Quinoa And M&M Cookie Dough + Quinoa Cookies
16
A great, crumbly cookie dough has many lives. First there is the obvious cookie. Then it dreams of being a golden crumble. Sometimes it fantasizes about being a chic truffle coated in glorious chocolate. On hot days it gets swirled through snowy white vanilla ice cream. Festivities see it layered in large glass bowls to jazz up a boring trifle. On cool days to gets toasted golden in a pan and hops onto your milk and cereal. But mostly, it gets eaten with a spoon and provides immeasurable joy. This is the story of that cookie dough.
Four year olds are clever. Much more than you would give them credit for. One day, Gummi Bear who happens to be that four year old I am talking about, asked for a bowl of M&Ms. I raised my eyebrow, cocked my head and said "What for?". He raised one of his eyebrows, cocked his head and said "To Eat Mum!". Two thoughts streaked across my mind in that moment. First, that I was looking into a mirror. And second, where on earth did he get the bright idea that if he asks for a bowl of M&M’s to eat, I was going to comply.
"You know you are not allowed to eat candy, especially during the week and definitely not in a bowl!" I said. "Is it the weekend?" he asked hopefully. "No sweetie", I said and he hung his head dolefully and with a great big pout on his face, walked away. Five minutes later he was back. "Mum, can you bake me some healthy breakfast cookies?" he asked with eyes so wide, I melted. "Now that’s more like it", I thought. "Yes, I can honey." "Can you put some oats in it?" he continued. "Yes, sweetheart." "And some cereal?" he asked. "Yes." I smiled. He smiled and started walking away. Just as I turned to get the bowl from the shelf, he said "Mum, could you also stir some M&Ms in the cookies …. pleeeeaaase??" Ingenius, I tell you. That is what four year olds are.
So I mixed together some healthy and some not so healthy ingredients together to get a bowl of what would become our favourite cookie dough. Even I had a go at it with a spoon, something I never do. Ever! And although I baked most of the dough into cookies which the boys adored, I used it in ways I have never used cookie dough before. I toasted it lightly in the pan and used it to top breakfast cereal. I also used the toasted cookie dough to make cookie dough ice cream and as a crumble for stewed apples.
Food Styling, Prop And Photography Alert – Photography surface – Old discarded timber palette. Bag of mini M&Ms from the supermarket. White paper doilies – $2 for 10 from the Dollar Shop. Scrabble Tiles from our family board game box. Beige latte cups – $1 from Target. Black wire tray – $34.95 from Bed Bath & Table. Pink doily trim vintage bowls – $2 each from Hot Dollar.
QUINOA AND M&M COOKIE DOUGH
Preparation Time – 10 minutes
Makes – Enough for 16 cookies
Ingredients
125g butter, chopped, softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
1 tablespoon milk
1 cup quinoa flakes
1/4 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup mini M&Ms
Method
Melt butter in a microwave (30 seconds at 1100W) or on the stovetop (a few minutes on low heat) until just melted. In a large bowl, combine melted butter and all the other ingredients. With a wooden spoon, mix gently to combine well. Rub the mixture gently with your fingertips for 2-3 minutes until it resembles breadcrumbs.
My Notes
The dough is crumbly, colourful and absolutely beautiful to look at. It has a healthy dose of quinoa and oats. It has a slightly nutty taste due to the quinoa which works well because it is nut-free. If you would like to make a gluten free version, skip the flour and substitute it with almond meal. The dough keeps well in the fridge for a few days because it has no eggs.
QUINOA AND M&M COOKIES
Preparation Time – 10 minutes for cookie dough
Baking Time – 22 minutes
Makes – 16
Ingredients
125g butter, chopped, softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup quinoa flakes
1/4 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup mini M&Ms
Method
Line a cookie sheet with baking paper. Preheat oven to 180C.
Melt butter in a microwave (30 seconds at 1100W) or on the stovetop (a few minutes on low heat) until just melted. In a large bowl, combine melted butter and all the other ingredients. With a wooden spoon, mix gently to combine well.
With your hands, shape cookies about 5cm in diameter and place them at least 2cm apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 to 22 minutes until slightly golden. The cookies will appear soft which is fine. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. The cookies harden and become crunchy on cooling.
Store your cookies in an airtight cookie jar in the fridge or in a cool spot in your pantry for upto a week.
My Notes
If you would like to make a gluten free version, skip the flour and substitute it with almond meal. The cookies are perfect for the school lunchbox.
Ahahahaha sneaky
thats fab though lol love it!
Nic@diningwithastud´s last [type] ..Bill’s – Darlinghurst
4 year olds are ingenious. So are 8 and 11 year olds, which are the ages of my stepsons. Like you I have trouble resisting the puppy dog pleading eyes.
I love the idea of scattering the cookie dough on top of ice cream. Mmmmm!!! Gorgeous photos, as always.
Jennifer (Delicieux)´s last [type] ..Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart
I want to be a crumbly cooky dough too! Had lots of fun reading through your post. Your son is such a cuty and he is smart! Sounds and looks by the way like a perfect snack for me. thanks for sharing
LOL!! My 3 year old will love these cookie for sure
Love the styling once again Sneh 
chinmayie @ love food eat´s last [type] ..‘Harive Hashi’, Amaranth Leaves in Raw Coconut, Yoghurt Sauce.
Four year olds are wilier than we think! I love that he’s clearly inherited his mum’s love of food and baking, and even if you did succumb to a few M&Ms in the cookie dough, it’s made by hand, with love, as a family, and I think that’s what really matters
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[...] Quinoa And M&M Cookie Dough + Quinoa Cookies | Cook Republic Five minutes later he was back. "Mum, can you bake me some healthy breakfast cookies?" he asked with eyes so wide, I melted. "Now that’s more like it" , I thought. [...]
Those cookies look delicious and adorably colourful. I have never heard of quinoa flakes. I’ve seen regular quinoa and quinoa flower, where do you find the flakes? Are they something special? Is there a substitute?
Thanks!
Lamb411´s last [type] ..Dad Dines @ Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink
What a brilliant idea! I’m a lot older than four, but I cant wait to try this! And the photo styling.. just perfection!
KayB´s last [type] ..Drum Cake: Tutorial
Ha love it! He’s a smart little guy.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen´s last [type] ..Thin Green Spinach and Herb Omelettes | Flourless Crêpes
I love this! What a creative way to use quinoa. I just picked up a bag, so this will be a great afternoon activity with the kids! Thanks for sharing!
Hehe. This at the age of 4, I’m wondering what else he’ll say when he starts to figure out when it’s weekends
Absolutely love your styling.
Quinoa Cookie Dough. How many points?
Nisha´s last [type] ..Creative Title Ideas from a Techie Hubby?
looks yummy and reminds me a little of compost cookie
penny aka jeroxie´s last [type] ..Chat Thai at Sydney CBD & Westfield
A great way of using quinoa! This is awesome.
Cheers,
Rosa
Great photos and great story! I’m going to have to try these out.
What a fabulous idea! He’s quite smart, indeed!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)´s last [type] ..tangerine-vanilla tea cakes
[...] Quinoa and M&M Cookies by Cook Republic [...]