Peanut Butter Protein Cookies
A simple recipe for delicious protein cookies made with peanut butter, egg, maple sugar, and Quest protein powder. My kids gobbled these cookies up with no complaints. Actually, they loved them and went back for seconds. You won’t feel a bit deprived when you eat one of these healthier peanut butter protein cookies.
There’s very little sugar in these peanut butter protein cookies. They are sweetened with a small amount of maple sugar, a natural sweetener made from pure maple sap, and the sugar-free sweetener in the protein powder. If you can’t find maple sugar in your area (I shared a link to my favorite maple sugar brand on Amazon), you can substitute it with light brown sugar. They both turn out great. I would caution against using coconut sugar because it can make them too dry.
For the protein powder, I used Quest’s peanut butter protein powder with great results. You can also use the Quest vanilla protein powder. I cannot guarantee the same results with another protein powder, they are not all created equal when it comes to baking. These delicious cookies can satisfy your sweet tooth and help you hit your protein goals without sabotaging your diet. Enjoy!
Ingredients you’ll need
- Creamy Peanut Butter- make sure to use creamy peanut butter that spreads easily, not natural peanut butter where the oil separates. This is very important for success with this recipe.
- Maple sugar- Maple sugar is my favorite natural sugar alternative that adds depth and sweetness to cookie recipes. A little goes a long way. I use Coombs maple sugar and you can buy it here on Amazon. You can also use light brown sugar as a substitute.
- Egg- for binding the cookie dough and adding a bit more protein.
- Vanilla- go with a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Protein powder- Quest peanut butter protein powder is my go-to for this cookie recipe. Quest vanilla protein powder works great here as an alternative. You can always try this recipe with your favorite protein powder, but I cannot guarantee the same results.
How To Make Peanut Butter Protein Cookies
Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2. Mix all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
Step 3. Roll into tablespoon-size balls and place onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Press down on the center with a fork and repeat to make the criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle with a little coarse salt or coarse raw sugar, if desired.
Step 4. Bake for 10 minutes until firm (do not overbake!). Cool and enjoy!
Recipe tips
- I don’t recommend pure natural peanut butter for this recipe where the oil tends to separate from the nut butter. It will make them too dry. Use no-stir peanut butter that’s creamy that contains added oil to give them a better texture. I have used Simple Truth Organic peanut butter, and Jif Natural peanut butter with great success.
- I don’t recommend using an unflavored protein powder in this recipe. Using a flavored sweetened protein powder allows for a reduction in added sweetener to the recipe, so make sure you are using a protein powder that you love the taste of if you don’t go with the Quest brand.
- Make sure that the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them from the pan to keep them from falling apart.
Storing and freezing
These cookies are best stored in a covered container in the freezer. They are perfect eaten straight out of the freezer and will keep for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Use a no-stir crunchy peanut butter for added texture
- Top cookies with a pinch of coarse salt or raw sugar
- Stir in mini semi-sweet chocolate chips or mini white chocolate chips
More protein dessert recipes
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Peanut Butter Protein Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter *shelf stable, not the kind that separates ex. Jif Naturals creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup Quest peanut butter protein powder you can also sub with vanilla protein powder
- 3 tbsp maple sugar can also use brown sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Mix all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended
- Roll into tablespoon-size balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Press down on center with a fork and repeat to make the criss-cross pattern.
- Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a pinch of coarse salt or raw sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 10 minutes until firm.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely to set and enjoy.
Notes
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- I don’t recommend pure natural peanut butter for this recipe where the oil tends to separate from the nut butter. It will make them too dry. Use no-stir peanut butter that’s creamy that contains added oil to give them a better texture. I have used Skippy Natural creamy peanut butter, Simple Truth Organic peanut butter, and Jif Natural peanut butter with great success.
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- I don’t recommend using an unflavored protein powder in this recipe. Using a flavored sweetened protein powder allows for a reduction in added sweetener to the recipe, so make sure you are using a protein powder that you love the taste of if you don’t go with the Quest brand.
- If your peanut butter does not contain sugar in the ingredients, you may want to increase the amount of maple or brown sugar in the recipe to around 1/3 cup
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- Make sure that the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them from the pan to keep them from falling apart.
Nutrition
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Can you make these without the peanut butter?
Hi Jodi! They definitely wouldn’t be peanut butter cookies without the peanut butter. 😉 I’m afraid the texture wouldn’t be good at all without it.
I was just wondering if I can substitute Splenda instead for the maple
Hi Janine! I honestly don’t love the flavor and texture of Splenda in baked goods, but you could try it. I prefer a stevia/monk fruit blend, like Whole Earth sweetener (it’s my favorite). I’ve had good luck baking with it. Swerve sweetener (the granular one) is another popular sugar alternative for baking.
Wow! delicious cookies.. thanks for sharing this..
So glad that you enjoyed them!! 🙂
The taste was good except they were way too dry.
What kind of peanut butter did you use Cynthia? The natural peanut butters where the oil separates will make them too dry.
Amazing recipe!! I used all natural peanut butter and syntha-6 peanut butter cookie protein and these turned out amazing!! They did come out really crumbly (probably due to the natural peanut butter) but I threw them in the freezer for an hour or so to harden and they were even better!!! I also added dark chocolate chips for obvious reasons!!
Thanks for the great feedback Chad! Glad you loved the recipe! I love the addition of the dark chocolate chips. 🙂
Absolutely delicious, but we used a tablespoon scooper and it came out to 9 cookies, not 20, which is fine 🙂
So glad that you enjoyed them!!
Tried it last night except I used almond butter instead of peanut butter and it was still really goo just crumbly so next time I guest peanut butter it is
Almond butter is typically too thick and dry for this recipe. Creamy peanut butter that doesn’t need to be stirred is best.
I’d greatly appreciate if you could tell me how many calories are in each cookie. Thanks a bunch
Sorry Frank! I’ve updated the recipe with nutrition info.
Is it okay if I substitute the whole egg for the equivalent in egg whites?
Absolutely Mary, it just will add to the overall calorie, protein and fat count for the recipe.
Great recipe. I’d love to add it in my menu to enjoy with my friends.
Love! Absolutely swooning over this dish. I made this a few times. The last time it came out wonderful. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Just wondering if you had the nutritional info per cookie?
What is the carb count for these cookies?
They come out to around 3.5g carbs per cookie
I followed your recipe and my cookies came out soft and crumbly. Almost as if there werent enough wet ingredients or they arent combining. How should I fix this? Maybe melt the peanutbutter first to help it mix?
Hi Sierra! Did you use the same kind of protein powder? Protein powder textures can vary a lot. Also, try a really creamy peanut butter. Natural peanut butter, where the oil separates, is too thick for this recipe. I hope that helps!
Where do you find Quest Peanut Butter Protein Powder and what would happen if you leave it out?
Chris, you can buy it on Amazon or at a GNC or Vitamin Shoppe retailer near you. You can leave it out and they will still be tasty, just not as much protein.
How much protein is in one cookie
They are 4.3 grams per cookie
Protein count of cookie
I’ve updated the recipe with the nutrition info.
I can’t find the nutritional info anywhere maybe I’m overlooking it. Can you show me thanks! ????
Hi! I don’t list the nutrition info here, I was having errors with that plug-in, but you can easily figure it out by inputing the recipe into an app like My Fitness Pal.
Do you know the exact nutrition facts of them so I can record my intake properly ?
Just added that to the recipe Alysha!
I found them at grocery outlet to day with my mom and they were like 399 or something like that.
Those look delicious! I think peanut butter is my favorite cookie of all time 😀
Thank you, Biz!! Me too! Love me some pb cookies!!!