I took a container of these to work, and they were consumed within minutes! People are always surprised at how well chickpeas work as a base for baked goods, and they can never guess what the secret ingredient is.

Chickpeas are high in protein and fiber, making these blondies a non-guilty treat. Have them as a breakfast treat or an afternoon snack – you

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ll find yourself reaching for more every time. I

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ve even tried these on younger cousins who had no idea they were healthy; a sure winner for the parents who have tried everything.

Does anyone else feel like they are on the eternal hunt for the perfect food processor? I

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m always trying to blend frozen bananas, nuts or dates in a crappy blender or wannabe food processor and nearly always end up with half blended chunks or a broken motor. I

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m currently roadtesting the new Russell Hobbs Performance Food Processor, and LOVE it. The chickpeas were turned into a creamy mixture in a matter of seconds, which resulted in one very happy cook!

You

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ll need:

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2 cans of chickpeas

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1 cup of peanut butter

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1 tsp baking powder

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½ tsp baking soda

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½ tsp salt

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2 tsp vanilla essence or stevia vanilla crème drops

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2/3 cup of maple syrup (or honey if you

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re not vegan)

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¾ cup of dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180° C and spray your desired size tin with cooking oil, or use baking paper to line your tin.

Empty your chickpeas into the food processor, and mix on lvl 2 until a creamy, non-lumpy mixture appears. You may need to scrape down the sides to ensure all chickpeas are mixed in correctly, though I found I didn

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t need to with the Russell Hobbs processor!

Add in the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate chips, and mix on lvl 1 until all the ingredients are combined thoroughly.

Pour out the mixture into a bowl and stir through the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the tray, and scatter any remaining chocolate chips on top.

Cook for approximately 24 minutes, or until a golden and brown on the edges. If they appeared under baked, don

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t fret – let them cool off completely in their pan before cutting and transferring to a container.

As usual – ENJOY! Make sure you tag me on Instagram @eatwithelle or use the hashtag #eatwithelle so I can repost your amazing photos! X