We combine two ingredients for heart health—chocolate and quinoa—into a delicious treat for an afternoon snack, a party spread or a way to say, "I love you." Our new recipe has a secret ingredient, I Heart Keenwah's new hot cereal, which we're proud to openly share, because it makes these cookies so amazing! If you are looking for a recipe to prove that plant-based foods are just as good as any competitor, this is a good one.

Quinoa is a complete protein including all nine essential amino acids. Plant-based protein promotes heart health, and partnered with a diet rich in whole fruits and vegetables is responsible for disease prevention. Quinoa is also rich in fiber, iron and magnesium.

Compounds in the cocoa beans used to make chocolate contain polyphenols, which may help protect against heart disease too. Choose a kind which is free of dairy and refined sugar. In moderation, chocolate satisfies sweet cravings while adding something nutritional as well.

Ingredients:

2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flax sees + 4 Tbsp water, let set for 3-5 minutes)
1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup I Heart Keenwah Organic Hot Cereal Quinoa Flakes and Oats
3/4 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 bag of vegan chunky chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with a sheet of wax paper.
Prepare flax eggs in a coffee mug and let stand.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the maple syrup, vanilla and flax eggs once they are gel-like until all of these ingredients are blended smooth.
In the same bowl, stir in the I Heart Keenwah quinoa flakes and oats, oat flour, coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt.
Add the in the almond milk while stirring, adjusting the wetness until you get a good cookie batter, not too wet, not too dry. In most cases the 1/2 cup should do the trick.
Fold in the chocolate chips. For a less indulgent option, try substituting the chocolate with dried goji berries, cranberries, or fresh raspberries for more of a breakfast bar.
Scoop out mound of dough onto the baking sheet a few inches apart. I use my Tbsp to scoop to get even sizes.
Bake for 8-10 minutes on 350 degrees. Since no eggs are used, you can cook less for a more gooey cookie.

If some of these ingredients are new to you, here is a helpful resource list of brands we used to find the more unique health products: Trader Joe's Organic Ground Flax, I Heart Keenwah Hot Cereal Quinoa Flakes and Oats, Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Oat Flour, Nutiva Organic Coconut Flour, Trader Joe's Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, Enjoy Life Mega Chocolate Chip Chunks. Google any of these brands to buy online, or request them to be ordered at your local grocery store.

View the slide show for more "how-to" visuals and mouth-watering cookie shots!

Check out our interview with the founder of I Heart Keenwah, Ravi Jolly, to learn more about the plant-based, socially-conscious brand featured in this recipe!

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