Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies (Soft, with Almond Flour)

These chocolate chip protein cookies are going to be your new favorite healthy snack. The combination of nut butter and whey protein makes unbelievably soft, chewy cookies that are packed with flavor!

These healthy cookies are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth, and a great alternative to protein bars when you're on-the-go.

The best protein cookies are easy to make (in my opinion), so we're not using any mixers or fancy ingredients. These cooking are filling, too. Truly the best protein chocolate chip cookie recipe!

Ingredients

• Cashew butter (or almond butter)
• Egg white
• Vanilla whey protein powder
• Almond flour
• Granulated erythritol (or monk fruit erythritol blend)
• Baking powder
• Stevia (optional, omit if using monk fruit erythritol blend)
• Sugar free chocolate chips (I used these dark chocolate chips)

Equipment

No need for a hand mixer or food processor here! But I do recommend using an oven thermometer and a kitchen scale for best results. You'll also need:

• Small bowl
• Fork
• Parchment Paper
• Cookie sheet
• Cooling rack

I also like to use these disposable gloves when I get my hands in food.

How to make these protein chocolate chip cookies

1. Preheat your oven to 325F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine the cashew butter and egg white.

3. Add the dry ingredients (but not the chocolate chips yet). And mix to combine.

4. Fold in the chocolate chips. You may want to use your hands.

5. Break the protein cookie dough into 6 equally sized pieces (use your kitchen scale if you want them to be exact!) and roll each piece into a ball.
6. Place on the prepared baking sheet and press to flatten (these cookies won't spread like traditional chocolate chip cookies).

7. Bake protein cookies in preheated oven for about 8 minutes or until the centers are firm.
8. Slide the parchment off the cookie sheet as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, onto a cooling rack.

9. Try not to eat all of them at once! :)

Substitutions

Almond flour keeps these protein powder cookies chewy, and I wouldn’t substitute other flours like oat flour or coconut flour. But I have substituted half the amount of almond protein, and this works for a lower fat option (use 15g almond protein in place of 30g almond flour).

If you’re using unflavored whey protein or you just want to boost the vanilla flavor, add ½ teaspoon baking vanilla when you are mixing the wet ingredients.

I wouldn’t sub a different type of protein powder for the whey in this recipe. If you want to use vegan protein powder, check out this recipe for vegan protein cookies or my collection of vegan recipes. If you want to use a whey/casein blend, check out this healthy protein cookie recipe.

In place of the erythritol and stevia, a monk fruit erythritol blend would work well.

Coconut sugar, brown sugar, or erythritol based brown sugar substitute would also be great subs for the granulated erythritol here.

Variations

Peanut butter protein cookies - use natural peanut butter in place of the cashew or almond butter. I recommend creamy peanut butter if you’ll be using chocolate chips, and crunchy peanut butter if not.

Chocolate protein cookies - replace the vanilla whey with chocolate whey, use only 3 tablespoons almond flour and add 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder. Or check out these cake-like chocolate whey protein cookies.

If you don't have vanilla protein powder, try using other flavors that pair well with nut butter. Chocolate protein powder will of course work!

Storage

These cookies can stay at room temperature for the day, but I'd store extra cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for longer storage. 

Top Tips

For best results, don’t overwork the cookie dough. Because we’re using nut butter, the more you handle the dough, the more heat you transfer to the dough, which will cause the oil to release from the nut butter. And we don’t want oily cookies.

These are a great snack to bring while traveling! Much easier than traveling with protein powder, in my opinion.

Enjoy these with a glass of almond milk or protein hot cocoa!