Filled with protein packed quinoa, energy-laden oats, a noticeable amount of chocolate chips and the sweetness of honey, these cookies are a serious boost of energy. Pass one of these cookies over to a starving, grumpy child after-school. Stand back. Then watch their mood improve as they munch it down. Grab one as a post-workout snack. Pack a few in your hiking pack as rewards.
Or bribes.
Yes, this cookie has sugar, honey and chocolate. It is in fact, a cookie. But it also packs in quinoa, oats and a healthy ancient grain, surpassing the nutrition and staying power over most cookies.
To keep the cookie relatively light in texture, I use a combination of regular white flour and an ancient grain to boost nutrition. I’ve used kamut, spelt and buckwheat flour. Each has offered up tasty results and my 6-year-old taste tester gobbled them up.
Chocolate-Sunflower Quinoa Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup white flour
- 3/4 cup choice of kamut, spelt or buckwheat flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup whole oats
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, raw
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
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Prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, mix the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Set aside.
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With an electric mixer, beat butter, white sugar, brown sugar and honey in a large bowl until fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add the eggs and the vanilla, beat until fluffy (1-2 minutes)
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Beat in half the flour mixture, then the other half.
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Stir in the quinoa, oats, chocolate chips and the sunflower seeds.
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Spoon dough in portions that are about 2 tbsp onto the cookie sheets. Give them some space to spread.
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Bake at 375 degrees F for about 14-16 minutes. Should be brown on the bottom.