Healthy Quinoa Breakfast Cookies, and my First Giveaway! [closed]

Hey there, friends. I know I was MIA here on Chip Chip Hooray last week–sorry about that. Things in these parts have been crazy–Baby Chip turned sweet 16, bestest friends got engaged, the Hunger Games movie came out–but I have been writing! …just not here. Hah.

So to make it up from you, I’m giving you two wonderful things today: cookies that you can eat for breakfast (um, fabulous), and free stuff!

You love me again now, right? That’s what I thought.

So first things first. Cookies! This recipe was actually given to me by my March foodie pen pal, Alice, who was also kind enough to send me a big ol’ bag of quinoa to go along with it. These cookies are legitimately guilt-free–there’s no butter, sugar, or oil in them. At all. Thus, you are completely and totally justified in eating them for breakfast. I say so! And I’m a food blogger, so I must know.

Healthy Quinoa Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa (see instructions below)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (I used Peanut Butter & Co‘s Cinnamon Raisin Swirl–swoon!)
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I used quick-cooking because it was all I had, but I think rolled would be best. The quick ones will work, though!)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup dried cherries or other dried fruit (optional–I omitted because I didn’t have any on hand)

1. To cook quinoa:
Rinse and drain 1 cup dried quinoa. Add to a medium-sized pot along with 2 cups liquid (I like to use chicken broth for extra flavoring). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow to cook until all liquid is absorbed, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely.
2. Preheat oven to 170 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir all ingredients together until fully incorporated. The “dough” will be sticky!
4. Scoop tablespoons of the mixture onto your prepared cookie sheet and press to flatten (these cookies hardly spread at all, so they’ll look the way they do when you put them in the oven).
5. Bake for approximately one hour (not a typo!), then remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for about 15 minutes.

Makes about 12 small cookies.

These cookies are yummy right out of the oven, when the chocolate chips are melty, but my favorite way to eat them is chilled out of the fridge alongside my morning bowl of oatmeal. They definitely have a unique texture–this isn’t your typical crispy/chewy bake sale cookie. The quinoa is chewy and a little nutty, and the cookies will hold their shape but will still be quite soft, almost like an underbaked oatmeal cookie. I, however, think they’re a fantastic way to satisfy a breakfast sweet tooth!

And now the part of this post you’re all really waiting for–the giveaway!

The giveaway is closed! The winner is Madison from Espresso and Cream, who said, “I would love to have the Ginger Citrus tea in tea bag form.” Congratulations, Madison! I’ll be emailing you for your address so I can send you your box of Guayusa. Thanks to everyone who entered!

A few weekends ago, I spent a couple of days volunteering at the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) conference in New York City. In addition to meeting the wonderfully sweet Madison and assisting with a fantastic Thai cooking demo at the French Culinary Institute, I attended the Culinary Expo / Book and Blog Fair. While stuffing myself silly with samples from the many, many amazing sponsors was a big part of that afternoon, I also met the folks from Runa Tea.

Runa makes their teas from guayusa (pronounced “why-you-sa”), a holly tree that grows in the upper Amazon regions of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. They buy the guayusa directly from the Napo Runa Artisan Association of farmers in Napo, Ecuador. Additionally, they partner with the Association and Fundación Runa, an Ecuadorian nonprofit, to ensure Fair Trade practices that promote the social and environmental integrity of guayusa production. I love their efforts to create livelihoods for the indigenous farmers that grow these tea plants, and their respect for the culture and rain forest areas that nurture what becomes their product.

I sampled a box of the Traditional Guayusa tea, and I was struck by the pureness of the flavor. Even though I’m usually a milk-and-two-sugars type of tea-drinker, I had my first mug of Runa sans any sweeteners. Rather than the usual bitterness I associate with unadulterated black teas, the Runa was smooth and tasted–there’s no other word for it–natural. There are light notes of herbal flavoring (the kind you find in most green teas), but it has enough body–and even a bit of sweetness–to it that I could substitute it for my normal black tea and be just as satisfied. I actually didn’t miss the sugar–a bold statement for those who’ve seen me drink tea.

Want to try some Runa guayusa for yourself? I’ve got one (1) box of their Traditional Guayusa to share with one of you.

To enter (REQUIRED):

–Visit Runa’s website and leave a comment on this post telling me: Which of their products (tea bags, loose teas, tins) would you most like to sample?

For additional entries (you must leave a comment for each!):
—Become a fan of Chip Chip Hooray on Facebook
—Become a fan of Runa Guayusa on Facebook
—Follow Chip Chip Hooray on Twitter
—Follow Runa on Twitter
—Tweet this giveaway to your followers: “I want to win Runa Guayusa from @ChipChipHooray and @RunaNation! http://wp.me/p1Yt6H-g6 #giveaway”

That’s six chances to win! Giveaway will run from now through Sunday, April 29, at 11:59 p.m. EST. I will pick one winner at random and announce the winner on the blog on Monday, April 30. Winner will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the email. If the winner does not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Prizes will only be shipped within the continental United States (sorry, UK friends!). Good luck!!

Disclosure: I was provided with tea to use and review, but no other compensation. All opinions are 100% my own.