My Best Protein Cookies Yet

Protein cookies. The holy grail for those of us with a sweet tooth who also seek gains. I’ve tried many recipes, most of them driving me back into the arms of traditional chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. When I discovered a forgotten bag of overripe bananas in the freezer, I decided the idea of a sweet treat that gave me a few grams of protein was worth one last attempt. After all, there’s only so many times one can make banana bread. I guess I was expecting them to be a bust, because when I bit into the soft and chewy final product, I actually shouted “oh hell yeah!” to no one in particular. And these have oats in them, which mean it’s totally acceptable to wolf down a couple for breakfast. Right?

Makes about 28 cookies, 25g of dough each. Approximate macros per cookie : 4g protein, 9g carbs, 7g fat, 109 calories

Ingredients:

• 60g old fashioned oats

• 80g protein powder (preferably a mild flavor, I used this one)

• 10g cornmeal

• 115g granulated sugar

• 30g zero calorie sweetener (I used Splenda)

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 75g shortening

• 2 tsp almond extract

• 130g overripe banana

• 205g chunky peanut butter

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F

2. Whisk together oats, protein powder, and cornmeal.

3. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, sweetener, banana, peanut butter, almond extract, and shortening until creamy.

4. Add in dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

5. Scoop out spoonfuls of dough onto greased or paper lined cookie sheet.

6. Bake for approx 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

7. Allow to cool before storing or serving.