Gluten Free Quinoa Raisin Cookies

I happened upon quinoa flakes the other day. I thought it would be a nice alternative to oatmeal but found out that it's not. The flakes cook up more like, hmmm..... mush or really creamy grits. Not that this is a bad thing, just not my thing. But what a wonderful source of fiber and protein! I couldn't give up on the quinoa flakes--I had to come up with a way to use them. I started coming up with ideas like cookies, and quick breads, and meatloaf. Then I noticed that the people who made the quinoa flakes had also come up with more than one way to eat your quinoa flakes. I used their cookie recipe as a reference but, naturally, I felt the need to tweak the recipe. Oh! they turned out so good. I'm usually good at only tasting these creations and not actually eating them but these cookies got me. They're not too sweet but satisfy that sweet tooth while still tasting wholesome and healthy. They come to close to an oatmeal raisin cookie but better because of the chewy cakey texture and addition of almond butter, which gives them an unidentifiable buttery nuttiness. If a mid-afternoon lift is what you're looking for these cookies are it!

Quinoa Raisin Cookies
yield: 2 1/2-3 dozen

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1/2 c honey
5 T cane sugar or sucanot
4 T softened butter
1/2 c almond butter or any nut butter
1/4 c unsweetend apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c rice flour
3/4 c quinoa flakes
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c raisins

Measure dry ingredients (rice flour through cinnamon) into a small bowl and set aside. Beat together first 6 ingredients (honey through vanilla) until creamy. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined and then fold in raisins. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto un-greased cookie sheet two inches apart. Bake for 12-14 min., just until golden. Allow to cool for a minute then remove from baking sheet and transfer onto a rack to cool.