Chewy whole wheat peanut butter cookies with a hint of honey and an incredible nutty quinoa crunch in every bite. A healthier cookie that you’ll love from first bite!
A Nutritious Cookie Choice
Whether you’ve resolved to eat a little better or eat a lot more cookies (like me!), these Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies are sure to get your new year off to a sweet start. Quinoa adds the most amazing nutty crunch to these chewy peanut butter cookies.
Combined with hearty whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened peanut butter, these cookies are protein-packed and full of fiber. You won’t be able to get enough of them.
A Little Planning Ahead
Whether it’s breakfast, snack time or dessert, these cookies are so tasty and make for a great healthier treat that everyone will love!
They’re so easy to bake and keep great in a sealed container on the counter or in the fridge. Just make sure you plan ahead so the quinoa is cooked and cooled when you’re ready to mix the dough. I usually make a double batch of plain quinoa to go with dinner one night and then use the cooled leftovers to bake into these yummy cookies later that night or the next morning.
Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies Ingredients and Supplies
(see recipe card at the bottom of this post for measurements and details)
Ingredients:
- Natural no-stir peanut butter, crunchy or creamy
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Whole wheat flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Quinoa – cooked and cooled
Supplies:
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Nonstick cooking spray
- Electric mixer
- Medium mixing bowl
How to Make Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter, honey and brown sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix until just combined. Add the quinoa and mix on low speed until well incorporated throughout the dough.
- Roll dough into heaping tablespoon-sized balls and place about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Gently flatten each of the balls of cookie dough with the palm of your hand and then use a fork to make a crisscross design in the top of the cookies, if desired.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies just start to crisp around the edges, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking time. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
How to Store Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
To freeze baked cookies, cool completely. Place in a freezer-safe container or baggie with parchment paper between each cookie. Freeze for up to 2 months. They can also be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and then placed in a freezer-safe container or baggie.
When ready to enjoy, unwrap or remove from container, place in a single layer on a platter, and cover loosely with plastic wrap to defrost at room temperature.
More Cookie Recipes
I am crazy about cookies! So I could not be more excited to share My Favorite Cookie Recipes. Crafted by a true cookie-lover, these treats are absolute cookie perfection.
If you make these Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to join my Friends of The BakerMama group to connect and share all the fun and yummy recipes of mine that you make! 
I just love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the ideas I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 27 mins
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Dessert
Description
Chewy whole wheat peanut butter cookies with a hint of honey and an incredible nutty quinoa crunch in every bite. A healthier cookie that you’ll love from first bite!
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural no-stir peanut butter, crunchy or creamy
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 3/4 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter, honey and brown sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and mix until just combined. Add the quinoa and mix on low speed until well incorporated throughout the dough.
- Roll dough into heaping tablespoon-sized balls and place about an inch apart on prepared baking sheets. Gently flatten each of the balls of cookie dough with the palm of your hand and then use a fork to make a crisscross design in the top of the cookies, if desired.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until cookies just start to crisp around the edges, rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking time. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
I’m not sure about this one. I love the idea of a quinoa peanut butter cookie but when I made these I found the resulting dough was so liquidus that I couldn’t form balls. Tasting the dough, it also seemed very high in a baking soda or powder taste. I thus added about 1/2 white flour and the the resulting cookies are pretty good, closer to the traditional texture.
Hi! I’m so sorry to hear that the dough didn’t mix up as it should for you. What brand of peanut butter did you use? I’m wondering if your peanut butter was oily which would add more liquid to the recipe than expected. Did you let the quinoa cool completely? Also, did you follow all of the other ingredients and measurements exactly at first? The dough should actually be quite thick and hearty so I’m not sure what else could have gone wrong on your end. The baking soda and baking powder measurements are definitely correct so I’m wondering if you happened to over measure them or if you didn’t add the correct amount of flour and quinoa to begin with. I hope this helps troubleshoot a bit and that you get to bake them again with great success! Enjoy!
What is the nutritional value of this?
Hi, Sherrus! I don’t provide nutritional information at this time. I would recommend plugging the ingredients you use into a free online recipe nutrition calculator like: https://whisk.com/recipe-nutrition-calculator/ Hope this helps. Enjoy! ❤️
perfect. love them.
I add a bit of dark chocolate
I have some for breakfast or as a snack or a desert.
Hi, Barb! That sounds delicious! I’m so glad you enjoyed them.
This is what I was looking for , I found it a cross between a cookie and a little muffin. I substituted the honey with ED Smith, 75% less sugar, maple syrup and instead of brown sugar i used truvia brown sugar blend again 75% fewer calories. I had some leftover pumpkin purée in the fridge, so I added that and a little more whole wheat flour. I also added sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and cranberries. These were delicious definitely will be making them again.
Hi, Gayle! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! And thank you for sharing your modifications!
Do I need to use a mixer through the whole process? The dough turned out sticky and could not roll it into balls. I added 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla and only added the 1/2 cup honey. The cookies are delicious otherwise and I will try to make them again. Thank you for sharing your recipes. I have also tried your Back-to-School Breakfast Cookies with great results. Thanks again!
Hi Maria! You could certainly mix it by hand if you find that the dough is too sticky when mixed with an electric mixer. I’m wondering if you over-mixed the dough in the mixer which would cause it to start warming and become sticky. You could also refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before rolling into balls if you find that the dough is too sticky just after mixing. Hope this helps and that you continue to enjoy!
How much dry quinoa does this require? I don’t want to end up with a load of waste
Hi Tim! You’ll need about 2/3 cup dry quinoa to get 2 cups cooked quinoa. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
For the quinoa do you do the 1 3/4 cup quinoa then cook all of that up? Then add all the cooked quinoa from the 1 3/4 cup because it makes a lot of quinoa.
Hi Christy! It’s 1 and 3/4 cups already cooked quinoa. Cook the quinoa first and then measure 1 and 3/4 cups. Hope this clarifies. Enjoy!
I am planning on making these but can I use gluten free flour instead?
Hi Joe! Yes, as long as it’s an all-purpose gluten free flour it should work great. Enjoy!
hi,
I would be interested in getting the nutrition facts on this. I am a cookie freak. i do weight watchers and it would be helpful.
Thanks
Hi, Tammy! I don’t provide nutritional information at this time because everyone uses different brands of ingredients which often have differing nutritional values. I would recommend plugging the ingredients you used into a free online nutrition calculator like: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator Hope this helps. Continue to enjoy!
My cookies were very moist too. Too wet to roll in a ball. Finished cookue tasted a bit doughy. Plus, the recipe made closer to 40 three
Inch cookies, maybe more. Baked the second batch longer than recipe to the point the bottoms were browned. Second batch tasted better than 1st batch.
I think I would add some ground flax to help with the slight wetness to make it easier to flatten cookies and to use the fork. I liked and used no brown sugar. Sweet enough for me. Will make again.
Love the recipe but looking for a sugar free option for my toddlers. What would u recommended to use instead of sugar? Thanks!
Hi Resh! If you’re just wanting to omit the 1/4 cup brown sugar, you could just leave it out since there is honey in the recipe for sweetness. If you’re wanting to replace both the honey and brown sugar, you’ll have to experiment with the recipe and maybe try using applesauce or ripe banana for moisture and sweetness. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
I calculated it, and it comes out to be roughly 70 calories per cookie, if anyone else is wondering 🙂
Is it three quarters to 1 cup of quinoa or one and three quarters cup quinoa ( as in almost 2 cups)
It’s 1 & 3/4 cup as in almost 2 cups. Enjoy!
How do I find out the calorie count in each cookie.
Hi Maureen! I would recommend plugging the ingredients you use into a free online nutrition calculator such as: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator Hope this helps. Enjoy!
Hi Maegan,
Tried the recipe and got a tasty but soft cookie…held together…however. Yours in the photos look crumbly – crisp…maybe I could use all purpose flour?
Hi Tina! The cookie should be very chewy. Holds together nicely with a slight crisp around the rim and crunch throughout from the quinoa, but overall chewy. Using all-purpose flour might lighten the cookies a bit so definitely worth a try if you want them overall crunchier. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
LOVE this recipe. I have even reduced the sugar to 2 Tablespoons, added a couple bananas, chia seeds, some flax and other nuts. The addition of the bananas seems to handle the extra adds. Also, a few dark chocolate chips tossed on top – to die for!! My daughter worked at a state park this summer and a squirrel broke into the cabin a couple of times to steal these cookies!!
With all of YOUR changes, you used YOUR recipe, not THIS recipe!
How many cookies per person for the nutritional values stated:
Hi Jo-Lynn! I do not provide nutritional information on my site. You can plug the ingredients into a nutritional calculator and I assume it will calculate it per cookie. The recipe makes 2 dozen cookies using a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
[…] Peanut Butter Quinoa Cookies from A Baker Mama […]
YUMMMMMMM!
These would be way too dangerous to keep on the kitchen counter!! Soo yummy. I love love love baking with quinoa.. that little grain is seriously a gold mine, I tell you. I mean quinoa salads, quinoa patties/burgers, energy bars, granola, cookies, cakes…. everything!!!
Such a cool (and protein packed!) concept! Great idea & recipe! 🙂 XO, Alison
http://www.simplyfairbyalisonjeanine.com