These chocolate chip peanut butter Protein Cookies are soft, chewy, and taste reminiscent of an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie. But surprise! They are just 112 calories each and contain 7 grams of protein, making them the perfect post-workout treat!
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Chocolate chip peanut butter protein cookies—without the price tag of store-bought.
I was very excited when I first found protein cookies in that protein aisle at Target. (If, like me, you’re always trying to up your protein, you’re definitely familiar with the protein aisle.) But whoa: they are SO expensive!
Rather than spend a small fortune, I decided to see if I could come up with my own recipe for protein cookies that wouldn’t blow my grocery budget or eat up my daily calorie count if I decided to have more than one. And I have to say, my endeavor was a success!
- These homemade protein cookies are sweet enough for dessert but wholesome enough to qualify as an acceptable post-workout snack.
- In addition to the peanut butter and eggs, the majority of the protein in these cookies comes from whey protein. (I use this brand of vanilla whey protein powder, but you could totally use chocolate if you’d like).
- This protein cookie recipe is naturally gluten-free, as whey protein and coconut flour replace the wheat flour.
If you’ve never purchased whey protein powder and aren’t looking to (though I’d hope that any of these recipes with protein powder would convince you), you can check out my original Oatmeal Protein Cookies, which are made with peanut butter, quinoa, and banana.
5 Star Review
“This recipe is amazing! I have such a sweet tooth but I have fitness goals so these are perfect, they taste like a peanut butter cookie.”
— Trish —
My Tips for Perfect Protein Cookies
If you can make Chocolate Chip Cookies or Peanut Butter Protein Bars, you can make these chocolate chip peanut butter protein cookies too. They’re super easy, but here are some tips I’ve picked up over the years of making this recipe.
- Use Other Protein Powders With Caution. I haven’t tried a plant-based protein powder yet, but a few readers have reported that pea protein powders have yielded delicious results. If you decide to play around with the recipe and test it out, I’d love to hear how it goes!
- But Don’t Swap Out the Coconut Flour. Coconut flour is also high protein and high fiber too; you can read all about it in this post for Coconut Flour Cookies (this is the brand I buy). It works differently in baking than other flours, so if you switch this out with something else, there is a high likelihood that your protein cookies won’t work out!
- Adjust the Consistency of the Dough If Needed. Because every protein powder has a different formulation, you may need to adjust the recipe a bit to get the right texture for the dough. Add more protein powder if it seems too wet, or more liquid if it seems too dry and won’t come together properly.
- Let Them Cool Before Enjoying. These protein cookies are more reminiscent of a healthy muffin-like cookie than an ooey-gooey peanut butter cookie, so proper cooling will ensure that they’re fully set and don’t crumble!
How to Make Protein Cookies
Prepare. Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat it 350 degrees F.
Make the Dough. Stir together the peanut butter, coconut sugar, salt, egg, egg white, and vanilla extract, then mix in the baking soda, protein powder, and coconut flour.
Form the Cookies. Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten the tops a bit.
Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the edges are dry to the touch but the middles are still a bit puffy and doughy. Cool the protein cookies on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. ENJOY!
More Healthy Cookie Recipes to Try
- If your favorite snack is a banana slathered with peanut butter, you’re going to adore these easy Peanut Butter Banana Cookies.
- For another gluten-free cookie option, try my simple Almond Flour Cookies.
- Peanut butter lovers, be sure to add these Healthy Peanut Butter Cookie to your baking agenda too!
Protein Cookies
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Ingredients
- ½ cup peanut butter or nut butter of choice, I used shelf-stable natural peanut butter—see notes if using refrigerated/drippy nut butter
- ¼ cup coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup vanilla whey protein powder ~36 grams
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, coconut sugar, salt, egg, egg white, and vanilla extract. Mix briskly until ingredients are well blended. Sprinkle the baking soda over the top. With a rubber spatula, work in the protein powder and coconut flour until well combined. The will seem very dry first but will continue to come together as you stir and push. Fold in chocolate chips.
- At this point, judge your dough, as the amount of moisture may vary based on the brand of protein powder and nut butter you use. It should be slightly sticky but not a total mushy mess. If you need a firmer dough, add a bit more protein powder. For a looser dough, sprinkle the batter with a bit of milk (or almond milk) and with a spatula, fold it in until the dough comes together.
- With a small cookie scoop or spoon, portion the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls and drop onto your prepared baking sheet (you will have 12 to 14 cookies total). With your fingers, gently flatten the tops of the cookies, as they will not spread but will puff up during baking.
- Bake for 5 to 6 minutes, until the edges are barely golden brown and dry to the touch but the middles seem fairly doughy. Do not overbake! Place the cookie sheet on a wire rack and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring them directly to the wire rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
- No other flour can be substituted for the coconut flour. Coconut flour is incredibly unique and thus needs to be used in this recipe.
- TO STORE: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- TO FREEZE: You can also freeze them for up to 3 months, then thaw a few at a time. I don’t recommend microwaving the cookies, as this tends to dry them out.
Nutrition
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Delicious! These have the consistency of a moireish protein bar. Soft, chewy, and so quick and easy to make. Made them three times already – always a double recipe ;) Thanks for sharing!
Whoo hoo, so glad to hear it!
Oh my gosh, they are so good. I switched out the protein powder for Muscle Milk chocolate, and it’s so good.
Honestly, my boyfriend needs to gain weight and these are perfect for him. And I don’t feel bad feeding these to him since they are more healthy than most snacks.
Great to hear, thank you Jess!
These were so good. I made them with unflavoured sprouted brown rice protein. Will make again!
Great to hear, thank you Jessica!
Delicious! I used chocolate whey protein, and almond flour (I didn’t have coconut flour on hand) They are delicious! Beware, you might want to eat them all in one sitting.
So glad it worked for you, Joni! Thank you!
Hi can u advise ingredients in grams I am in the uk and have no cup measure and there isn’t a standard conversion thanks
Hi Steph, Unfortunately, I’m not able to provide metric measurements. There are several online conversion sites—one good one is from King Arthur! Here’s the link: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.
These are great! I used chunky peanut butter because I didn’t have smooth and it worked fine, except they took me almost 15 minutes to bake and the recipe made 23 tablespoon cookies?? I don’t know how that happened but it’s ok because now I have more cookies
Great to hear, Chloe. You’ll portion the cookie dough by tablespoonfuls which means you’ll use more than 1 tablespoon to portion the cookies, so you could just make them a little bigger or keep them small, it’s pretty flexible!
This recipe is amazing! I have such a sweet tooth but I have fitness goals so these are perfect, they taste like a peanut butter cookie :). I did use Truvani pea protein, and it worked great!
I think my dough was a bit dry, next time I will add a splash of almond milk, but overall, turned out amazing ! Thank you for your recipes:)
Great to hear, thank you Trish!
I was admittedly a bit skeptical of this recipe, as I have a history of experimenting with protein powder in my baking and it often yields a strange texture. But – I’m so glad I tried it! This blew my expectations out of the water. I omitted chocolate chips and made them like regular peanut butter cookies, and they are great. Chewy, brownie-like texture, not too sweet, good peanut butter taste. Thanks for a fantastic recipe, I’ll make it again!
Yay! Great to hear, Emily!
My husband just started buying those expensive quest cookies and I told him I could just make them. I tried a different recipe and they came out terrible so I bought a few different ingredients and decided to try this recipe. Thank god I did. Followed recipe exactly and they taste exactly like quest cookies but better. Anyone try using the PB Fit powder instead of actual peanut butter? Thank you for recipe
So glad to hear you enjoyed them, Jenna! Thank you!
I have made this recipe for my son at least 25 times this year. He is obsessed with them. The only slight change I make is not measuring my chips or occasionally subbing out some of the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips. I use Orgain Organic vanilla protein powder. Thanks so much for this recipe. It’s a keeper for sure.
Yay! Thank you Tiffany!
Hey Erin, this was a pretty great recipe! First time baking with protein powder ever! I used the brand Schinoussa Whey Isolate (creamy vanilla flavour), and pretty much followed you recipe but used regular sized dark chocolate chips instead. The taste was pretty awesome and almost no off taste from the protein powder. I see what you mean about baking them for a short time to get the right texture. I baked them for about 8 mins and the smaller cookies were cakier while the larger cookies were chewier! Next time will pull them out at 6 minutes! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Thanks so much for the feedback on the type of protein powder that you used, Ree! Glad you enjoyed these cookies!
These are the best tasting fudgiest cookies EVER!!! I had to tweak it a little as I only had chocolate vegan protein powder and almond flour but if you follow the recipe as is you don’t need to make any changes BUT WOW I cannot stop eating these. They taste like fudge brownies. I can’t wait to try with vanilla protein powder. I’ve made these twice in the last 4 days because they’re that good. Second time around I took them out of the oven before I thought they were done and they were PERFECT!
Yay! So glad it worked for you, Tara! Thank you!
So excited to make these and bought all the ingredients. What a disappointment they taste awful and horrible cakey texture. I do not recommend.
I’m sorry to hear the recipe wasn’t to your taste, Nancy. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not enjoy it. I (and many other readers) have enjoyed it, so I really wish they would’ve been a hit for you too! Anything in particular we can help you troubleshoot?
We absolutely loved it!
Great to hear! Thanks Jacqueline!
This worked exactly as written, thanks! So, so, so yummy!
Great to hear, thank you Kelly!
These look great. I wonder if you could post some recipes for baking that uses non-whey protein powder? So many people are lactose-intolerant. I’m at the point where sometimes I don’t open a post that says high-protein because of this issue. Thanks!
Hi Lori, you are in luck because all of our recipes that contain protein powder can easily be substituted with any kind of protein powder. Hope this helps and ENJOY!