Protein Peanut Butter Cookies

These Protein Peanut Butter Cookies are so easy to make and taste amazing! You can either go with the classic peanut butter cookie shapes, or if you have endless patience and a cold kitchen, you can add some extra flour and roll out the dough to use for fun shapes! I have done it both ways, but the circular cookies resulted in me using much less four-letter words.

This is one of my few recipes that use protein powder. If you’re not feeling that, you can just use 3/4 cups of peanut butter powder instead. If you are now in a peanut butter-y mood, you should also check out these High Protein Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins! And if you’re allergic to peanuts, maybe these coconut almond butter cookies would be a good option!

Ingredients

• Sugar – I like to use half brown sugar and half white sugar for these. If you’re trying to reduce your sugar intake, you could definitely use something like monk fruit instead.
• PBFit Peanut Butter Protein Powder – I like the brand PBFit because it’s a little higher in protein, but you could also use PB2.
• PBFit Peanut Butter Spread – this brand has a higher protein content than normal protein powders. It can be harder to find though, so you could also just use normal peanut butter. The macros and calories will vary from what’s listed on the recipe card though.
• Vanilla Protein Powder – I really like the brand Orgain for this recipe, but use your favorite! Alternatively, if you don’t want to use protein powder, you can just omit it and use an extra 1/4 cup of PBFit Powder.
• Flour – if you’re gluten-free, you can definitely use a different flour option!
• Vanilla Extract – trust me; this really adds a lot to this recipe!
• Ground Flax – this is the vegan egg replacement option I prefer to use when baking. It’s cheap and easy to use. Just add water, mix and wait five minutes and then you’ve got a vegan egg!
• Salt – adjust to taste.
• Baking Powder, Baking Soda – it you want the texture to be right, these are a must have!

Instructions

• In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed and 6 tablespoons of water. Let this sit for at least 5 minutes. This will form a flax goo and is what we will be using in place of an egg.

• In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter spread, flax goo, vanilla extra and sugars together (wet ingredients).
• In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients – peanut butter powder, protein powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. I like to use a whisk so that the smaller ingredients are well dispersed.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. This should form a cookie dough that feels similar to the texture of sugar cookie dough.

• This is a very sticky dough, so let it sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes so that it’s easier to work with.
• After you pull it out of the fridge, pre-heat the oven to 350 F (177 C).
• Use a 2 tablespoon ice cream scooper to get the right size. Dough should make 16 cookies.
• Roll them into small balls.
• Roll each ball in powdered sugar and place them on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet.
• Press a fork into each ball twice, forming an X (90 degrees from each other). They should look like this.

• If you have a cold kitchen and extreme patience, and want some fun shapes, you can sprinkle some extra flour on the cookie dough and roll it out with a rolling pin. And then use whatever cookie cutters you like. Beware that this dough is very sticky so it usually won’t go your way on the first try. These thinner cookies will be crispier than the circular, classically shaped cookies.

• Whichever shape you choose, bake the cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 8 – 10 minutes. I would use 8 minutes if you’re going with cookie cutter shapes, and I would use 9 – 10 minutes if you’re going with round cookies. The less you bake them, the more chewy and soft they will be.
• Once cookies, allow them to cool for at least 5 – 10 minutes. They come out very soft and take a few minutes to firm up.

Silly Little Haiku

Go with the round shape

It’s far less frustrating

Trust me, I would know