Quinoa choc chip cookies

I've only ever used quinoa as a salad component, so it was fun to experiment with it as a baking ingredient.  I've been making a conscious effort to steer clear of refined sugars and instead have been using honey and agave syrup in my tea and porridge. For these cookies I used xylitol for the first time. Xylitol is a naturally occurring, low-calorie alternative to table sugar, is absorbed more slowly than regular sugar and has low GI. Instead of regular butter, I've also started using the vegan alternative Nuttelex - because it's dairy and cholesterol-free. While these cookies don't taste like your regular choc chip cookie, they're still sweet, nutty and chocolatey - what more could you ask for? This recipe has also been adapted from Ross Dobson's Wholefood Kitchen.

Quinoa choc chip cookies

Makes about 24

60g organic rolled oats

150g organic quinoa

125g plain organic flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bi-carb soda

125g Nuttelex, at room temperature

100g demerara sugar

100g xylitol or agave nectar (or 100g demerara sugar & 100g light brown sugar)

140g good quality organic dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Put the oats and quinoa into a food processor and process until finely chopped and the mixture resembles ground almonds. Transfer to a bowl and add the flour, baking powder and bi-carb soda. Mix to combine.

Put the butter and both sugars in a separate mixing bowl and beat for 4-5 minutes, until thick and pale. Stir in the dry ingredients to make a thick dough, then stir in the chopped chocolate.

Put tablespoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking trays and bake in the preheated over for 10 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, store in an airtight container and freeze after 2-3 days.