Baked Falafel

A couple of years ago I had never tried a falafel. I tend to avoid deep fried foods, but I had heard nothing  but good things about the falafel. So I set out to find out if it were possible to bake these little balls of deliciousness into something healthy. I still have yet to try an actual fried falafel, however these little cookies are delicious.

The main part of the falafel is the chickpea. You can buy them in dried form or in a can. I am not a huge fan of anything canned, as a lot of cans are lined with BPA. So I buy them dried and soak them over night. By soaking them you are able to fully rinse them and they will be easier to digest.  I started by tossing 1.5 c dried chickpeas into my 8 cup measuring cup, and filled it with water, the next morning they'd more than doubled their size. I've left them in the fridge for a couple days before I remember that I wanted to make hummus or falafels.

Baked Falafels

2 cups chickpeas

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 Tbsp parsley

1 Tbsp cilantro

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp olive oil

Usually I make my falafels in my Vita-mix, however I just bought a new Kitchenaid 13 cup food processor and I was anxious to try her out. First off, let me tell you. She. Is. HUGE. I believe she will be called Big Bertha. I tossed in the chickpeas, as well as a tablespoon of chia seeds, and away went Big Bertha. Once they were ground up I tossed in the rest of the ingredients. All of them, in no particular order.

 Once it was well mixed I pulled out one of my cookie scoops and scooped onto a baking stone. You don't have to use a baking stone, however I found that I tend to make something more if I can be a little bit lazy. The baking stone allows me to be a little bit lazy because I don't have to flip these little bad boys. Once I'd scooped out all my falafels onto the baking sheet (odd number because I wasn't super vigilant about ensuring they were all the same size). Then I squished them down so they were a bit flat. And baked them for 30 minutes at 375. (flip them at 15 minutes if not using a baking stone)

Et voila! Healthy, fibre rich, delicious falafel cookies!! Did I mention delicious?? I made a small batch of spicy hummus, smeared it on a whole wheat pita, tossed a few in, and was in heaven!