Apple, Cinnamon, and Quinoa Muffin Top Cookies

When deciding on a name for these cookies, I was all excited thinking I had come up with something totally original—muffin top cookies! And then I did a search for the term and, sure enough, lots of people make muffin top cookies. But! I’m the only one that’s made a recipe for Apple, Cinnamon, and Quinoa Muffin Top Cookies! So that’s something, right?

The Process

This recipe is really a happy accident. I wanted to make a breakfast cookie that was low in calories and fairly substantive and healthy. I decided to put quinoa in the cookies, but I wasn’t sure how to go about doing it, so I adapted a recipe from Bon Appetit. One of the changes I made was to sub out white whole wheat flour for whole wheat pastry flour. In my mind, I couldn’t see much of a difference between the two—since I like whole wheat, I’ve never been one to buy the white wheat stuff.

Well! It turns out that using pastry flour in cookies makes them cakey. I was expecting to open the oven and find chewy cookies waiting for me and instead, I had something that looked more like muffin tops. I resigned myself to buying the ingredients again and trying another day, but once they cooled down enough for me to try one, I was surprised to find that they were really good. I gave one to my husband and he helped himself to several more. So it all turned out okay!

Although it’s kind of hard to tell from the pictures, these cookies puff up like the tops of muffins when they’re baking in the oven. So you get all the fresh-baked goodness of muffin tops, without that pesky stump. With the whole wheat flour, oats, and quinoa, these make a great cookie to have with breakfast or as an afternoon snack.

Apple, Cinnamon, and Quinoa Muffin Top Cookies

Muffin-like cookies made with diced apples, quinoa, and plenty of cinnamon. They taste even better when drizzled with a little bit of honey before serving! Adapted from Bon Appetit’s Almond Cranberry Quinoa Cookies.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 36

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup apple, diced (about 1 medium apple)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugars, and honey with a hand mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Beat in eggs and extract; continue beating for 2 minutes. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Fold in quinoa, oats, and apple.
4. Spoon two tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto baking sheets, spaced one inch apart. Bake until golden brown, 12–15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cookie