Healthy cookies? I know, it’s an oxymoron. But trust me on this—these cookies are healthy. Or healthy-ish. I mean they have quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) which is this fabulous little seed that is high in protein and chock full of health benefits.

STAY WITH ME. I know I just said there’s quinoa in these cookies, but they taste like COOKIES. I swear!

And they’re GOOD. They’re very tasty cookies, even if they’re not outta-this-world delicious like Bec’s S’mores Cookies (Hey, it’s s’mores season!) or my favorite chocolate chip cookies EVER.  But if you’re looking for a sweet treat for you or your family that will satisfy a sweet tooth while being healthy and hearty, then you’re going to love this.

And it’s all thanks to the fact that I ALWAYS buy too many bananas when the weather gets warm. And I do it EVERY year. You think I’d learn, that I’d remember when the weather gets warm I need to buy fewer bananas because they’re just going to get overripe overnight, and none of the people in this house like to eat them like that.

But, alas, I never learn, and that is why there were 9 overripe bananas on my counter this weekend. Of course, I do have a kickass banana bread recipe, but I simply wasn’t in the mood to make 4 loaves of it. We just pulled one out of the freezer the other day, and putting more in the freezer simply didn’t appeal to me right now. We need to use more up before we put more in.

So I took a little cyber-trip over to one of my favorite recipe sites, AllRecipes, and did a search for recipes that had bananas as an ingredient. I LOVE this site, and it’s often my go-to when I’m searching for a specific kind of recipe or looking for a recipe that uses a specific ingredient. (Did you even know you could do that? It’s so freaking handy!)

Of course, my absolute favorite thing about the site is the reviews. I ALWAYS read the reviews because people talk about what didn’t work with the recipe and how they fixed it or how they would do it differently next time. Invaluable information! Plus, I get a good giggle out of the ones that say things like: “I made these cookies following the recipe to a ‘T,’ with two small exceptions…” which means they didn’t actually “follow it to a T.” (What can I say? I’m an easily entertained language nerd.)

My banana search turned up these quinoa cookies, which had pretty rave reviews, and I was intrigued. I was also desperate to use up some bananas, so I took the plunge.

Of course, I didn’t follow the recipe to a T (snort). Nope, I made a LOT of changes. I added butter so they’d be a little crisp on the outside, increased the oats, added whole wheat flour, dried cranberries, and used eggs in place of the applesauce.

I am *not* a fan of using applesauce in baked goods. True story: I once made cornbread using applesauce in place of the oil or eggs (I can’t remember which or maybe even both? Who knows, it was like twenty-six years ago. I’m lucky if I remember how I made something yesterday. Or this morning.) ANYWAY…the cornbread was fine, but by the next day (or maybe the day after?) it had fermented and smelled awful. GAH.

I’ve never substituted with applesauce since, and never will. (But…speaking of cornbread, if you’re in need of a spectacular cornbread recipe, then have we got a recipe for you.)

But I digress…

Of course, as I was making them, the kids came through the kitchen. “What are you making, Mom?”

“Quinoa cookies.”

Silence…then, “Ewwwww.”

And this is from kids who like quinoa, but I get it. It’s not the kind of thing you’d think should be in a cookie. But, I promise you, it works. You don’t even know it’s there, and it gives these cookies a terrific nutritional boost.

I don’t tend to disguise healthy foods in sweets in order to get my kids to eat them. I just…I don’t know, I think they should develop a taste for the real thing and learn to appreciate the benefits of eating healthy. Not that I judge what anyone else does. You do you. And you do what works. And if that’s the only way you can get the healthy stuff into your kids, then this cookie recipe will be your jam. I *do* put healthy ingredients into almost everything I bake because I figure if they’re going to be eating cookies anyway, they might as well get some good nutrition, too.

One thing to note about these cookies—they don’t spread. So after I scooped about 1/4 cup of batter onto the cookie sheet, I flattened it a bit. And they freeze BEAUTIFULLY. You can eat them straight out of the freezer (they never get stale that way) and they still maintained the crispy edges.

And, just in case you’re wondering, those kids who said “Ew!” at the thought of quinoa cookies? They happily scarfed them down as soon as they were cool enough to eat. Though, the 10 year old did have one comment: “Needs more cranberries.”

They’re not the prettiest cookies, I will readily admit, but they do pack a tasty, healthy punch. And THAT’s pretty fabulous.

Healthy Cookies

A soft, yet crispy cookie chock full of oats, nuts, seeds, with the powerful protein punch of quinoa.

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Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes

Total Time: 48 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert, Snack

Servings: 0 dozen

Ingredients

Volume - Weight

• 1/3 cup quinoa, dried
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (could substitute any nut butter)
• 2 eggs (or an egg substitute for vegan)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened (or a vegan butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 2 cups oats (rolled or quick)
• 1 cup all purpose flour (or a 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (or a 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour)
• 1/4 cup flaxmeal (ground flaxseeds)
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
• 1 cup nuts and seeds of your choice (I used sliced almonds and pumpkin seeds)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F/177 C. Grease your cookie sheets.
  
• Rinse the quinoa 3-4 times, then place in a pan on the stove top with 2/3 cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Uncover and set aside to cool.
  
• In the meantime, mash the bananas (or let your mixer do it), then mix in the peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Add in salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
  
• Measure into your mixing bowl the coconut, oats, flours, and flaxmeal, then spread the quinoa on top. If the quinoa is still hot, let it sit there for about 5-10 minutes to cool before mixing in. (You want to let it cool so your batter won't be warm and melt the chocolate chips. Been there, done that. Got myself some chocolate batter.) Once the quinoa is cool, mix well.
  
• Mix in the chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts and seeds, then drop heaping spoonfuls (about 1/4 cup) onto your prepared baking sheets. Flatten them out a bit, then bake at 350 F/177 C for about 18 minutes, or until the edges get golden brown.
  
• Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.
  
• Store them in an airtight container at room temperature or in a zip-top bag in the freezer.
  

Notes

Recipe heavily adapted from All Recipes Quinoa Cookies.