
Gluten-Free, Refined Sugar-Free Quinoa Raisin Cookies
You’ll love my gluten-free, refined sugar-free spin on Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. For those of you who can’t eat oats, these are the perfect solution. And, if you can eat oats make these anyway. They’ve got a healthy nutritional boost from quinoa flakes.
I remember the days when I couldn’t make a gluten-free cookie that was soft and chewy with just the right texture and mouth feel. Thank goodness those days are gone.

What is it about a good cookie, anyway? I haven’t quite decided if I love a good cookie because it’s the ultimate finger-food dessert or because you get so many different textures in one bite. Or maybe it’s the simplistic design – everything you could want is packaged neatly in one round little cake.
What do you love about cookies?
Other Gluten-Free Cookies
- Carob Dipped Pecan Shortbread Cookies from SS&GF
- Fig & Date Bars from Tasty Eats at Home (a recipe from my book)
- Almond Flour Cookies with a Nutty Crunch from Gluten-Free Goddess
- Chocolate Chip Pecan Squares from She Let Them Eat Cake
Cari, from Can I Get The Recipe, featured the Parchment Paper Baked Fish from my new book in a recent post. Stop by and take a look.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup palm sugar (aka – coconut palm sugar)
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup Amy’s Basic Flour Blend
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup quinoa flakes
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the palm sugar in 2 additions, letting it mix in thoroughly before adding more. Add the egg and mix until uniformly combined, then mix in the vanilla extract and water.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour blend, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Add to the butter mixture in one addition and mix until combined. Add the quinoa flakes and mix in, then add the raisins and mix just until they’re evenly distributed throughout.
- Use a cookie scoop or two soup spoons to drop the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 – 14 minutes, rotating 180 degrees halfway through. The cookies are done when they just start to get light golden brown around the edges. Let cookies cool on the sheet for several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.












Rhonda
posted on April 18, 2011 at 1:45 pm
YEAH! Thank you so much for these, so yummy and moist. My husband cant eat oatmeal and really misses oatmeal cookies. What a wonderful surprise I can give him.
Thank you for all your great recipes and your book too : )…
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Amy Reply:
April 18th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
@Rhonda, I’m glad you like the recipe…let me know what your husband thinks. Joe loves them.
So glad you like the book too!
Hugs,
Amy
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Chickiepea's Blog: Eating for Autoimmune Health
posted on April 18, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Hi Amy. Can you update the measurement for the butter? Is it half a stick or half a cup?
Thanks
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
April 18th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
@Chickiepea’s Blog: Eating for Autoimmune Health, Updated! Thanks for catching that.
It’s 1/2 cup or 1 stick.
Hugs,
Amy
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Chickiepea's Blog: Eating for Autoimmune Health
posted on April 18, 2011 at 3:40 pm
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Barb
posted on April 18, 2011 at 4:01 pm
I just got your book from Amazon. Can’t wait to try some of the recipes.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
April 18th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
@Barb, Yea! I’m so glad! I can’t wait to hear what you think.
So grateful for your support, Barb!
Amy
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Maggie
posted on April 18, 2011 at 5:31 pm
These look so good Amy! I love the use of quinoa instead of oats. I think they’ll have to go on my list! And thanks for linking to me
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
April 18th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
@Maggie, I love your Chocolate Chip Pecan Squares…especially with ground chia seeds in them. And, yep, quinoa flakes instead of oats are always yummy.
Hugs!
Amy
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Catherine
posted on April 18, 2011 at 7:50 pm
These look fantastic Amy! Can’t wait to try them. Quick question if you don’t mind: if I want to use stevia to sweeten instead of the coconut sugar do I need to adjust the other ingredients at all? Cheers
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melanie
posted on April 18, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Hi Amy – I saw your post this morning and was so inspired by the simplicity and flexiblity of your recipe. I just purchased some palm sugar last week and am loving it! I veganized your recipe and used a different mix of flours and also used cranberries and walnuts. And, it was delicious! Here’s my recipe:
http://mindfulfood.blogspot.com/2011/04/quinoa-cranberry-cookies.html
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AJ
posted on April 19, 2011 at 4:21 pm
These cookies are wonderful!
just one thing..adding the cinnamon wasn’t included in the recipe, and it almost made me forget to add it which would have just been a terrible, the cinnamon makes the cookies so much yummier. I also made them with a flax egg, and it worked out great
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claudia
posted on April 19, 2011 at 6:34 pm
These cookies look great! I’ll do them soon
(I’m a little bit overwhelmed by mixing the flour, but I’ll do it as soon as my semester is over)
[Reply]
Chickiepea's Blog: Eating for Autoimmune Health
posted on April 20, 2011 at 11:17 am
I made changes, but they still turned out great. We’re not used to much sweetener, so I thought they were a tad too sweet and will reduce the sugar even more next time.
These are way better than the Mary’s Gone Crackers ones, and came together really quickly.
Thanks
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Cara
posted on April 20, 2011 at 7:29 pm
I’ve never worked with quinoa flakes, but now I’ll certainly look out for them. Thanks, Amy!
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Alta
posted on April 22, 2011 at 11:07 am
I love oatmeal raisin cookies, and I love quinoa flakes, but I’ve never made quinoa raisin cookies. You’d think that would have crossed my mind…anyway, these look so good. Soft and lovely. With a cookie like this, that’s what I go for – soft, slightly chewy.
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Colleen
posted on April 23, 2011 at 10:20 pm
I would like to try and make these and haven’t done much GF baking yet. Which flour blend should I follow since you have a few listed? Thanks so much.
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Lynne
posted on May 17, 2011 at 2:31 pm
What a wonderful cookie. I made mine using earth balance ‘butter’ sticks and a chia/water mixture for the eggs because of dairy and egg allergies but the cookies still turned out great. They didn’t spread and look as nice as yours but taste delicious anyway. Thanks once again for all your contributions to gf/ss cooking.
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Linda
posted on July 15, 2011 at 4:41 pm
Amy,
I’ve been using Coconut Palm sugar from Central Market but it is thick and syrupy. Where can I buy the dry sugar? Also, I have not had any luck finding Quinoa FLAKES. Any suggestions?
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
July 16th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
@Linda, You have the liquid form – Coconut Nectar, right?. My Whole Foods carries palm sugar. Also – I have links to on-line sources that sell palm sugar in this post:
http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/coconut-palm-sugar/
Hugs,
Amy
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Cristin Doyle
posted on October 14, 2011 at 2:24 pm
OMG!! Does it count as lunch if 7 cookes is all ate?? These are amazing! I know already i need to make more, i will eat them all by the end of the day
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Amy Reply:
October 17th, 2011 at 2:16 pm
@Cristin Doyle, I love this recipe, too. Thanks for sharing, Cristin!
Hugs,
Amy
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Melissa Monkhouse
posted on July 19, 2012 at 2:18 pm
These look so delicious, but I have a question…
I’m new to gluten-free eating and I’ve recently bought lots of gluten free products and kind of broke the bank.
I have quinoa seeds at home, but I don’t have quinoa flakes. Can I use the whole quinoa seeds or do you need it in flake form for them to work?
Let me know! Thank you!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
July 25th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
@Melissa Monkhouse, You need quinoa flakes. They’re similar to quick-cooking oats. You could use gluten-free oat – quick cooking or regular – instead.
Hugs!
Amy
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Leah
posted on August 1, 2012 at 1:09 am
I’m on sugar restrictions that are limited to honey and stevia only, and only as a treat. Can you make a suggestion on how to tweak the recipe to switch the coconut palm sugar to one of these? Thanks!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
@Leah, You’ll have to play around because the liquid sweeteners make the cookies more cake-like. I’d start with the same amount and adjust from there to get the sweetness you like. You might need more flour because of the additional liquid.
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