Vegan Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies

Being vegan has sometimes left me longing for treats that I used to enjoy during my carnivorous days. Sometimes after eating a nice plate vegan enchiladas, a girl wants to indulge in some chocolaty goodness. Unfortunately, I can't get that at my local grocery store since this area in South Texas doesn't exactly cater to the vegan community. Sometimes I wish I lived in NYC where I have options at a local vegan bakery. Well, when I snap out of that daydream, I whip up a batch of these cookies and I feel much better!

• 4 Mashed Bananas
• 2 Tbsp Almond Butter
• 1 C. Cooked (and cooled) Quinoa
• 1 C. Oatmeal Flakes
• 1 C. Coconut Flakes (unsweet)
• 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla
• 1/2 C. Coconut Sugar
• 1/2 C. Chocolate Chips (vegan of course!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

You can mix all these ingredients by hand or you can whip them together quick in a food processor. I choose my food processor. 

Take your Quinoa, oatmeal, and coconut and pulse in the food processor a couple of times. Add the remainder of your ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and pulse until combined. Once you combine everything, add in the chocolate chips (and nuts if you want to jazz this recipe up some more) and mix them in with a spatula or spoon. 

With a spoon, drop your cookies onto a cookie sheet. You can play with the size you want the cookies to be... I like big cookies :)  Bake these in the oven for about 20-25 mins. Allow your cookies to cool for a bit and then jump in! They are a delicious vegan treat! I swear I can almost eat the whole batch when the mood strikes! Haha...

~Norm