Gluten-Free Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have two gluten-free recipes I like to make that use only quinoa flour, the cookie recipe below and Bob's Red Mill Sour Cream Fudge Cupcakes.  Quinoa (pronounced "KEEN-wah"), is a small, very nutritious, gluten-free grain (it contains calcium, phosphorus, iron and essential amino acids).  Quinoa is related to spinach, beets and goosefoot (also called lamb's quarter, a common, edible weed in Ohio gardens) and is delicious!  The flour is made from ground quinoa seeds.  This year is the international year of quinoa!  Most of the festivities are being held overseas, but you can learn more about quinoa on the International Year of Quinoa 2013 website.



Quinoa flour gives baked goods a slightly nutty flavor and pairs really well with chocolate!  I use the recipe below (from the book Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood) as it is written, no changes are needed!  If you are new to quinoa flour and are unsure about the flavor, I recommend substituting a neutral flavored flour, like brown rice flour, for half of the quinoa flour.  I also recommend using high quality chocolate chips - they're worth it!  I keep the dough for these cookies in the fridge in between baking batches, it keeps the dough cool and makes it easier to roll.

I freeze half of these cookies after they have cooled - it's too easy to eat several cookies in a row - they're delicious and addictive!  They remind me of the chocolate chip cookies my aunt and my neighbor used to bake when I was a kid.

The recipe is from Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming.  I definitely recommend the book, you can buy it online or check it out from your local library!