CHOCOLATE CHIP QUINOA COOKIES (plus Kitchen Sink, S'mores & Cherry Chocolate Chip Versions)

S’mores Quinoa Cookies with sugar-free dark and white chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies with sugar-free chocolate chips and dried cherries.

With 5+ hungry people to feed (my 6-foot teenage son counts as more than one LOL), healthy snacks are a must!

I love these tender, chewy, nutritious-and-delicious quinoa cookies.  The Cherry Chocolate Chip combo is my personal favourite and my kids are huge fans of the S’mores version.

Quinoa is often referred to as a grain, but it is actually a gluten-free seed.  It is rich in antioxidants, fibre, and vitamins & minerals including magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins.  Quinoa is one of the few plant foods that contains all nine essential amino acids.

Quinoa flour is made by grinding whole quinoa seeds.  It imparts a slightly earthy, nutty flavour and tender, moist crumb to baked goods.

Ingredients for 16-18 cookies:

• 2 cups gluten-free quinoa flour

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 pasture-raised eggs

• 1 cup Swerve Brown or Lakanto Golden sugar-free monk fruit sweetener (or substitute coconut sugar)

• 2/3 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled

• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup sugar-free dark chocolate chips

• Cherry Chocolate version: 1/2 cup dried cherries (or cranberries or raisins)

• S’mores version: 1/4 cup white chocolate chips plus 1/4 cup diced mini marshmallows

• Kitchen Sink version: 1/4 cup white chocolate chips plus 1/4 cup diced mini marshmallows plus 1/4 cup diced pretzels (chocolate-covered toffee pretzels used below)

Cherry Chocolate Quinoa Cookies

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, soda, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, sweetener, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine.

4. Fold in chocolate chips and dried fruit or marshmallows and pretzel pieces then put dough in fridge to chill for 15 to 20 minutes.

5. Roll chilled dough into balls and place on parchment-lined baking trays. Press down slightly with a fork.

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on tray for 15 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.

Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Kitchen Sink Quinoa Cookies with white and dark chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and chocolate-covered toffee pretzel pieces.

S’mores Quinoa Cookies with dark and white chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.