I know, I know, another cookie recipe. But this one isn’t as much a cookie recipe as it is a power-bar-health-nut kinda recipe. Sure it has two kinds of sugar … ok, three kinds if you count the honey, but the rest of the ingredients are pretty healthy. Or so I’m led to believe reading the comments on Epicurious where I grabbed this recipe from. I’ll tell you what, every discussion that includes quinoa almost always ends up being a debate over whether flax seed is more healthy that hemp seed and spelt, and whether my taste for quinoa is upsetting the natural balance of the indigenous people of South America.
They may be right … but… whatever, hippies.
The best thing about a recipe like this one though is how easy it is, assuming you have one basic kitchen gadget. A couple years ago Dr. Fiance’s parents gave us a KitchenAid mixer and lemme just tell you, I friggin’ love that thing. Any recipe that requires “creaming” can be completed in half the time with a mixer, and despite the slightly longer cleanup time, it is well worth it. And of course on a day like today when I’m also building a DIY wine-rack out of PVC pipe, which involves hours of hack-sawing, I really appreciate getting a break on my arm muscles. Thankfully this isn’t a Crossfit day.
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Quinoa Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour*
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup dried cranberries**
1/2 cup slivered or crumbled unsalted nuts**
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Method
Preheat oven toe 375. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium sized bowl. Next, cream the butter, sugars and honey together in an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix at a moderate speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Stir in the quinoa, oats, cranberries and nuts (see note). Mix until just incorporated.
Drop two tablespoon portions of the dough onto parchment covered baking sheets, about an inch or so apart. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. Cool on a rack and enjoy. Makes about 2 dozen.
*The original recipe called for white whole wheat flour – I just had regular whole wheat flour and it worked out great.
**You can swap pretty much any ingredients into these cookies. The original recipe called for cranberries and almonds. I used a handful of pecans I had leftover from Christmas in the freezer which I tossed in. Other people suggest chocolate chunks, or whatever you’d like.
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