Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Cookies

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Quinoa in a cookie?  I was intrigued when I spied this recipe in a recent issue of Bon Appetit.

Another attempt at trying to make little changes to my diet in hopes of big changes to my waistline.  Almonds, love.  Dried cranberries, love.  Quinoa, love.  But quinoa in a cookie, I wasn't sure about.

These are a cinch to throw together.  Just make sure you cook the quinoa a little before you are ready to make the cookies so that it has time to cook and cool.  I also found that they browned very quickly.  Flattening the tops slightly before baking helped get them fully cooked before they got too brown.

Looking like a 'healthy' cookie, I was still skeptical as I pulled out the first tray of cookies.  Upon taking the first bite my reaction was kinda of mmehh.  But, the second bite won me over.  I took one to my husband to get his reaction.  Loved them.  

My husband often shares my baked goodies with a friend that owns a small business where the guys that work there will eat just about anything.  (I'm not sure if this is a compliment.)  When he went to grab the bag of these cookies to take, I told him to leave them and that there is no way that group of guys would like these.  Sneaking behind my back, the man took them anyway and reported that everyone loved them.  Including the mailman and a few customers that came into the shop that day.  

So these are a winner.  Just don't tell people there is quinoa in them.  What they don't know won't hurt them and may help them be just a tiny bit healthier.

Almond-Cranberry Quinoa Cookies
Bon Appetit, December 2011

1 1/2 cups white 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
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup slivered, unsalted almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  

Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl.  Using an electric mixer, beat butter, both sugars, and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add eggs and extracts; beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Beat in flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir in quinoa, oats, cranberries, and almonds.  Spoon dough in 2-tablespoon portions onto prepared sheets, spacing 1" apart.

Bake cookies until golden, 12-15 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.