Chocolate Chip Banana Blondies (Vegan, Gluten-Free & Sugar-Free!)

So last week I got a bee in my bonnet about making blondies using chickpeas.  My Black Whole Brownies were such a huge hit with everyone, I wanted to create a blondie using some legumes too.

The first batch, which I ate entirely myself (they weren't good enough to share, he he), I made with dates.  They were good, but the date flavour was too overpowering. Oddly, I used to absolutely adore dates, but I'm not loving them as much these days.  I am not sure why.

For this batch, I added bananas and the result was amazing.  Even my picky little munchkins both loved these.  Again, I am surprised that I liked these so much as, in general, I am not a huge fan of bananas.  But they work here.

What I love so much about cooking, is that it is such a creative process.  I love experimenting.  I also love how cool it is to discover new (and healthier) ways of making something.  Like these babies have no flour/grains, no sugar, and no butter/oil but look and taste like they do.  How freakin' cool is that?

As if it couldn't even get any better, these are super easy and quick to make.  Just throw everything into your blender or food processor.  I did them in my Blendtec.  If you don't have a high powered blender, just make sure you puree until completely smooth.

Chocolate Chip Banana Blondies (Vegan, Gluten-Free & Sugar-Free!)

540 ml can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas)
2 flax eggs (2 tbls flax meal + 6 tbls very hot water, let sit until thickened)
2 ripe bananas
1 cup stevia baking blend (that measures 1:1 with sugar) or coconut sugar*
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup stevia-sweetened dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except chips in blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  Make sure chickpeas are completely pureed.  Stir in chips by hand.  Scrape batter into parchment-lined 8x8 pan and bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes.  Use parchment to remove from pan.  Cut into 16 even squares.  Keep at room temperature for 2-3 days, refrigerate for up to 6 days or freeze.

*Coconut sugar will give these a richer, more butterscotch-like flavour, but they will be higher in calories than if you use stevia.

This recipe was submitted to this week's Gluten-Free Friday Link Up and Urban Naturale's Blog Hop.