Sorry guys, I haven’t been around much lately…
Life kinda got in the way, you see! 
Ever since my friend got here, the hours have been flying like they were mere minutes and it feels like every single day is over before it’s even begun.
Hey, time flies when you’re having fun!
To say that there aren’t enough hours to a day would be an understatement.
Needless to say that my “computer time” has taken a serious hit.
Can you imagine that I barely even took my camera out this week? My last photo upload was made almost 2 weeks ago. I think that the food blogger in me is a bit destabilized…
But fear not, people, things will return to normal soon; Sadly, my friend will have to go back to their far far away home and this little vacation of mine will come to an end.
Plus, I’m not saying that I haven’t been cooking anything at all, you know. I WILL have recipes for you, that much is a certainty. And I’ve got some pretty great ones coming up too!
Much like these Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Squares.
Of course, you already know that whenever I cook quinoa, I ALWAYS cook extra in order to work on some new and creative way to use it. It’s almost become like a personal challenge of some sort.
One that I truly enjoy. And I think that, this last time, I’ve really outdone myself.
Since I’d really been dying to try Annie’s baked oatmeal recipe but want to stay off grains for a while still, I thought I’d create something similar, using quinoa instead of oats. Oh, and of course, I had to throw in some of that almond pulp, you know!
Then the vision transformed and took the shape of a square…
Squares are just so much more portable, you know. And I’m all for portability, since I tend to bring a lot of my creations to work with me and enjoy them as a morning or afternoon snack.
These baked quinoa squares fit the bill perfectly. They are sweet, but not overly so, are loaded with apples and raisins and all sorts of ingredients that’ll do your body good.
So basically, you’re looking at a super tasty and convenient snack, quick grab breakfast, or even a light dessert.
This one, I will definitely be making again!
INGREDIENTS
- 1/3 cup flaxseed meal
- 1 cup almond pulp (leftover from milk)
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used home made)
- ¾ cups (6) egg whites
- 1 apple, diced (you can leave the peel on)
- ½ cup raisins (I used Sultana)
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- 2 x ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ - ½ nutmeg, grated
- ¼ tsp ground clove
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375F. Coat a 8 x 12 baking dish with cooking spray (or brush with olive oil) and set aside.
- Add flaxseed meal, almond pulp, cooked quinoa, apple sauce and egg whites to a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
- In a seperate bowl, combine apple, raisins, pecans, ¼ cup coconut and spices. Fold into quinoa mixture.
- Pour that mixture into prepared dish and press it down rather firmly with a spatula, until nice and even. Sprinkle ¼ cup coconut overtop and bake for 45 minutes.
- Cool for an hour or two and transfer to refrigerator to cool completely (at least 6 hours) then cut into 15 squares.
Notes
Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, No Sugar Added
These look fantastic but do you have any suggestions for a substitution for the almond pulp? I drink almond milk but I don’t make my own.
Thanks, Tara! I think that you could safely use almond meal instead of pulp. I have made the substitution with a few other recipes without really affecting the end result. Given the “forgiving” nature of this one, I’m fairly confident to say that it would work just as great, if not better.
Let me know how they turn out if you do give them a try!
Oh, and ps… I really think that you should give home made almond milk a shot… it’s SOOOOO much better, and so easy to make. You might never want to go back!
these look amazing! I would love for you to link up on my blog!
http://successful2gether.blogspot.com/2012/04/successful-saturday-link-up-week-10.html
Mais quelle bonne idée! Je n’ai encore jamais essayé le quinoa mais compte le faire très bientôt. De plus, je savais pas qu’on pouvait aussi l’utiliser en dessert!
En passant, j’aime beacuoup le nouveau style de ton blog!
Merci beaucoup Maude! J’apprécie énormément!
Just made bars with cooked quinoa today myself, so good! These squares look amazing; what could you sub the almond pulp??
LOL! I guess I really oughta try this exact recipe using almond meal instead of pulp!
I think I will… but if you happen to give it a try before I do, Michelle, please let me know how it worked out! 
This sound like a stupid question, but how do you cook your quinoa, whenever i cook it it tastes horrible, but if i buy it ready made i like it, so i think it must be the way i cook it.
The only thing that I could think of that would make your quinoa taste bad, abi, is if you aren’t rinsing it prior to cooking it. Quinoa needs to be rinsed THOROUGHLY to relieve it of the saponin that it contains, which confers an extremely bitter taste to the seeds. Just rinse it under running cold water until it no longer “foams” at the surface.
Hope this helps!
YUM! These are my kind of treat! I always make extra quinoa when I cook it, and I love your creativity as usual – these have been added to my must-make list!
These ingredients remind me of Fall….and seeing how that’s my favorite season, I’d love to try this recipe.
I love all the great recipes that are out there using quinoa! These look really good. : )
any idea on a calorie, fat and protein count?? Just curious but cant wait to try them
Wish I did, Katie, but I haven’t crunched in the numbers… Definitely something I need to look into!
This website has a Recipe Calculator, fairly simple to use. Also a software program called AccuChef – that costs about $20, I think. Love your recipes and motivational photos.
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp – Sorry ! Forgot to include website in first post.
Yum this looks great! You had me at the title. I will definitely try out this recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for the idea- I am going to make these tomorrow for a baking club I belong to. Since I dont have any almond pulp, I think I may grind 1/2 cup of almonds, and add a little more liquid.. I guess I need to see what the texture looks like.
COOL! I’m thinking that it will work fabulously, probably even better than the original. Please let me know how they turned out!
I made these today and really enjoyed them. They may be a little too adventurous for my 7 year old (though she ate all of hers) but my 2 year old loved them! Thank you! Oh and I used almond meal instead of the pulp.
Good to hear! Thank you so much for letting me know, Meela. Real happy to hear that the almond meal worked as good as the pulp. I was pretty sure that the two would be interchangeable, but it’s really nice to get confirmation. So cool that your 2 year old loved ‘em too! Big YAY for that!
Hi Sonia
How squidgy are these meant to be once they are cool? I’ve had them out of the oven for a couple of hours and was just about to pop them in the fridge but couldn’t resist cutting a square out to give them a try. They’re really, really moist inside. I don’t imagine this is going to change after being in the fridge over night… is this right? I used your recipe exactly (except for using ground almonds instead of pulp) but now I’m worried I didn’t bake them for long enough. Thoughts?
Thanks,
Laura
To be honest, Laura, I have no idea… I haven’t cut into them until the next morning. I remember them being really moist, but cooked through though. And a tad on the crumbly side. I don’t think your using almond meal instead of pulp would make that much of a difference. If anything, it would probably make them a tad firmer. Maybe the applesauce? There could be a little bit more moisture in commercial vs the home made that I used? Still, I don’t think they should be THAT different… I really hope they turn out fine! Please let me know!
Hi again – sorry for the delay!
Just wanted to let you know that I figured out where I went wrong – I didn’t actually put any ground almond in! I opened the bag but didn’t measure out it and add it – sheesh! Will do better next time.
They actually came out ok anyway – I just flipped them over and stuck them back in the oven for a bit – well, ok enough that my partner gobbled them up but I’m sure the original recipe is much better.
Will let you know how they go the next time – merci Sonia!
LOL! That explains a lot of things!
Happy to hear you were still able to save the recipe and that “someone” appreciated them enough still to gobble them up! Guess they still tasted alright!
Let me know how they turn out if you ever give them another try!
Et tout le plaisir est pour moi, vraiment! 
Hi Sonia, these look super delish, as usual
If I don’t have almond pulp, can I use a bit of almond milk and ground almonds instead? Thanks!
ps: so sad that I have to wait overnight to eat these…it’s going to be so tough
Hey Claudia! You could probably just sub almond meal instead of using almond pulp. So far, the substitution has worked every single time it was tried. And you don’t HAVE to wait overnight… it’s just that if you don’t, then you’d have to change the squares’ name to crumble… but they’re still just as good!
Hope you like ‘em!