These good-for-you cookies made with quinoa and pumpkin spice are the perfect Fall treat, whether you have them for breakfast, snack or a post workout bite!
Pumpkin Spice Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Quinoa Breakfast CookiesI was testing recipes a couple of weeks ago and figured out that oats could be replaced with cooked quinoa in just about any oat-based cookie recipe. Since then, I’ve gone a little cookie crazy. I’ve made these Quinoa Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies, Quinoa Zucchini Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies, and Quinoa Banana Bread Bread Breakfast Cookies. They’re just SO good!
I just returned from a fabulous weekend in Park City, Utah for the Better Blog Retreat and asked Leanne to guest post in my absence. Please welcome today’s guest poster and Holistic Nutritionist, Leanne Vogel of Healthful Pursuit.
Hi Everyone!
Gram for gram, quinoa has less fat, less calories and less carbs than rolled oats. And, the super, ultra bonus to it all? Quinoa is naturally gluten-free and isn’t considered a “grain” (it’s a seed!), which means it’s going to be easier for your body to digest it.
This little super seed has it all… and so does this breakfast cookie recipe that I’ve made for you today 😉
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Breakfast Cookie Alternatives:
- To make these quinoa cookies gluten-free, use gluten-free all-purpose flour like this.
- Coconut sugar could likely be replaced with any other type of sugar that you have on hand.
- Grape seed oil works well for this recipe, but any oil will do the trick!
- To make these quinoa cookies dairy-free, you could use coconut cream for the topping instead of whipped cream.
Leanne Vogel is a holistic nutritionist and the girl behind the healthy living blog, Healthful Pursuit.
Whether you’re looking to live a healthy, guilt-free life, are
sensitive to dairy, gluten, soy, or grains, Leanne’s fun and simple
recipes are a great resource for everyone!
Pumpkin Spice Quinoa Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup quinoa, raw
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar, or sub with granulated
- 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
- 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
- 1 tbsp Pumpkin Spice Mix
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg white, (2 tbsp + 1 tsp)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup fat free whipped topping, Optional
Instructions
- Add quinoa to a fine mesh stainer and rinse well before using in this recipe.
- Add water and quinoa to a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Once complete, remove from the stove, remove lid and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Set aside.
- Add flour, sugar, ground flax, pumpkin spice mix and salt to a large bowl. Then, measure 1½ cups of the cooked quinoa and add to the dry ingredients. Stir to coat, until all quinoa granules are covered in the mixture. Set aside.
- Add pumpkin, oil, vanilla, egg white and maple syrup to a small bowl and stir well. Pour the wet mixture in with the dry mixture and stir to combine.
- One tablespoon at a time, scoop mixture onto prepared baking sheet, leaving a small space between each cookie. They will not spread out, so you can keep the cookies close. Lightly form each cookie, as you’d like them to come out. I flattened them slightly between my palms.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through and golden.
- Remove from the oven, let cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack and allowing them to cool for a couple of hours. Because cooked quinoa was used in this recipe, the longer you leave it to cool, the firmer your cookies will become. Leave them be and they will transform!
- When ready to serve, top each with a teaspoon of whipped cream if desired. Cookies can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Will you be adding the ww points again to your recipes since we all have the same points , I personally would love it . Thank you for your great recipes
These look great! I’m going to have to make some of these! And the carbs are low too!
I used this recipe as a guide was quite loose with it. replaced the flax seed with a banana, used all of the quinoa that is made with the amounts of dry and liquid as specified (2+cups) added an extra egg white, extra tbsp of oil (sunflower oil), a handful of oats as it seemed too wet still (probably from the banana), some raisins and sunflower seeds for texture, subbed brown sugar for white. so basically I made something quite different, a little healthier since it’s heavy on the quinoa. these wouldn’t sell well as cookies, but great as a pancake type breakfast alternate
can you use pure can sugar in this recipe?
Just plugged my version of this recipe into the recipe calculator and got 2 cookies = 4sp?
I subbed in brown sugar for the coconut sugar and coconut oil for the oil.
Diid anyone else try to verify the points?
oops forget it – i scooped 36 cookies, not 24 so there’s the difference. sorry
I put in one and a half cups of the quinoa and coated them in the dry mixture, like the recipe said. But it never said to add any more and there was still quite a bit of quinoa left. Was there supposed to be, or was I supposed to also add in the remainder of it?
Do you have to use flax seed? is there a substitute for flax seed? like oats maybe?
Would whole flax seed work, or does it have to be ground?
These do not turn out like cookies. I had a doubt so I presented them as "muckies" (combination cookie/muffin) . My 15 year old daughter who loves anything pumpkin has 2 for a breakfast with a banana. She likes them fine, not loves but they are ok for her. I don't care for them, neither did anyone else in family. Texture is kind of rubbery. Taste is pretty good.
Leanne, you are my hero! Thank you so much!
Hi,
I made this cookies, I thought they are pretty good. My son liked them. He is allergic to milk (not lactose intolerant) so I bought the coconut cream, but I have a question. When I softened the coconut cream it tasted very oily and not sweet. How can I make it sweeter? Almost like whipping cream.
Like some of the reviewers above have commented (the ones who actually tried the recipe, not just the ones who said they "look good"), I found these to be a weird, rubbery/spongy texture. I followed the recipe exactly, taking care not to overcook the quinoa and giving the cookies plenty of time to cool. The taste was okay, nothing spectacular, but the texture was the dealbreaker. Disappointing, because they looked so good (just like the picture!) when they came out of the oven. Won't be making these again.
is it possible to substitute quick oats instead of the quinoa? I'm just not a big fan of quinoa. 🙁
Also can i substitute 1 cup of quinoa flour for 1 cup of all purpose? on the bag it says: Add 1 part to 4 parts of Wheat Flour. what does that mean? and your Chia pudding is awesome!! as usual.
I cooked these longer than stated and they were doughy in the middle, like raw?? any suggestions other than cooking them longer. I was going to see Last Vegas and had to leave!
Added some extra dark chocolate chips to them so my kids felt they were "cookies" and then raisins to another batch for my toddler. They seem to enjoy them. This will be a great "on the go" snack for busy mornings or afternoons. thanks for sharing!
Shauna Monaghan Ottawa,
These are great I replaced the flour with almond flour.
I wonder if there's a way to up the protein content? Do you think I could add in some vanilla protein powder or powdered milk without too much change to the texture? I had wls so as much as I would LOVE to eat these, I have to think about protein first. I'm surprised there isn't more with the quinoa. Thanks!
They are a different texture so Im sure my kids wont eat them. But I really did like them after added a small amount of low fat whipped topping on top like you suggested. Helps that I know they are super healthy too!
These are amazing! I left the bad stuff off the top – they don't need it!
EeK! These were not very tasty. I followed the recipe exactly and they were just pretty eh. Very disappointing as the coconut sugar was not cheap
Made a double batch of these with wheat flower, sunflower oil, and brown sugar. I was able to fill one mini muffin pan of 24 balls, and make an additional 12 medium sized cookies. From the taste of the raw dough, I'd add a little more pumpkin next time, and go heavier on the spices. Can't wait until they're out of the oven!
Sounds great! Most breakfast recipes call for dry milk powder and I am lactose intolerant! Going to give these a try.
I also made these and nobody liked them. They have a rubbery texture 🙁
Hi there – I would love to know if any of the ingredients were changed as you were making these? Many of my readers have made them multiple times and loved them… I'm committed to helping you figure out what went wrong!
Nope, I didn't change anything 🙁
what type of oil???
Any type you have on hand and would generally bake with 🙂
I cannot wait to try this recipe. Leanne's recipes are always so wonderful and tasty. And I love having a healthy protein packed snack on hand! Thanks, Gina and Leanne!!
Rebecca! You rock. Thanks for coming on here and showing your love!
I made these yesterday and no one liked them. 🙁
Oh no, I'm sorry that you didn't like the recipe…. that's really strange. SO many of my readers love it! Did you follow the directions correctly? No changes to the ingredients?
Personally, I think Bob's Red Mill All-purpose gluten-free flour tastes like raw beans. I can't stand it. But, I love either the Jules or the Hodgson Mill gluten-free flour mixes.
Thanks for the tip, Robin!
This recipe looks delicious. I was wondering, if I subbed GF flour would I need to add guar gum/xanthan gum?
Hi Megan – you would not need to sub with guar or xanthum. You're good to go!
I made these last night, and although I let them cool for a couple hours, they still have a spongy type texture to them….not exactly hard like a cookie. Is that normal?
Hey! That's definitely not normal. Sounds like you may have overcooked your quinoa? Did you use all the same ingredients/directions as above?
Could you use chia seeds instead of flax seeds?
Hi Melissa – I've never tried it, but I am sure you could! Any type of fiber would work well, too. If you're not sensitive to oats, oat bran would be great.
I love these nutritious recipes, I normally get mine from http://www.fastnewsrelease.com/health-and-life-style they are well worth checking out
Just made these with the following substitutions: agave nectar for maple syrup, regular sugar for the coconut sugar, chia instead of flax, and butternut squash for the pumpkin. Turned out great – I'd like to eat the whole pan!!
I just made these last night and they turned out wonderful! I substituted the coconut sugar for 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, and also substituted the maple for honey. I baked them for 25 min. and they came out slightly soft with a bit of crisp to them, and they are just a little sweet so they are perfect for breakfast. 🙂
Cookies for breakfast, sign me up! Especially when they are healthy, and contain pumpkin. These look great!
You had me at "pumpkin" 🙂
It looks so good, can't wait to try it! xo
http://bobsyouruncle-x.blogspot.com
Awesome!!! I can't wait to vegan-ize these. Could I use extra flax instead of egg whites,or something like ener-G?
Hi Elizabeth – I've made a couple of batches with flax eggs and they turned out okay!
These look amazing!! I don't see the Pin button on the top right corner of the picture. Is it there and I'm just missing it? Thanks so much!
I'm so sorry, I just found where to pin it from. Thanks for all of your delicious recipes!
Great-looking cookies, Gina! Love that you combined pumpkin and quinoa – genius! 🙂
These cookies look incredible, Gina! I think I'd have trouble limiting them to just breakfast, though – hehe! Thanks for sharing your delish recipe.
This recipe looks amazing! Love the idea of using quinoa – what a unique recipe! Kudos!
Hi there! Love this recipe, can't wait to try as my daughter is allergic to oats & we use quinoa as a sub a lot. However, we use quinoa flakes! No cooking necessary just add to recipes like oats!!
Hey Leanne, I just made these cookies this afternoon and not sure what happened but after only adding about 1/4 cup of the water the batter was super runny, more like pancake batter 🙁 I've gone over the ingredients and am sure I added everything correctly. Any suggestions? There are a lot of wet ingredients in the recipe, is the amount of flour correct? I had to add close to another cup!
Good grief!!! I just realized what I did, the water was for cooking the quinoa. I'm a big dork!
Quinoa breakfast cookies! Yum! And I LOVE Leanne! I also follow her!
I LOVE you too, Crystal! <3
Breakfast cookies – what a concept!
Can white wheat flour be used instead of all purpose flour? Have been reading about quinoa and wanting to try it. Have been on Weight Watchers since January and always looking for new ideas. Thank you so much!
yes!!
I used ww pastry and they came out pretty dry…is that the ww, or are they supposed to be that way? Made them into letter shapes for my 4 year old and she loved them!
These look so delicious and really simple! I love using quinoa but just haven't done it enough in baked goods. Here's my inspiration … Thanks, Leanne! And Gina – I hope you have an awesome time at the conference! 😀
This looks yummmmyyyy!
Whats the calorie count?
It's above the ingredients
Made these tonight and they were so delicious!!
So glad to hear!!
These look ♫♪ FABuLOUS!!! ♪♫♪ Thanks for the post!!
You're most welcome, Genene!
Flour substitutions for gluten free people? (Would any all purpose GF flour work?)
Hi Jari! I like to use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free mix, but I've been told that any gluten-free all-purpose will work for this recipe. So I think you're good to go!
Now THIS is a breakfast I bet my 2-year-old will eat! Can't wait to try this one. For more great recipes, visit my blog www.BetterOffHealthy.com.
Mmm you had me salivating at the title of this recipe Leanne! They sound delicious! This is another one for my pumpkin Pinterest board!
You and your pumpkin! Thanks Ange 🙂
Can't wait to try these! I'm allergic to oatmeal..:(
Awesome! Now you have an alternative for a whole BUNCH of recipes!
These looks delish! Do you know if I could use red quinoa? Would it make any difference?
Hi Cosette – I'm sure you could use red quinoa. I haven't tested it, but it acts just like white, so I'm sure you'll be fine! Enjoy 🙂
I'm not sure I've ever seen anything more appealing!! Love, love LOVE everything about these!!!
Wow, thanks! I hope you enjoy them, Kim 😉
They look amaaazing! I've never tried quinoa but it has pumpkin spice in it so I know I'd love it!
These looks amazing! I will definitely be trying them.
How would you alter the recipe to use coconut flour or almond flour? I know that both of these are much more absorbent than regular flour and can't always be changed out cup for cup. Thanks!
Hi Audra! I haven't tried it, but I bet you could replace the flour with maybe 1/2 cup almond flour and 2-3 tablespoons of coconut flour… and then add an egg white to hold it all together. That's what I would do!
Hi Leanne, Would you be able to use Garbonzo bean flour in this recipe? Please advise, I am new to baking with it and new to using quinoa to replace many grains (white and wheat). Thank you!!! Tami
Perfect! Making these tomorrow!
Would this recipe work without the maple syrup? Would something need to replace it?
honey will work.
Yay! I just bought quinoa, flax seed, and pumpkin to make Gina's pumpkin granola. Now I have all the ingredients to make these! They look delicious!
These sound amazing! Any cookie that I can eat for breakfast is a friend of mine! Love the fall flavors too!
Do you think you could do this with steel cut oats that are cooked, just as you did the quinoa?
Hi Jenn – that's a very good question. I bet it would work! I haven't tested it, but if you give it a try, I'd LOVE to hear how it goes!
Wow- these look great!!!
That is so funny, I was just in Salt Lake City for the doTERRA conference last week, we were practically neighbors! Thanks for giving me an excuse to eat cookies for breakfast 😉
Yum! Loving anything pumpkin right now. I will be trying these soon.
Ashley
Ashleyinafashion.blogspot.com
I'm all about breakfast cookies lately! And don't get me started how obsessed I've come with pumpkin now that we're officially into fall 😉 These look fabulously healthy!
This is such a creative idea! I've never subbed in quinoa in baked goods, but there's a first time for everything :). Thanks for sharing!
Cookies for breakfast? I'm in! They look delicious!!
That's what I'm talking about! 🙂
Love it! Will the recipe be doomed without the flaxs eed? Thats the only ingredient I do not have
Hey! I don't know about doomed… hmmm do you have hemp seeds? Chia seeds? I *think* it may work if you replace the flax seed with either extra cooked quinoa or perhaps some hemp or chia seeds. I hope that helps!
Oh these look amazing! I love pumpkin anything and quinoa…perfect!
So happy that you like the recipe 🙂 Pumpkin and quinoa are SO good together. You're right!
I would very much like to see nutritional information on the recipes