Apple Quinoa Cookies with Dates and Walnuts

This morning I woke up to Dan staring me straight in the eyes. When I opened mine, he grinned and started cooing. It was completely adorable. A great way to start the morning. I also got up before Jude this morning which is a rare occurrence in this house. It was so nice to drink my coffee and collect my thoughts for a few moments before he got up. I made banana bread for the sleeping boys and gazed out the window at the overcast sky. I wanted it to rain. It would give me an excuse for the lazy feeling that had come over me. And more importantly, it would give me a chance to clean the high chair. I would love to just throw the thing out in the pouring down rain and let nature clean it instead of me. No such luck today. Obviously, the high chair product development team at Chicco has not seen Jude eat or they would not have made all those little crevices for me to clean. I don’t think they have met a gluten-free toddler either! The mess and crumbs have gotten worse since he went gluten-free because gluten-free things tend to be crumbly and the xanthan gum added to them can superglue things to a variety of surfaces such as hardwood floors, cabinets, and furniture. I am sure no one has a kid as messy as Jude though. My mom says he is worse than the five of us were combined. Eek. I didn’t want to agree with her until Jude smeared refried beans on his chest like war paint. Now I believe her. There is much parenting to do here. Gluten-free parenting.

Here is the recipe for the cookies I made tonight. I know everyone has been madly making oatmeal cookies since oatmeal has been returned to the gluten-free community, but we can’t forget quinoa cookies!

APPLE QUINOA COOKIES WITH DATES AND WALNUTS

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum

3 cups quinoa flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

8 oz. dried dates, chopped

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup apple, chopped fine (I used my mini-prep food processor)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a med. bowl, beat the butter until fluffy and then add the brown sugar and the granulated sugar- beat for a few more minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Slowly add to butter mixture- mix until combined. Mix in the apples, dates, and walnuts. Spoon on to cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Make the cookies big- maybe a little more than 2 Tablespoons worth of dough. Leave about 2 inches between the cookies. Bake for about 19 minutes. Do not brown the cookies, but take them out when the edges begin to get a little brown.

2.5 dozen big cookies

Note: These are sweet. So if you don’t like your cookies to be sweet, you might be able to reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup. If you do reduce the sugar, let me know what the results were.

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Posted by Natalie
Filed under: Cookie Recipes

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