Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Low-Fat Gluten Free Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies
Soft, spicy, dark, sweet and chewy, these pumpkin quinoa cookies are winners in my book.
I can't seem to get enough pumpkin-flavored foods this time of year and have a long list of pumpkin recipes accumulating on the counter.
So, when the cookie craving struck recently, instead of turning to one of my standby healthy pumpkin cookie recipes, I decided to give this one for pumpkin quinoa cookies a try.
Gluten-free pumpkin cranberry cookies
Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies Recipe Notes
Since it comes from one of my favorite cookbook writers (Camilla Saulsbury) I was pretty confident these pumpkin quinoa cookies would be great.
It's the first recipe I've tried from her latest cookbook: 500 Best Quinoa Recipes: 100% Gluten-Free Super-Easy Superfood, that she was kind enough to send to me.
Using quinoa flour, pumpkin puree, and vegetable oil, these pumpkin quinoa cookies stir together in minutes, making them as easy to make as they are delicious to eat.
And you could always substitute your own freshly homemade pumpkin puree for the canned to jazz these cookies up even more!
In her headnote, Camilla is correct in calling these "crowd-pleasing pumpkin cookies."
They sure were around here.
How Many Calories and WW Points in these Gluten Free Pumpkin Cookies?
According to my calculations each cookie has 68 calories and
3 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
3 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
3 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
2 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
How to Make Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies, Step-by-Step
Step 1: Gather and prepare all ingredients.
Ready to make cookies
Step 2: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a baking sheet (affiliate link) with parchment paper.
Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk together the quinoa flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
Whisking the dry ingredients
Step 4: In a medium bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin, oil and molasses until well blended.
Mixing the wet ingredients
Step 5: Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Gently stir in the dried cranberries.
Stir the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture then fold in the cranberries
Step 6: Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.
Drop the batter on prepared cookie sheet
Step 7: Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are just set in the center.
Step 8: Remove from the oven and let cool on pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely.
Fresh baked cookies cooling on wire rack
Step 9: Repeat steps 4 and 5 (being sure to use cool baking sheets) with the remaining cookie dough.
Step 10: Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container.
Fresh baked pumpkin quinoa cranberry cookies
Recipe Notes
Quinoa flour can be hard to find and it can also be expensive. But it is so easy to make quinoa flour at home. I get my quinoa at Costo, so making my own flour only added a few minutes to the whole cookie-making process.
If your quinoa is not pre-rinsed, you'll want to rinse it well first and shake the colander (affiliate link) to remove as much moisture as possible (Mine came pre-rinsed so I skipped this step). Add the quinoa to a large skillet (affiliate link) and heat over medium heat until thoroughly dry and it begins to turn golden.
Toast the quinoa in a skillet
Next, add the toasted quinoa to a food processor (affiliate link) of high-powered blender—I used my VitaMix (affiliate link)—and process until it turns to a fine flour-like consistency.
Use food processor or high-powered blender to process quinoa into flour
That's all there is to it!
I also used 6 tablespoons Truvia Brown Sugar Blend (affiliate link) in place of the ¾ cup light brown sugar and this little swap reduced my cookies down to 45 calories each!
Deliciously moist pumpkin quinoa cranberry cookies
If you've made these Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Pumpkin Quinoa Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-⅓ cups quinoa flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar (or 6 tablespoons Truvia Brown Sugar Blend (affiliate link))
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup dark molasses or liquid honey
- 1 cup dried cranberries or raisins
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a baking sheet (affiliate link) with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the quinoa flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin, oil and molasses until well blended.
- Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Gently stir in the dried cranberries.
- Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet (affiliate link), spacing them 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies are just set in the center.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 (being sure to use cool baking sheets) with the remaining cookie dough.
Recipe Notes
Recipe Source: 500 Best Quinoa Recipes: 100% Gluten-Free Super-Easy Superfood
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
If you like these low fat pumpkin quinoa cookies, you might also like:
- My post with a roundup of healthy low-fat pumpkin cookie recipes and helpful videos
- My post and recipe for 2-ingredient skinny chocolate pumpkin muffins and cookies
- These pumpkin raisin hermits are on my list to try soon (Weight Watchers)
- A fun looking no-bake pumpkin oatmeal cookie (Snack Girl)
- Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Chocolate Glaze (SkinnyTaste)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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Jeanette
This is look incredibly good. I've made cookies using quinoa flakes, but not quinoa flour yet. I think my kids would love these!
Alyssa (Everyday Maven)
I have a bag of Quinoa Flour in my pantry that I haven't done much with. I am going to try these for Thanksgiving - thanks 🙂
Nessa
How would it be to leave out the raisins? Or are they essential to the recipe/ deliciousness?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Nessa, they do add a bit of sweetness, but I don't think they are essential.