Giada De Laurentiis’ Guilt-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe Features This Superfood

Healthy meets decadent in Giada De Laurentiis‘ crunchy, nourishing, and chocolatey Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies. Here’s how to make the Food Network star’s treats that don’t taste healthy at all.

De Laurentiis uses quinoa to boost her chocolate chip cookie recipe

In her 2021 book Eat Better, Feel Better, the chef says of quinoa, “If you haven’t hopped on the quinoa train yet, it’s about time! Because it’s a seed and not a true grain, quinoa has more protein than grains like rice, oats, and barley, and a nutty flavor. I like it because it is light and the grains stay separate and fluffy, making it great on its own or as a mixer with other grains and salad greens.”

Her cookie recipe calls for raw white quinoa, unsalted butter, coconut sugar, pure vanilla extract, one egg plus one yolk, almond flour, coconut flour, kosher salt, baking soda, and bittersweet chocolate chips.

De Laurentiis shared that these cookies “have become such a staple in my house that I make them weekly. The toasted quinoa is irresistibly crunchy and, well, chocolate…! Need I say more? … They freeze really well (a good way to keep yourself from eating the entire batch at once, btw) and can be eaten straight out of the freezer.”

Giada De Laurentiis’ Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe differs from most cookie recipes in this way

While the recipe is similar to other chocolate chip cookie recipes in that wet ingredients are combined with dry ingredients, then mixed with chocolate chips, and then placed on a cookie sheet for baking, De Laurentiis’ batter needs to be refrigerated for anywhere from four hours to up to 24 hours. So, if you’re craving these cookies, make sure to make these at least a day before you actually want them.

The Everyday Italian star explained in her book the reason for the lengthy refrigeration: “They are not at all hard to make, but it is essential that you refrigerate the dough for a good long time—even overnight—or the batter won’t be firm enough to scoop and the cookies won’t hold their shape as they bake.”

Find the full recipe and reviews on Food Network’s website.

Reviewers loved De Laurentiis’ more wholesome spin on chocolate chip cookies

Even though De Laurentiis’ cookies are on the healthy side, they definitely deliver as a sweet treat.

“Super yummy for a ‘healthier’ chocolate chip cookie. Even my 7-year-old likes them! BTW, I used one stick of butter just as the recipe says, and they are great!,” one home cook said.

Another reviewer shared, “These cookies are delicious and so easy to make. I will definitely be making these again. I love to freeze them and eat them warmed from the microwave. Another delicious Giada recipe!”

“Made these this morning, a true keeper, taste is fabulous,” a fan of the cookies wrote.