You’ll never believe these yummy chocolate chip cookies have 10 grams of protein per cookie, and without any dairy, too!
Product links in this post are affiliate links. It does not cost you anything and helps maintain the free information on this site, as well as answer the question of “what brand do you use?” Please know I never personally recommend any product I wouldn’t use on my own family.
My busiest bee…
Meet my youngest! She has been a bundle of energy since the day she was born. While she loves getting lost in a good book, and is just the sweetest little pea ever, this kid has lived for gym class and recess since her early school days, and I just knew we had to get her into an activity to give all the bounciness some room!
Enter…gymnastics…
It was the best outlet for her. She ran out of school whenever it was a gymnastics day, and it just lit her up. It wasn’t on the agenda for it to become what it has become. But here we are. Over 5 years, lots of sparkly leos, so many new skills, and a love for the sport that I just see grow every day. With each passing year of competition, the intensity of the practice schedule increases, and we have learned a lot of little tips and tricks for keeping her fueled well for such a demanding sport.
Real, whole foods…and some grace
While the fuel focus for all of my kids is always simple, real, whole foods, having a kid that practices 4-hour blocks at a time 4 days a week can really stretch the creativity. Honestly, you can only have chicken, beef, and eggs so many times in one day before getting sick of it. These kinds of kids have super high calorie needs, and they eat way more than just 3 meals a day. I’ve seen with my own 2 eyes how important the fuel is, and youth athlete under-fueling is rampant. We have a good list of favorite packaged backpack snacks to keep fueled while at school and the gym, and then make sure there is a good recovery snack or meal afterward too.
The protein powder hack when they aren’t in the mood for a smoothie
While my girls do love a good packed-out smoothie after practice, it does get kinda old when you are having it so often during the week. I’ve been playing around with baking our favorite protein powder into on-the-go snacks, and these chocolate chip cookies have been a favorite. She eats dinner before practice, and then has a snack box on the way home after. The focus after practice is always replacing used-up carbohydrates and supplying protein to repair. So if she has one of these protein cookies along with fruit, she is usually good to go! She almost always has a small meat stick and even some rice cakes with PB and honey too. All very easy and very quick to pack.
10 grams of protein packed in one delicious cookie!
Kids don’t need as much protein as adults, but I would venture to say a lot of kids aren’t getting as much as they should be. Especially if they are breaking down muscle playing an intense sport all week. These protein cookies pack a great protein punch to fill in any gaps. Again, my first choice is always real, whole foods, but sometimes you just need something other than chicken! I almost always use THIS protein powder, but really any vanilla protein powder will work.
The Method :: The protein chocolate chip cookie dough
This is a one-bowl prep deal, my friends. You know that’s how I roll. Just mix everything up into your bowl, and you’re ready to scoop.
The Method :: Scooping the dough, and prepping to bake
You can absolutely scoop, press down, and bake these cookies. I like to take the extra step to use a circle cookie cutter to circle around the pressed dough to make them perfectly round, but that is purely aesthetic.
The Method :: Baking the protein chocolate chip cookies
Once the cookies are on the pan, just over 10 minutes is all you need in the oven. It’s best to let them cool a few minutes before handling, but they hold up so well, and are perfect for packing up!
How to store your cookies
These kind of snack recipes are no good if they don’t keep well or pack well, so I have really made sure that this recipe is travel-sport kid-proof! They keep a few days or so on the counter or pantry. I like to keep a big batch or double batch in the freezer so I don’t have to make them all the time. The cookies can be pulled from freezer to snack box and thaw by the time they need it. They are even pretty great right out of the freezer like regular cookies!
Tips, swaps, and switches
- You can swap the peanut butter for almond butter, mixed nut butter (or any other nut butter), or SunButter too.
- We use the Meijer Organic DF chocolate chips, but you can find other brands here if you don’t have a Meijer!
- If you have toddlers and little ones at home, you can make the cookies smaller (be sure to bake them a few minutes less if you do this!) and skip the chocolate chips if they don’t know any better!
- If you tolerate dairy, you can swap the coconut yogurt for regular or Greek yogurt.
- I have not tried making the cookies with a yogurt swap such as milk, but I do think it would work.
- I have not tried making the cookies with a coconut sugar swap such as honey or maple syrup. I do think the coconut sugar probably contributes some structure, though. You might try maple syrup, but then add a tablespoon of coconut flour to add a little structure. Honey might burn a bit, making the cookies a little darker.
Protein Packed Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Vanilla Protein Powder of choice We like this Vanilla Bone Broth Protein Powder
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup peanut butter See Notes for swaps
- 1 tsp blackstrap molasses
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup coconut yogurt
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- Mix all of the ingredients until the cookie dough is combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to get the cookies onto your prepared baking sheet, and press each cookie down into a circle. (I like to also use a circle biscuit cutter (or cookie cutter) to circle around the edges of the pressed down cookie to make them perfectly round, but this is purely aesthetic! They turn out great without this step.)
- Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 13 minutes, until golden around the edges. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container in the pantry for a few days, or in the fridge up to a week. Alternatively, you can store them in a freezer bag in the freezer for months. The cookies pack up frozen and thaw nicely by lunch or after practice!
Notes
- You can swap the peanut butter for almond butter, mixed nut butter (or any other nut butter), or SunButter too.
- We use the Meijer Organic DF chocolate chips, but you can find other brands here if you don’t have a Meijer!
- If you have toddlers and little ones at home, you can make the cookies smaller (be sure to bake them a few minutes less if you do this!) and skip the chocolate chips if they don’t know any better!
- If you tolerate dairy, you can swap the coconut yogurt for regular or Greek yogurt.
- I have not tried making the cookies with a yogurt swap such as milk, but I do think it would work.
- I have not tried making the cookies with a coconut sugar swap such as honey or maple syrup. I do think the coconut sugar probably contributes some structure, though. You might try maple syrup, but then add a tablespoon of coconut flour to add a little structure. Honey might burn a bit, making the cookies a little darker.
