Recipe: Peanut Butter Protein Cookies
These are NOT your basic protein cookies. Or your standard peanut butter cookies. They’re the best of a soft peanut butter cookie, but with a nutritional boost! Dense and doughy, without the slightest hint of ‘protein’ powder flavor, these cookies can truly be served alongside your coffee at breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. Each cookie provides 5-6 grams of protein and is rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
These cookies are baked in the air fryer, making them even easier to whip up at any time. Because air fryer settings can vary based on style/size and heat capacity, check your device instructions. This recipe could also be made in the oven with the typical conversion recommendations to increase the temperature by 25-30 degrees and use a 20% longer cook time. For these cookies, that would be around 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 9-10 minutes.
We haven’t tried different types of protein powders, but we know this recipe works well with a powder comprised of a plant protein blend. We included the weight in the “tips” section for specifics, as these details can vary widely between products. When using a different protein powder, consider making a half batch of this recipe to see how they turn out. Similarly, you can try other types of nut butter and may find some variations in dough consistency and baked cookie texture with these swaps. Also, we tried this recipe with one egg and one flax egg, so you could likely swap out both eggs for flax eggs (see tips below) to make them fully vegan if desired. The appearance of your cookies may be different than our photos based on these modifications. But ultimately, we’re confident you’ll be impressed by how easy and delicious these cookies are!
Peanut Butter Protein Cookies
Yields 16 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 C creamy natural peanut butter, stirred well to incorporate oil (see tip 1)
- 1/2 C maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 C plant-based protein powder (see tip 2)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Sea salt, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the air fryer to 290*F (see tip 3 for customization). Tear or cut 2 pieces of parchment paper that will fit the size of the bottom of the air fryer basket.
- In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients except chocolate chips and stir to combine. Fold in chocolate chips. Dough should be thick and smooth, yet also sticky to help the cookies hold their shape when placed onto parchment. If not, add another tablespoon of protein powder and stir well to combine.
- Remove the air fryer basket and carefully place the parchment inside. Set basket aside.
- Spray a tablespoon or small cookie scoop with nonstick spray and scoop dough into balls.
- Place each ball into the air fryer basket and press down slightly.
- Depending on the size of the basket, it may be able to fit 6-10 cookies. Sprinkle tops with sea salt.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden and the cookies are set. Cool for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely (cookies will still be very soft until they are fully cooled).
- Repeat steps 5-7 with remaining cookie dough.
Tips
- The peanut butter in this recipe must be natural, where there is some oil present in the jar, for the desired texture of the dough to be achieved. Before measuring, be sure to stir well to incorporate the oil so that the peanut butter is creamy and smooth. Products with refined oils or other additives won’t work, the dough will be too dry.
- We used a plant-based protein powder blend (yellow pea, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, Sacha Inchi, cranberry seed, Jerusalem artichoke) that was unflavored and unsweetened. A 1/2 C portion was roughly 50 grams, but this will vary between types of protein – especially if not using a plant-based option.
- Check your air fryer instruction guide for suggestions on temperature and time for baking cookies – your device settings may vary.
- If peanut butter isn’t well incorporated or has a less even consistency, cookies may be more flat, soft, and fluffy vs dense and doughy. Equally delicious, but a slightly different appearance than pictured.
Swaps
- For the peanut butter – cashew butter, almond butter or another creamy natural nut or seed butter
- For the eggs – two tablespoons milled/ground flax seed and 6 tablespoons water (aka ‘flax egg’)
- For the protein powder – we haven’t tested others, but have seen variations using 1/2 C of whey protein.
- For the maple syrup – honey (will make the dough thicker due to difference in consistency)
Adapted from Protein Cookies