Quinoa Cookies

02.06.12

If whole grains were Hollywood, quinoa would be the “it” girl. Sure, oatmeal might be the Meryl Streep, always reliable for turning out an scene-stealing performance. And yes, there are new grains that enter the scene, like amaranth or millet, whose fifteen minutes as a nubile young starlet last as long as it takes for the paparazzi to scandalize them into bulk-bin B-movie banishment. But quinoa? Well, quinoa has been a rising star for quite a while now, on its way to the Hepburn-like fame of brown rice and whole wheat. As the only plant-based source of complete protein, it is a vegetarian’s best friend, and its name – keen-wah rolls delightfully off the tongue (once you figure out how to pronounce it).

If  you are of the nutritonally minded culinary set, you’ve probably already tried quinoa as a substitute for rice or pasta, stepping in to fill the roles of those aging actresses. You might have eaten it baked into bread or tortillas as part of a gluten-free diet (or just to try something different). But have you ever made cookies with it?

You should. Not only does cooked quinoa baked into a deliciously nutty, chewy yet crunchable, treat, providing unique textural alternative to the traditional oatmeal cookie, it is also packed with protein and elevates your dessert into something you could easily mask as health food. That means you can eat cookies for breakfast. And cookies for breakfast is always a good thing.

So go ahead and watch quinoa perform its most challenging role yet. These are truly award-winning.

Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies
(Makes 1 1/2 dozen)

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
3 Tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries (or raisins)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine quinoa, peanut butter, honey, salt, and oats in a large mixing bowl.
Using an electric mixer (or a wooden spoon, if you haven’t worked out yet today), mix well.
Stir in coconut and cranberries (or raisins).
Scoop and mold dough into round, tablespoon-sized cookies.
Place cookies on parchment-paper-lined baking sheets and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until bottoms are nicely browned.
Allow to cool completely before storing.

Sarah Pember is an elementary school teacher known in the healthy living blog world (or at least by a handful of people) as Miss Smart. She blogs from The Smart Kitchen , where she spends an absurd amount of time using her food processor, eating nut butter from the jar, and figuring out how many varieties of quinoa cookies she can invent.