This Sweet Baked Falafel* is a blessing, a godsend, a savior. And it’s going directly in my mouth while I slowly go deaf.

Sitting in my apartment, I am surrounded by the sounds of banging hammers, drills, posts being removed from things and then being put back into things, yelling in various languages, things falling down stairs, intermittent smoke detectors going off, and noises that I can only assume are dead bodies being thrown from the third floor all the way to the first floor entryway of my building. Nothing else but dead weight could be that loud.

It was so cool when no one told me about the month plus of renovation work going on in the stairwell that appears to have no end in sight nor any actual noticeable improvement. Mostly just dust.

Luckily, I’m also completely engulfed in the sweet aroma of some Sweet Baked Falafel. I mean, it’s lucky for both me and the people busy in my stairwell. It is the only thing keeping me non-homicidal.

THANK YOUR LUCKY CHICKPEAS, FELLAS.

These little munchkins are maybe my new favorite treat. So easy to make (it’s a one food processor canister recipe, you guys) and really, really easy to eat. They taste a little like a subtle banana bread funnel cake hybrid. You know, heaven.

Also, hey there, they’re pretty aok for you and your super smokin hot bod (YOUR BOD IS SUPER SMOKIN HOT AND I’M SORRY I’M YELLING BUT IT’S SO VERY LOUD IN HERE). Dare I even say that I like the texture of this falafel more than the texture of a classic cookie? I dare, I dare.

Seriously I swear another entire building just fell down each and every stair like a slinky. Are they even trying?

I just…Let’s do this.

SWEET BAKED FALAFEL

makes about 20 patties

Adapted from The Picky Eater

Ingredients to happiness:

1 15oz can of garbanzo beans

1 small (75g or so) mashed banana

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1/4 cup vanilla protein powder (use a vegan powder or garbanzo bean flour or whatnot to keep it vegan)

4 packets Truvia

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

50g chopped walnuts

50g seedless raisins (optional)

powdered sugar for dusting. Sweet, sweet dusting.

I’m not at all going crazy so just follow my lead:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except for the raisins. Process everything until it becomes a nice thick paste. Keeping it a little chunky is good too. I made mine pretty paste like and I have zero complaints. If you’re using raisins, stir them in by hand. Form the paste into small patties and place them on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the tops of the patties with a tiny bit more cooking spray. Using the cookie mold sheet was nice because it gave the falafel a really nice evenly browned bottom. So use it if you have one.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove. Cool. Burn your hands and mouth because you didn’t let it cool.

*Who’s going to be the first person to insist that this isn’t actually falafel? Let me save you the breath. It is falafel because I say it’s falafel and I am going through a really tough and loud and cantankerous time right now so do not test me today. You will lose.**

**And if you can tell me what movie I’m quoting, let’s have babies.