After a lot of trial and error, I’ve learned that cookies are about the worst food to try and make a high protein version of.
The recipe on this page is the best I’ve come up with that maximizes protein content while still tasting good.
It has 4 grams of protein per 108 calories, which is better than a normal cookie, but still not great.
Making High Protein Vegan Cookies
To start with, this is a recipe for peanut butter cookies.
Why?
Because peanuts are a decent source of vegan protein, and the peanut butter essentially replaces the butter in most cookie recipes (which has 0 protein).
In addition, we can sub out some of the flour for vegan protein powder. You’ll want to pick a protein powder that tastes good and mixes well. If you need a recommendation, see my thoughts on the best tasting vegan protein powders.
Substitutions and Tips
Here are a few important things to keep in mind:
- Flour choice – You can substitute a different flour (like almond flour) for the all purpose flour to get a little more protein, but it will affect the texture. The cookies will be even more crumbly, and you may have to add a bit of extra non-dairy milk to compensate.
- Non-dairy milk – I typically use soy milk when baking. It’s higher in protein than almond milk, and a bit creamier.
- Reducing sugar content – If your vegan protein powder is on the sweet side, you can reduce the sugar added to 1/4 or even 1/5 of a cup. If you’re using an unflavored or lightly sweetened powder, I’d recommend using the full amount in the recipe. You could also sub it out for a stevia powder if the brand you buy has a 1:1 sweetness ratio.
- Nut butter – While you can substitute the peanut butter for any other nut butter, peanut butter has a higher amount of protein per calorie, so it’s typically the best choice unless you have an allergy.
Making the Cookies
These are extremely simple cookies to make. You essentially just throw in all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and bring them together.
You can start with a spatula, but you’ll need to finish the mixing using your hands.
You’ll know if the texture is right if you can form a ball of dough relatively easily without it falling apart.
If you can’t get it to stick together, add a small amount of non-dairy milk. You don’t want to add too much, or that can also ruin the texture.
After the dough is mixed, scoop out small pieces of dough with a spoon or just pull off with your hands. Roll the dough around in your hands to form a ball, and place on a baking tray (oiled or with parchment paper or silicone mat) with lots of breathing room.
Then squish down the balls with a fork. To prevent it from sticking to the cookies, dip the fork in a bit of water after every one or two cookies.
High Protein Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
High Protein Vegan Protein Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 125g
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar or organic white sugar
- 3 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 55 g all-purpose flour
- 25 g vegan protein powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt if nut butter is unsalted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking tray with non-stick spray or a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the peanut butter and sugar and mix thoroughly.
- Add in all the other ingredients: Almond milk, vanilla, flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix at first with a spatula, and finish by using your hands.
- Form small balls of dough and roll them into balls in your hands. Put them on your baking tray with lots of space between them.
- Flatten the balls using the bottom of a fork in a crisscross pattern. Wet the fork with water if it’s sticking.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes, remove from the oven, and let cool (they may crumble if they don’t cool enough).
- I’ve never had to do this step, but you can put the cookies in an air-tight container to store in the fridge for a few weeks if you don’t eat them all first.
Notes
See our page of other high protein vegan recipes with pea powder if you’d like more ideas.
