How stinken cool is it that for this months Secret Recipe Club I’m making a recipe from a blog from my own backyard. Ok, not THAT close, but dang close! I don’t know why I find that so cool, but I do. Maybe because when she talks about apple picking with her family,I know where that is, I’ve been there, my parents took me there as a kid! That’s fun!

As I was reading Gretchen’s blog, it’s pretty clear she eats healthy and feeds her kids healthy. This.Makes.Me.Happy! I loved browsing her vegan/gluten free recipes looking for ideas on what to make. I saw these baked chickpeas and they caught my eye. I’ve been wanting to make baked chickpeas for a while, and this was a perfect opportunity. I read on other blogs and heard from friends what a delicious and nutritious snack they are. Ok, nutritious, sure.

But BAKED beans, without bbq sauce, or molasses, or a potato chips to dip them in. Is that REALLY BAKED beans?!?! It’s for sure not the kinda baked bean I’m used to.

Wouldn’t you know, I love them. Incredibly easy to make. We all need healthy, quick, salty snacks laying around the house. We just do. You never know when you’ll have an impromptu Grey’s Anatomy marathon to catch up on. And of course you’ll need a snack as you watch the train wreck happen… And maybe a glass of wine. I digress.

The spice mix on these is all about taste preference. I made some adjustments to Gretchen’s combo, but only because I just didn’t have some of the stuff on hand (garlic powder and cayenne). I stuck to the sweet/salty combo though, GLAAAAAD I did, it is yuuuuummy! Paprika doesn’t have a super strong flavor on these, it just adds a little extra flavor to compliment the salt and sugar, without overpowering anything. The cumin adds a nice smokiness, perfectly comforting for fall weather.

Make these. Just do it.

Baked Spiced Chickpeas
Recipe adapted from Veggie Grettie

Ingredients
2 cans (14 oz each) Chickpeas
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp spice mix (recipe below)

Spice Mix
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground allspice (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Drain and wash the chickpeas. Place the clean chickpeas on a layer of paper towels and gently rub the tops of them with another paper towels. Some of the skins will peel away.
*You can trash them, or bake them for an extra crispy little treat. I love burnt foods, so I liekd the burnt skins along with the toasted chickpeas.

You want to get the chickpeas as dry as possible.

While the chickpeas are air drying further, make the spice mix. Pour all of the spices into a bowl and mix well.
*This recipe will not use all of the mix, so reserve the excess for later.

Place the clean and dry chickpeas in a bowl and toss them with the olive oil. Once coated with oil, sprinkle on the spice mix to taste.

Place the seasoned chickpeas on a lined cookie sheet (I used a Silpat) and put the sheet in the oven for 40-60 minutes. Mix them around about half way through.

Carefully watch the chickpeas at the end as they can quickly burn. Once done, the chickpeas will be browned and crunchy. As the chickpeas cool they will become even crunchier.
*I took them out of the oven when they were firm, and almost crunchy while still hot. Once they cooled they because SUPER crunchy, almost like a cornnut. Deeeeelicious!

I will be making these again and again. I think I’ll even combine them with some roasted nuts for a trail mix next time.


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