Red Quinoa and Chocolate Chip Cookies

These Red Quinoa and Chocolate Chip Cookies are adapted from Heidi Swanson's (of 101 Cookboooks) book Super Natural Cooking.

The book is a must-have addition to any cookbook collection. It's inspiring to page through and learn about adding New Super Foods to your families diet. When I saw the recipe for Red Quinoa and Walnut Cookies, I knew I wanted to adapt it for the kids.

Mr 3 would NEVER eat Quinoa normally, in fact when making the cookies, I made a huge batch of Red Quinoa and he was definitely fascinated by the little nutty grain, but would not put one single little piece to his lips! Once the Red Quinoa had been made into Red Quinoa and Chocolate Chip Cookies I had to limit his intake because he could have gone on and on and eaten the entire batch!

Cooking with Quinoa

Before boiling Quinoa, it's important to rinse and drain the grain really well.

Place the Quinoa in a large saucepan on the stove and cover with water. Bring up to the boil and simmer until the grains are soft and burst open. Drain off the cooking water and rinse through the grains.

I cooked the entire 500g packet of Red Quinoa and used some in a Bento for Mr 20 months and mixed the rest with a selection of veggies and some diced chicken for a delicious meal. If you would prefer to just cook the volume needed for the recipe (2 cups) then cook about 2/3 of a cup as the Quinoa swells and expands in size tremendously. 

To reduce the volume of butter and sugar, I included applesauce in the recipe. I made the applesauce myself by peeling, coring and dicing 2 red apples and then boiling them in a saucepan with a quarter of a cup of water. I simmered the apples until soft and mashable and then mashed with a potato masher to a fine puree. You could use a cup of bought unsweetened applesauce instead. You can keep the applesauce in the saucepan and use directly for the recipe.

The Red Quinoa and Chocolate Chip Cookies are delicious - not too sweet or rich and full of wholesome goodness!

Red Quinoa and Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce (or 2 red apples, peeled, cored and diced and boiled with 1/4 cup water until soft)
50g Butter
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate Soda
3 Eggs
2/3 Cup Brown Sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 and 1/2 Cups Wholemeal Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Cooked Red Quinoa
1 and 1/2 Cups Rolled Oats
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line 2 baking trays with greased baking parchment.
2. In a saucepan, heat the applesauce until just boiling and then add the butter. As soon as the butter has melted into the applesauce, turn the heat off and stir in the bicarb. It will foam and rises a bit. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then pour the applesauce mixture into a large bowl.
3. Beat the eggs into the applesauce mixture, one at a time. Then, beat in the brown sugar and vanilla. 
4. Mix through the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir well to combine. 
5. Finally, gently stir through the quinoa, oats and chocolate chips until just combined.
6. Place a tablespoon of cookie dough onto baking tray for each cookie and repeat until both baking trays are full of cookies. 
7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through so that all the cookies cook evenly. 
8. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container. Makes 2 Dozen Large Cookies.

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