These Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies will blow your mind! Who knew something flourless and hiding a superfood could taste so much like this "real thing"?
My boys are extremely active. Case in point, yesterday we went on an hour and 20 minute hike UP a ski mountain, and they still had the energy to play outside until the rain brought them in last night. (I on the other hand, was wiped out and very happy to sit and watch them play.)
Active little boys need to eat. A lot.
And though my boys go through an unbelievable amount of fruit, they are still kids and love treats. Especially sweet treats.
But, you won't find any packaged goodies at our house.
In the past year, I've stopped buying packaged snacks. Although it is a great deal of work for me, it is so worth it because I can control exactly what we are eating.
More importantly, I can control what they aren't getting. (You won't find any high fructose corn syrup, red dye #40 or any GMO products in my pantry.)
Fortunately I've found that it really isn't that hard to create treats that they love and I feel good about. This chocolate chip cookies recipe is a perfect example. I'm not really against them having flour - as you may know I'm a bit obsessed with bread. But still, the idea of creating flourless cookies that are packed with nutrition was very appealing to me.
These are cookies that they love - and crave - and I feel really good about giving them. Plus, I love their reaction when I tell them to go grab a cookie before breakfast. 🙂
If You Like These Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies You May Also Like:
Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies
Flourless Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs 2 tablespoons flax seed meal combined with 6 tablespoons warm water
- 1 cup blanched almonds
- 1 cup quinoa flakes
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup almond butter peanut or sunflower seed butter would work too SEE NOTE BELOW
- ¼ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make flax eggs by combining two tablespoons organic flax seed meal (or ground flax seeds) with 6 tablespoons warm water. Set aside to thicken.
- In a food processor combine almonds and quinoa flakes and process until ground. Place in a large bowl and add baking soda and salt and stir until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine flax egg, almond butter, apple sauce, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix well and add to the quinoa and almond mixture slowly. Add in chocolate chips.
- Using a tablespoon measure, drop cookies onto prepared parchment paper. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to sit in the pan for 5 minutes. Move to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Notes
Note: If you do use sunflower butter, the cookies may turn green after cooling due to the chlorogenic acid. The solution is to reduce the baking soda in half. You can read more about it here: http://www.ochef.com/1267.htm
Nutrition
Shannon Graham
I love trying healthier cookie options like this.
Sarah
Delicious, healthy, easy! I had walnuts rather than almonds, and they worked well. It was also a chance to make applesauce in the instant pot. That kitchen gadget is so handy! These will be great to take to work all week for lunch dessert and for taking as a snack on winter bike rides.
Wendy Polisi
So glad that you enjoyed them! I love my Instant Pot too. What a great idea about making applesauce in it.