The best low-carb dessert ever

Normally, my sweet tooth can sniff out a dessert scam from miles away and gets scared off by any description preceded by ‘low-fat,’ ‘low-carb,’ or ‘low-calorie.’ I was tricked a few weeks ago when my friend Ashley introduced me to a recipe for low-carb vegan chocolate chip cookie dough balls and was smart enough to make me taste them before telling me what was in them. Now I cannot get enough of them! There is a sheet pan filled with these chocolate chip cookie dough balls in my freezer at this very moment and I am known to eat them by the half-dozen.

My addiction to actual chocolate chip cookies has been completely transferred to these amazing (much healthier) little nuggets, just in time for summer. They are best served a few minutes out of the freezer and have a nutritional profile that will help my body with it’s recovery from a winter-induced case of pale smushiness. Make them, taste them, and bask in awe that you’re eating chickpeas! You can thank me, Ashley, and Elissa Goodman, the genius nutritionist who original created this recipe.

Vegan, low-carb chocolate chip cookie dough balls

Ingredients

• 16 ounces cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 3 T raw organic honey
• 1 T coconut palm sugar
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 4 T raw organic almond butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips (minis work best)

Directions

Combine chickpeas, honey, sugar, baking soda, almond butter, vanilla, and a pinch of salt in a food processor and process until smooth.
Remove to a bowl and stir in half a cup of the chocolate chips. Form into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Freeze until solid.
In a double boiler, melt remaining cup of chocolate chips. Dip the balls into the chocolate until covered, then place back on parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Freeze until chocolate has hardened, then store at room temperature.

Photo is Shutterstock.com via mindbodygreen.com