Delicious breakfast acorn squash baked with spices and stuffed with yogurt, pecans and a drizzle of honey. The perfect protein-packed meal to start your morning! What a whirlwind of a week! We had an 8-hour shoot yesterday creating some awesome new recipe videos to share, and we planned out our recipe calendar through February. I’m feeling [...]
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These easy peanut butter protein cookies are flourless, only require 4 ingredients, and take less than 25 minutes to make! Each cookie contains 9 grams of protein and tastes just like a soft peanut butter cookie!
So I’m kinda in love with peanut butter cookies.
Well, I guess cookies – in general.
But peanut butter IN a cookie? Yes, please!
Problem with cookies is they’re not the best things for a healthy diet.
Not that I can’t enjoy one or two on a cheat day here and there. But, it got me thinking…wouldn’t it be awesome if peanut butter cookies were actually healthy?
After fantasizing about this question for probably way too long, I decided to make healthy peanut butter cookies.
Because, sometimes, you just gotta get creative!
Hello, Peanut Butter Protein Cookies!After some trials, I came up with these tasty peanut butter protein cookies right here. They use only 4 ingredients, have no refined flours (no flour at all, actually!) and use unrefined coconut sugar. Plus, each cookie has about 9 grams of protein and is absolutely delicious.
So, if you’re like me and you drool over the idea of healthy, high-protein treats, try these healthy peanut butter protein cookies and your day will totally be made.
Maybe even your LIFE!
While these peanut butter protein cookies only require 4 ingredients and are a super easy peanut butter cookie recipe, I wanted to make sure I mention a few things on how to make them the best they can be.
The texture really does matter so you want to make sure they are moist enough when you’re making the dough so they don’t become crumbly. If they start to feel a little crumbly and not moist enough when you’re making the dough, you can add a little more peanut butter or reduce some of the protein powder. You want the dough to be pliable and not breaking apart as you form the cookies.
Keep in mind that you want the best quality ingredients for the best tasting and soft peanut butter protein cookies.
Good news: these peanut butter cookies freeze well. You can either choose to freeze the cookie dough to be baked later or to freeze the baked cookies, to be thawed and then eaten. Either works great, but there are some tips I’d recommend, which I’ve listed below:
Tips for Freezing Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Form the dough into the cookie form and place onto a baking sheet as close together as you can without touching. Freeze first and then transfer to freezer bags. Can be baked straight from the freezer, but will up to 5 additional minutes of bake time. Tips for Freezing Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Allow to cool completely before freezing. Freeze individually first by laying the baked cookies out on a baking sheet, not touching, and freezing until solid. Then, transfer to a freezer bag. When thawing baked cookies, let sit at room temperature so that condensation doesn’t form and make them soggy. Gently reheat frozen or thawed cookies to mimic that fresh-baked taste and texture by placing them in a 275 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes to reheat.
A quick word on peanut butters. Sadly, not all peanut butters are created equal. Some are very refined, contain tons of sugar (including high fructose corn syrup) and hydrogenated oils. Ugh. If you’re looking for the best (cleanest) peanut butter you can find, you can either make your own or find ones that contain only peanuts (or as few ingredients as possible).
It may take some searching, but I think you’ll be shocked at your current peanut butter once you take a look at the ingredients. Warning: it’s gonna be a sad day. So make it better with tasty peanut butter protein cookies. 🙂
These easy peanut butter protein cookies are flourless, only require 4 ingredients, and take less than 25 minutes to make! Each cookie contains 9 grams of protein and tastes just like a soft peanut butter cookie!
This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.
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Confession: I’m afraid I’m allergic to real Christmas trees, and I’m definitely allergic to busy shopping malls. Does that make me a Scrooge? The holidays are always full of cheer but hectic. I’m tempted to take a nap before I deck the halls this weekend.
If you’re wondering what to bring to your holiday party, this caramel popcorn recipe is just the ticket. It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and the sauce is thickened with tahini.
If you’re familiar with Middle Eastern halva, this popcorn reminds me of it. Crackly sesame seeds and ground cinnamon make it even more irresistible. You have been warned.
As I was typing up the recipe, I realized that it is gluten free, vegan and nut free as well. This popcorn is a special diet-friendly party option and a fun holiday treat. For an even more festive popcorn recipe, check out my peppermint bark popcorn. So good!
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When we asked on Instagram if you needed healthyish cookie recipes, the responses was overwhelmingly YES! So, we’ve put together a list of recipes for our favorite healthy cookies, or really, healthyish cookies. What’s healthyish? Well, cookies aren’t healthy, per say. We’ve tried to make healthy holiday cookies in the past, and they’re not all that good. Healthyish is the sweet spot of using ingredients that are nourishing, just enough sugar, and intriguing spices and flavors to make sure the cookies still taste decadent. In fact, if you’re looking for podcasts, we recently talked to Obama’s White House pastry chef about this very thing. And last week Alex and I were on Live TV sharing a few of the recipes below. (Since healthyish is not a word, I’ll also use healthy cookies interchangeably below. You know what I mean!)
Here are our 10 favorite healthyish cookies for this holiday. Each one is a recipe we’ve created, made multiple times, and loved.
1. Chai-Spiced Snowball CookiesThese cookies are a healthyish version of a snowball cookie, but you’d never know they were a healthy cookies spin! They taste just like that cookie from childhood. The base is almond flour, so it’s naturally gluten-free and filled with nutrients. We’ve cut back a bit on the sugar versus the traditional recipe (using coconut sugar). And, the addition of chai spices helps to keep the cookies bursting with flavor, even with the slightly decreased sweetness. They’re one of our favorites this time of year.
2. Chocolate Peanut Butter Buckeyes
If you live in the Midwest, buckeyes are where it’s at! These chocolate-dipped peanut buttery balls of goodness were one of my favorite discoveries when I moved to Indiana. To make these into healthy cookies, the centers are made out of Medjool dates blended with peanut butter. Instead of the traditional butter and sugar, the dates add a natural sweetness and nutrients without compromising on flavor.
This recipe has become a tradition in our household (and see this years updated shape, below!). I prefer soft gingerbread over crispy, so we created a version that’s to my liking. The spin to make these healthy cookies is that the dough has some almond butter and applesauce, to cut back a bit in the butter department and up the nutrient level. There’s also a bit of wheat flour, and they’re topped with turbinado sugar instead of icing. While they’re not a health food, they’re a bit closer to incorporating some good-for-you ingredients.
This one is as natural as they come: dark chocolate, dried tart cherries, quinoa, and pepitas. We love how adding quinoa gives this chocolate bark a little crunch. With the red and green of the cherries and the pepitas, it’s perfect for the holidays: and so simple to put together.
We talk about these a lot around here, but they’re our most popular recipe on the website. Essentially the baby of a peanut butter cup and a no-bake cookie, they’re also gluten-free, vegan, and naturally sweet. We love seeing people all over the world share photos of the bliss bites they’ve made with us on Instagram! The ingredient list is short and simple: cocoa powder, peanut butter, oats, coconut oil, and maple syrup. (And yes, you can substitute other nut butters to compensate for allergies!)
These stunning meringues are healthy cookies to the max: they’re filled almost entirely with air! Basically sugar, egg whites, and air, they’re a great treat when you’re looking for a little sweet. When adding the red stripe, look for natural food coloring if you can find it.
7. Blackberry Balsamic Vegan Cheescakes
These aren’t technically a “cookie”‘, but they’re shaped like one! These mini cheesecakes too delicious not to mention in our healthy cookie roundup. Cashews, coconut oil and maple syrup make the cheesecake vegan; it’s set atop a crust of oats and pecans. Like our bliss bites, these are gluten-free, vegan, and naturally sweet: and they taste incredible. The vibrant purple color from the blackberries makes them visually stunning as well.
We like lazy treats, so how about a super simple and all-natural nut cluster? Like our quinoa bark above, these are all natural: dark chocolate, pistachios, and dried cranberries. The red and green makes them festive without using any unnatural food coloring. And they taste fantastic! These are the ultimate in healthy cookies without sacrificing any flavor.
Our new holiday cookie this year was a narwhal cookie to honor our favorite Christmas movie, Elf! We used the dough from our soft gingerbread cookie and decorated with a dusting of powdered sugar. Obscure animals make the best cookies, we think.
10. Chocolate Almond Flour Skillet Cookie
This one is not the typical holiday cookie, but we’ve made it before cut into small strips which I could imagine on a cookie platter! The healthyish spin here: it’s made of almond flour, so it’s naturally gluten-free. The almond flour makes for a chewy texture similar to a brownie or even biscotti. It’s a tried and true favorite.
A Couple Cooks - Recipes for Healthy & Whole Living
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via MerahHatiCintaku.blogspot.com