Protein No-Bake Cookies

Soy-free Option

• Use TPP (Textured Pea Protein) in place of the TVP.
• Use a non-soy plant-based milk option instead.

These Protein No-Bake Cookies taste just like the ones you remember from when you were a kid! The only real difference is that we use TVP instead of oats (which are typically used). Because we use TVP, we add protein and a decent amount of fiber!

Normally in my TVP baked goods recipes, I won’t have you re-hydrate the TVP, but this one is different since it’s not being baked. We will be adding a small amount of water just to soften the TVP before we add it to the mixture.

If you’re looking for more fun sweet recipes to use TVP in, be sure to check out my High Protein Chocolate Chip Cookies, High Protein Blueberry Muffins and Protein Banana Nut Muffins!

Ingredients

• Vegan Butter – use whichever brand you prefer.
• Sugar – I used white sugar.
• Soy Milk – you can use a different plant-based milk if you prefer (or if you have a soy allergy).
• Cocoa Powder
• Peanut Butter – I used normal peanut butter to keep the cost per serving down, but if you’re trying to improve the macros of this recipe, you could use the PBFit Peanut Butter Spread which has more protein.
• Vanilla Extract
• TVP – Textured Vegetable Protein – if you’re newer to vegan cooking, you may not have heard of TVP before. It’s basically just de-fatted soy flour and it’s typically used as a mince/ground meat substitute. But it works surprisingly well in high protein baked goods, and it’s also really cheap (on a grams of protein/$ basis). You can find it at most grocery stores and because it’s shelf stable, you can also purchase it online. For this recipe, I’m specifically referring to the smaller granules of TVP like what you get when you buy Bob’s Red Mill or Anthony’s TVP.
• Salt

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, mix the dried TVP with 1/2 cup of water. You should mix this together very, very well until you feel like you’ve moistened all of the TVP.
  • TVP is kind of hard if it’s not re-hydrated, but because we don’t want this to be soggy and disgusting, we’re only using a tiny amount of water to soften the TVP before we add it to the cookie mixture.
• Allow the TVP to soften for at least 15 minutes.

• In a large pot, add the vegan butter, sugar, soy milk and salt. Melt everything down and whisk together well. I like to use a whisk for this step, mostly to ensure that there are no clumps of cocoa powder left.
• Once everything is melted, bring the mixture to a hard boil for 3 minutes (I typically use medium-high heat for this). You should be stirring continuously to prevent any burning. This step is crucial to ensuring the cookies will set up, so I would recommend setting a timer so you make sure it’s boiling for long enough.

• Remove from the heat.
• Add the vanilla extract and peanut butter. Stir really well until everything is mixed together.

• Add the softened TVP to the peanut butter and chocolate mixture.
• Mix very well until all of the TVP is completely coated.

• Using a 2 tablespoon scooper (or just a spoon), drop around 2 tbsp of the cookie dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. You should end up with around 20 cookies. Because the TVP is a lot less dense than oats, it helps to press the dough dough and try to compact it, so that the cookies retain their shape better when you go to pick them up. Fair warning – the dough is super sticky.

• Refrigerate the cookies for at least 60 minutes (longer is better).
  • It should be noted that these don’t set up as hard as the typical no-bake cookies made with oats, but they are equally delicious!

Silly Little Haiku

TVP is key

No protein powder in these

No-bake cookies rock