The story of these chocolate chip Peanut Butter Protein Cookies begins the way so many unplanned yet critically important purchases do: in the aisle at Target. I was shopping for protein bars (and nothing else that had mysteriously made its way into my cart) when I passed a huge display of shiny wrapped peanut butter protein cookies.
Made with whey protein and covered in promises to be low carb, high fiber, and delicious, these protein cookies sounded too good to be true.
Upon closer inspection, I discovered that not only did most of these protein cookies contain nearly as many calories as a full meal (well beyond my needs for a cookie), they cost almost $3 each and the ingredient list left quite a bit to be desired. I couldn’t pronounce half of them.
Rather than spend a small fortune, I decided to see if I could come up with my own recipe for Peanut Butter Protein Cookies that delivered the same qualities promised on the wrapper—high protein, peanut butter packed, soft, chewy, delicious—but wouldn’t blow my grocery budget or eat up my daily calorie count if I decided to have more than one.
And I don’t know about you, but I usually want more than one cookie…
Say hello to my healthy homemade Peanut Butter Protein Cookies! They are just 112 calories each and contain 7 grams of protein. Eat two and you are up to 14!
These are also EASY protein cookies. One bowl, a spoon, and a little oomph is all you’ll need.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Protein Cookies—An Easy, Healthy Treat
These cookies are soft, chewy, and taste reminiscent of an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie. (These Peanut Butter Protein Bars do too!)
They’re sweet enough for dessert but wholesome enough to qualify as an acceptable post-workout snack. I couldn’t choose which occasion I preferred them for more, so I opted for both.
- In addition to the peanut butter and eggs, the majority of the protein in these cookies comes from the use of whey protein. I use this brand of vanilla whey protein powder.
- If you are in the market for a chocolate protein cookies recipe, I think these cookies would be delicious made with chocolate protein powder too.
- 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!
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies are naturally gluten free, as the whey protein and coconut flour replace the wheat 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.)
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 Protein Cookies, which are made with peanut butter, quinoa, and banana.
They are more reminiscent of a healthy muffin-like cookie than an ooey-gooey peanut butter cookie but are still a yummy, relatively high-protein option.
How to Store and Freeze These Cookies
- 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.
Other Delicious Cookie Recipes
Peanut Butter Protein Cookies with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup peanut butter or nut butter of choice, I used shelf-stable natural peanut butter—see notes if using refrigerated/drippy nut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar or light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 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.
Notes
- The consistency of the dough 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).
- No other flour can be substituted for the coconut flour. Coconut flour is incredibly unique and thus needs to be used in this recipe.
- I haven’t tried this recipe with vegan or plant-based protein powders yet, but I have heard from readers that have had success with pea protein. If you decide to try them this way, I would love to hear how it goes!
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. 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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Tried these cookies in my never ending bid to get my kids to have healthier options to store bought sugary …. they are super fussy and have a very sweet tooth. They are not completely sold …. YET!! And said they were more like a thin cake or fat pancake 🤔🤔
However, I think they are super yummy and not too sweet. I made my own cashew and walnut butter, and daisy dom dark choc ‘smarties’ then used misfits vegan vanilla protein powder
I’m going to try adding ginger spice and make them flatter so get something crispier that resembles more of a biscuit….
Glad to have found your site- Mission find something that the kids will like continues. 🤗
Thank you for your feedback Crystal! Have you tried my Trail Mix Cookies or Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies? They might be more kid friendly and they are always a hit! If you try them, let me know!
i swapped the coconut flour with regular white flour before seeing the note about coconut only haha…. they turned out pretty normal though! i also swapped the eggs with a ground flaxseed substitute so im not sure if that had anything to do with it. great yummy cookies!!
Hi Mia! Thank you for this kind review! Glad the substitutions worked out for you!
I made these cookies for a road trip to have a “healthy” snack rather than candy and potato chips, and wow these are good! They’ll probably only make it through the trip up haha. Instead of vanilla, I used chocolate hazelnut whey protein powder (since I already had that), and it compliments the peanut butter really nicely!
Hi Steph! These ARE perfect for snacking! So happy that you enjoyed them and thank you for the kind review!
It’s really easy to make and they are SO good! I eat them for breakfast or as a snack and its just amazing.
So glad you enjoyed the cookies! Thank you for this kind review!
I used regular flour because that’s all I had on hand, chocolate peanut butter protein powder, and 2 whole eggs because I forgot to separate out the second yolk. The mixture I ended up with was too sticky/gooey, so I added some oats and extra flour until it was the right consistency. They turned out perfectly! They taste great and are soft.
Hi Haley! So glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for this kind review!
This recipe is great, but I’ve been wanting to make it have even more protein. If I added another 30g (1 scoop) of whey protein powder to the recipe, what would I need to change to make sure that the cookies still came out well? I tried adding the extra 30g and the cookies came out a little cakey. Any tips would be very helpful!
Hi Preston! I’ve only tested the recipe as written, so I’m not able to give you any specific directions on adding additional protein powder. What I do recommend is for a looser dough, sprinkle the batter with a bit of milk (or almond milk). Hope this helps!
Hey Preston, I also added two scoops of whey protein, 3 more eggs whites, and 1 tbsp of milk. This upped the protein content and they turned out better than any protein cookie I’ve ever tried. 10 out of 10 recommend.
I wonder if I could sub Powdered Peanut Butter for regular PB to increase protein and reduce calories? I’m not sure if doing this would ruin the recipe though. I looked at the comments to see if anyone had already mentioned this but no one did..so here I am! ;) I’m gonna try making this today either way, so I’ll see what I end up doing but from the reviews it seems these taste great! Thanks
Hi Holly! Let me know how it turns out!
I made these 2 weeks ago for my boyfriend as he is a health freak! They were a hit!! He even bought some to work to share with his co workers and they enjoyed them! Thank you !! He asks me whats the recipe, I won’t tell him 😂😂. I’m going to make them again tomorrow 08/26/2021 to surprise him ! I even tried the cookies myself and they are sooooo good!!
I used crunchy peanut butter ! And I will be adding some crushed macadamias nuts to them tomorrow!
Hi Wan! That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you so much!
Delicious! Used vanilla pea protein powder and regular flour and they turned out perfectly! Not chewy at all but more like crispy outside and light fluffy insides! I also ditched the chocolate and added shredded coconut! Great post workout treats :)
Hi Samantha! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Absolutely delicious recipe and so so easy to make!! They come out nice and thick which I love and they are perfect for a healthier sweet snack!
Hi Anastacia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Hi! Do you think I can make these with vegan protein powder (chocolate flavored)?
Hi Ak! Yes that should work! Hope you enjoyed them!
Me and my bf loved it! We didnt have coconut floor and used wheat flour, they turned out just fine, I will try with coconut flour next time.
Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Janie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review and thanks for the feedback on using wheat flour!
Hello! Me and my GF tried to make these cookies, but after baking, our cookies looked more like english muffins and not like cookies at all… What could we have done wrong?
May be we should try different type of peanut butter, because our dough was so sticky, that we needed to double protein powder amount. Or could something else affect our result?
Thanks!
Hi Maksims, I’m so sorry that the recipe didn’t come out for you! It’s hard to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not have it work out, so I truly wish you would have enjoyed this. Some of my notes are: the consistency of the dough 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).
Made them 3 times so far, and I love them. I switched to using casein for the protein and split the pb with almond butter.
Avid weightlifter and the macros are perfect for these. Great pre/post workout & bedtime snack!
Hi Ed! So glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for this kind review!
I made these with Equate Vanilla Plant based protein powder and substituted 1/4 cup of brown sugar with 1/4 cup of Sugar Free maple syrup, used sun butter instead of PB just because it’s what I had. I am always looking for a protein packed vessel for my chocolate chips and this does the trick!
Hi Laura! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review and feedback on substitutions.
Followed recipe exactly but used brown sugar and chocolate protein powder instead. Baked for ~8 minutes. They came out PERFECT! Almost brownie-like texture. I’ll be saving this recipe and making again soon!
Hi Sarah! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
i’m allergic to coconut so i used almond flower. came out great
Hi MLT! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I’ve already left one review for this recipe but I needed to write another because it’s so versatile! The recipe is great as written and I’ve made it numerous times. But I’ve also used it as a base and changed somethings. tonight I added 3 TBSP raisins, 1/4 TSP cinnamon, swapped the coconut flour for 1/2 cup oats, used Kirkland mixed nut butter instead of PB, and I use vanilla orgain protein power. I baked them for 8 minutes. They’re incredible and just as good as the recipe as written!
Hi Katelynn, thanks for your feed back on the changes you made.
Seriously. So. Good. I am not big on “diet food” but made this recipe cause someone gave me tons of protein powder… ummm…. The cookies are so easy to make and they’re fantastic. I used almond butter & dark brown sugar & they came out awesome.
Hi Serena! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I just tried your recipe with almond flour and vainilla chai protein powder. Also added a bit more vainilla extract. It ended up wonderful.
Hi Monica! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
These look delicious, the 112 calories for one cookie only ?
I can’t wait to make them :)
Hope you enjoy them!
Followed the recipe almost exactly. Used cassava flour as I couldn’t find coconut flour. Have made them twice and mine come out a bit spongey. Any thoughts what i could do different?
Hi Ryan, it’s likely the cassava flour. It’s my understanding that Cassava flour is less dense than coconut flour, so you’ll need to use more of it than you would coconut flour. Since I’ve only tested the recipe as is, I would stick with the coconut flour or play around with the amounts to find a nice balance.