Chickpea Blondies

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 (15-ounce) can lower-sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup creamy almond butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (72% cacao) dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (such as Maldon)

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch square metal baking pan with cooking spray and line bottom and sides with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 opposite sides; set aside.
2. Process chickpeas and melted butter in a food processor until mostly smooth, about 1 minute. Add sugar, almond butter, and vanilla; process until very smooth, about 1 minute.
3. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add chickpea mixture to flour mixture and stir until just a few streaks of flour remain. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans until evenly distributed and no streaks of flour remain.
4. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan, and using your hands, press dough into an even layer.
5. Bake until edges are lightly golden and beginning to pull away from pan, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with a few pinches of flaky salt, if desired. Let cool slightly in pan on a wire rack, about 20 minutes.
6. Lift blondies out of pan using excess parchment as handles, transfer to wire rack, slide parchment out from underneath and discard. Refrigerate blondies, uncovered, on wire rack until completely cooled, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, and cut into 16 (2-inch) squares to serve.