Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

My love affair with quinoa started long ago, it's such a great nutritional powerhouse! It's full of proteins, iron, magnesium, fiber and so much more. I like its particular texture, like small air bubbles...it's kinda hard to explain cause quinoa it's tender on the inside but also a tad bit crunchy and chewy at the same time. I add it to salads, soups, veggie burgers and bowls of roasted veggies; actually it goes really well with almost anything.

But I've never cooked with quinoa flour...until now, and let me tell you that it's a great alternative to other flours and gives a special aroma and flavor to your baked goods. For my first time I went for the easy option: cookies. Because I'm still a newbie in the world of gluten-free flours and was afraid to make a cake or muffin entirely with this flour, though the team at El Granero Integral sent me enough flour to test as much as I want so expect more quinoa-ish recipes in the future!

These cookies with dark chocolate chips were delicious! No one noticed a strong quinoa flavor or something 'strange' in them, I'm an avid quinoa eater so I asked to other people who has never eaten quinoa before to taste my cookies. For example my dad, who never eats "those weirdly-named hippie foods" (like he says), he absolutely adored them and said they had a yummy cakey texture.

Yes, they are definitely not your typical chocolate chip cookies and that's what makes them so interesting and different from the rest (and dare I say 'healthier' too?). Sweet, cakey, with a special nutty quinoa flavour and packed with big dark chocolate chunks and walnuts.

Let the pictures do the talking, don't you think? ;-)

Receta elaborada para El Granero Integral.

Quinoa flour cookies with dark chocolate chips
(yield: 9 big cookies)

Ingredients
2/3 cups organic quinoa flour.*
1/3 cup almond flour.
1/2 tsp baking soda.
1/2 tsp baking powder.
1/4 tsp fine sea salt.
1/3 cup mild-tasting olive oil.
1/2 cup raw cane sugar.
1 flax egg.*
2 tbsp natural almond butter.
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract.
1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks.
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped.

* This recipe can be made completely gluten-free if you make sure your quinoa flour has been certified gluten-free.

* Flax egg = 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds + 3 tablespoons water. Combine with a fork and let sit for 5 minutes, the liquid will resemble egg whites.

Directions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF).

Sift the quinoa flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk vigorously the oil, sugar and flax egg. Add in the almond butter and vanilla extract, stir just until combined.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Finally add in the chocolate chunks and chopped walnuts.

Using an ice cream scoop with trigger scoop the dough and remember to leave enough space between them. Flatten them a bit and and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until borders are golden brown but tops are still tender to touch.

Cookies might look underbaked but they will harden as they cool.

Let cool in the baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to let them cool completely.