The Breakaway

September 15, 2017

Peanut Butter Blondies

  • Gooey Chickpea Goodness

Another delicious recipe from resident food expert, Lucy Pemberton-Platt.

This time I wanted to share a dessert recipe with you that you could feel good about eating before or after a ride, because while the addictive nature of white sugar is becoming increasingly more evident, most of us still enjoy a treat. I’ve tweaked this recipe several times and they’ve gone down extremely well with my not-so-healthy family members. In other words, despite zero refined sugar they still taste amazing! These blondies are incredibly dense yet gooey, they are quick and easy to make (you literally toss everything into your blender) and you’ll never guess the secret protein based ingredient — chickpeas! They are sweetened by coconut sugar, maple syrup and cashew butter and they leave the BEST aroma in the kitchen afterwards — bonus!

Sweet Potato and Feta Salad

A little more about the ingredients; coconut sugar, which is derived from a coconut plant, is a healthier option for you. It is lower on the Glycemic Index and doesn’t create dramatic spikes in your blood sugar levels. Refuelling your body with protein is also essential when you exercise regularly, so this recipe includes ground almonds, peanut butter and chickpeas. Chickpeas, like other legumes are high in fiber and contain several key vitamins and minerals. Cashew butter, also supplies you with significant amounts of heart healthy fats, essential amino acids and mineral magnesium.  

Occasionally (because I believe in balance when it comes to almost everything) I’ll add dairy free chocolate buttons to these too! I cut my blondes into bite sized cubes so they last a little longer and then store them in my fridge.  

Ingredients

— 1 400g tin of chickpeas
— 1 170g jar of cashew butter
— 100g of ground almonds
— 100g of coconut sugar
— 60ml of maple syrup
— 1 teaspoon of vanilla powder (or essence)
— 1/4 tsp salt

Method


Pre-heat the oven to 180 C.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then peel the skin off each chickpea (this step is a little tedious and not entirely necessary because the skin does blend down, but your blondes will be smoother in the end if you do). First blend the chickpeas and cashew butter together and then add the rest of the blondie ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth. No particular order is necessary and depending on your blender this will take a good five to ten minutes. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and for ease of removing them later, grease the paper with coconut oil and scoop the batter into the tray. Bake in the oven for thirty minutes, then remove from the oven and leave in the tray to cool.  

Slice up, serve and enjoy!

Lucy Pemberton-Platt