Protein cookies anyone? Peanut butter meets chocolate in these soft baked cookies. You will never believe these are protein cookies!
Super chewy, slightly crispy on the outside, each cookie boasts over 10g of protein, plus it's refined sugar-free and gluten-free! Compared to Lenny & Larry's cookies, these cookies are gluten-free, refined sugar-free, have the same amount of protein and 6 grams less sugar for the same amount of calories. Oh, and they taste awesome!
The base is oat flour, peanut butter, and protein powder. For the sweetener, I went with coconut sugar, which gives the cookies a nice caramel flavor.
Here is a quick tip. The protein powder you use can make a huge difference in flavor. I tried 5 different brands, some resulting in inedible cookies while others were very neutral and you could not taste them. I got terrible results with pea protein powder, giving an earthy, unpleasant flavor to the cookies, so I would recommend staying away from this one, at least for cookies.
In the end, the two protein powders I got the best results with were Sprout's Living Epic Protein and Pumpkin Seed Protein powders. I could not taste them in the cookies, and my testers neither. I'm sure there are other great brands you can use, feel free to let me know your favorite ones!
Once your batter is ready, you simply transfer one half to another mixing bowl and add the cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Then form one chocolate ball with your hands, one peanut butter ball, and combine them together to form a bigger one.
Unlike other cookie recipes, you have to shape them into a cookie shape before baking. They won't spread and will only puff a bit.
After 13 minutes in the oven, you end up with delicious protein-packed cookies that are soft on the inside without being cakey or dry.
What I also love about these cookies is that they have a long shelf-life. Wrapped in plastic wrap they will keep for up to two weeks. Want to bring them on your next adventure? Just swap the chocolate chips for peanuts, this way you are sure nothing will melt!
Can you see how big these cookies are?!
My favorite way to eat these cookies is to crumble them and use as a topping for banana ice cream or oatmeal. It adds a nice crunch as well as protein.
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Protein Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 10 tablespoon coconut sugar
- ¼ cup vegan protein powder I usually use Sprout's Living Epic Protein or Pumpkin Seed Protein powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 5 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 and ½ tablespoon almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ¼ cup chocolate chips
- Optional: ¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oat flour, coconut sugar, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the melted coconut oil, peanut butter, almond milk, vanilla extract, and chopped peanuts if using. Mix until well combined using a wooden spoon.
- Transfer half of the dough to another mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon almond milk. Mix until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. If the dough seems too dry, add one more teaspoon of almond milk until you get the texture of a cookie dough.
- Take about one and a half tablespoon of the chocolate cookie dough. Roll into a ball. Take one and a half tablespoon of the peanut butter cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Combine the two balls together to form one larger ball. Place it on the baking sheet and flatten with the palm of your hand, smooth the edges. You want to shape it into a cookie shape since it won't spread or flatten during baking. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges appear golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet. Cookies will be soft at first but will firm up as they cool. You can press a few more chocolate chips on top while the cookies are still warm.
- To store: Place them in an airtight container, or wrap each cookie individually in plastic wrap. Cookies will keep for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
Hi, Can I use all purpose flour as substitute for oat flour? Will measurements be the same? Thanks!
Hi Camille, I think it will work but you might have to adjust a bit the amount of flour. All-purpose flour won't absorb the same amount of liquid as oat flour.
Recipe was perfect - need to work on my ‘swirl’ effect when putting the two doughs together. I added cinnamon to the peanut butter side and it was a good addition. Also subbed in light brown sugar as I didn’t have coconut and seemed to work just fine
Awesomeç Cinnamon sounds like a great addition!
Ive been baking these cookies for over a year now! My absolute favourite vegan cookie receipe
Ohhh thanks for your feedback Eimear! 🙂
Hi, can I given up on the peanut butter in the recipe ?
It should work!
Hi can I give up the protein powder? Do I need to replace it with anything ?
Hi, I think if you omit it you might want to add 2-3 tbsp more of oat flour.
How to make them more crispy and less chewy?
You could try adding more oil.
Excellent. I used Naked Rice protein. It was undetectable. My kids love them, too. Thank you!
Thanks for your feedback Matt!
I tried this recipe, and they are delicious!
Thanks Rayan!
Super yummy! I made these subbing ground flaxseed for the protein powder. Taste was great, but came out a bit dry. I added 1/3 cup coconut sugar instead of the 1/2 cup so maybe thats why? Next time i'll add a bit more almond milk.
Ground flaxseeds and less sugar probably affected the texture.
I would recommend adding a bit more oil if you want your cookies less dry.
Hi, I love your recipe! I was just wondering if nutritional value changes when you bake the cookies? For example, is it possible that protein powder loses some of its value? Thanks!
Thanks Lotte! Considering tofu doesn't lose protein value when it's baked I doubt the protein powder will really lose any protein content, or that may be very small.
These came out VERY tasty! I subbed a few things for what I happened to have - almond flour was the big one, and I used vanilla flavored protein powder so I skipped the extract - and it still came out awesome. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You're welcome Nat! 🙂
Hi! Can I omit the oil for a banana? I have bananas but no oil..
You could try but it will definitely change the texture and flavor.