New Recipe: Chunky Monkey Flourless Cookies
I love sweets. It’s my one dietary downfall. In order to have (more) treats in my life without feeling guilty I do weird things like sneak protein powder in them. This is sort of a “thing” in the bodybuilding/powerlifting community. Is it something you should start doing? I would say yes!
These cookies are magical. Granted they aren’t perfectly shaped or anything, but peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in heaven! I think we can all agree there, am I right?! When you add protein powder to cookies you make them more magical and balanced.
Say what?
All foods are made up of the macronutrients carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Usually treats are high in carbs and fat, but have very little protein. That is unbalanced. By adding in a bit of protein powder we bring the protein up and the ratio of fat and carbs down making it a food we can eat and still support our health and fitness goals. Win!
I got the inspiration for these treats from a seemingly healthy cookie recipe (found here), but I made them better by ditching the flour all together and adding in NuZest Vanilla protein. Also, I reduced the sugar content (the protein powder is sweet and so we don’t need as much maple or bananas) and the fat by reducing the amount of peanut butter used. I couldn’t be more thrilled to share these with you! I’ve made them twice already! And at only 98 calories per cookie you are going to be glad you made them yourself.
I realize that I call them flourless because they have no flour in them. We use oats, which I know some people who are gluten-free are sensitive to but I really don’t have a substitution for them. You could maybe try a gluten-free flour and let me know how it goes! It will completely change the texture though.
Chunky Monkey Flourless Cookies
Makes 15 cookies
2 ripe bananas, mashed (medium size)
6 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter (or half pb and almond butter)
1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 scoop NuZest Vanilla protein powder (or your favorite brand)
Pinch sea salt
1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips (I possibly used more than this, eye it)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Add in oats, protein powder and salt and stir until well combined. The dough will be sticky. Fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Line a small cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place about 2 tablespoons worth of dough, spaced evenly on cookie sheet making 15 cookies. Lightly press down with a fork or fingertips. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet before eating.
Nutritional Info (per cookie): 98 calories, 12.3g carbs, 3.1g protein, 4.3g fat, 5.4g sugar