Eco Lesbo Vego

Friday Feast: Quinoa Biscuits (Cookies)

I would like to declare that I am absolutely dreadful at baking biscuits (cookies). I’m not sure why; I can bake pretty much everything else, but biscuits just stump me. Even when I follow the recipe exactly, they still come out stuck to the pan or something. However, this recipe (which I got from the back of a packet of Nature’s First Organic Quinoa Flakes) worked fine the first time! If you’re having trouble with the biscuits sticking to the pan, increase the size of your cookies or decrease the cooking time. This worked for me.

I liked that these biscuits were somewhat lower GI than regular biscuits (the quinoa increasing the protein), and I made them even more so by changing the flour to rice and spelt. The original recipe called for wheat flour. The liquid sweetener you use will also impact the GI of the biscuits, as will the type of sugar you use, and how much optional stuff you include (for example, including the cashews will increase the protein/fat quotient per biscuit, which in turn will make them lower GI). It’s a whole complicated thing. I don’t mean to sound obsessive, but for health reasons, it seems it’s better for me to eat lower GI, so I’m doing my best to consider that at all times!

Anyway, I now present to you…

Quinoa Biscuits (Cookies)

Quinoa biscuits.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup liquid sweetener (the original recipe called for honey, which I used because I wanted to use the last of our honey up)
• 1/3 cup sugar (I used low GI sugar)
• 1/2 cup vegan margarine (I always use Nuttelex)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth, but I bet crunchy adds a little something something)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence (I used imitation, and it was fine)
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup wholemeal spelt flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda (baking soda)
• 3/4 cup quinoa flakes
• 1/8 tsp salt (optional)
• 1/2 cup crumbled cashews (or other nuts – optional)
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
2. Beat honey, sugar, margarine, peanut butter and vanilla essence until creamy.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flours, quinoa flakes, bicarbonate soda and salt (if using). Add to wet ingredients, beating well until blended.
4. Place heaped teaspoonfuls approximately 5cm (2″) apart on an ungreased baking tray.
5. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from tray; continue to cool on a cake rack before storing.

Mmm... tasty quinoa biscuits!

April 23, 2010 at 10:48 pm 3 comments