These little protein cookies are the perfect snack to energize after a workout or a day of activity. They give you a boost of protein but leave out the oil and processed sugars in store-bought cookies and bars.
I mostly stick to whole foods in my kitchen, but protein powder is a bit of an exception. I don’t see it in the same category as refined foods, like white flour or white sugar (more of my thoughts on protein powder here.
If you want more info about how much protein you need as a vegan, try out my protein calculator.
Post Workout Protein Cookie Recipe
Prep time:
Cook Time:
Time from start to eating:
Makes makes 15 cookies
But before you get scared thinking that maybe you need to start eating protein powder, don’t worry! You don’t need it to get enough protein, or to get the right amino acids.
I use it because I work out a lot, and sometimes pretty hard workouts. Increasing the percentage of protein, relative to carbs and fats, can help support muscle repair and growth if you’re working out.
You don’t need to use protein powder, though – these cookies are also really nice with a mix of brown rice and buckwheat flours.
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup nut/seed butter
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 2 Tbsp carob (or cocoa powder – but add some unrefined sugar if you use cocoa)
- 1 cup hemp protein powder*
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour*
- 1/2 cup raisins, dried cranberries or chocolate chips (or a mix of any or all)
*Note: Use a total of 1 1/2 cups, but you can switch around the ratio of protein to flour. You can also replace the protein with more flour. Buckwheat flour would work nicely in this recipe, since it has a similar texture to the hemp protein powder. If you use another type of protein, you’ll probably want to use less of it and more flour, since rice and quinoa proteins are a very fine texture where this hemp has a lot of fiber in it.
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F .
- Mix together the nut/seed butter and applesauce until it’s smooth, then stir in the vanilla, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, molasses and carob.
- Mix in the protein and flour, and mix until combined. Fold in the raisins, dried cranberries or chocolate chips.
- Shape spoonfuls of the batter into flattened cookies, place them onto a greased or lined cookie sheet, and put in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Once the cookies are done, take them out of the oven, and let them cool for a few minutes before handling them. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely, and then store them in the fridge or freezer.
