Thanksgiving Fixx: Quinoa Molasses Ginger Cookies

When Elise mentioned doing a blog post about Thanksgiving food, I was all over dessert. Desserts and sweets are my favorite part of any meal, but I always have a hard time finding one that is delicious and semi-healthy. In my experience, you get one or the other. I went on a mission for the #FixxFam to find a recipe for the holiday that was delicious, semi healthy and more importantly quick!

With that being said, I introduce to you , Quinoa Molasses Ginger Cookies. These bite sized babes pack quite a flavorful punch and remind me of my favorite gingerbread cookies. The wonderful part is you can splurge and add a little cream cheese icing to enhance these sinful creations (favorite recipe found later in this post!)

Ingredients for cookies:

• 3/4 cup dry quinoa
• 1.5 cups whole wheat Flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (the recipe calls for 1 but I’m a sucker for cinnamon, so I doubled)
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup molasses

Recipe for cookies:

1. Preheat the over to 350 degrees
2. Lightly spray a cookie sheet and set aside
3. Grind the quinoa in a food processor until it becomes a powder. It is okay if there are some chunks of quinoa still! My food processor is older than I am, so my cookies had a nice, delicious crunch element to them!
4. In a bowl, combine the quinoa powder, flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and set aside.
5. In a second bowl, beat in the butter, brown sugar, egg, and molasses until a smooth mixture is formed. Once smooth, stir in the flour mixture until a thick dough forms.
6. Using your hands, roll the dough into small balls and place on your cookie sheet.
7. Put the sheet in the over and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the bottoms are a nice golden brown.
8. Remove from the over, and flatten the cookies with your spatula. Let cookies cool for one minute before moving to a cooling rack.

Ingredients for cream cheese icing:

• 4 cups of powered sugar
• 1/2 cup of softened butter
• 8 oz of softened cream cheese
• 3 teaspoons of vanilla

Directions for cream cheese icing:

1. Add cream cheese, butter, and vanilla to your bowl. I always start with 2 teaspoons of vanilla, then determine if I want to add the other teaspoon to the mix. Mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
2. Add powered sugar to the mix. You can sift the sugar if lumpy, but I usually mix on low until the clumps are broken up.
3. If you find that the mixture is not thick like an icing should be, just add more powered sugar!

You can decorate the cookies with the icing, or put it in a bowl to dip in. If you really like the warmth that spices provide, you can always make this pumpkin flavored.

Happy Thanksgiving, crew! Enjoy!