Sundays call for sweets, amirite?? On this rainy, drizzly Sunday, I’m super excited to share this Protein Cookie Dough Trio with you! This trio is an ode to some of those classic childhood flavors that I loved. Hello, chocolate + peanut butter? My favorite. Of course, I can never say no to birthday cake, and ya know what? I can’t really say no to those packaged Chips Ahoy or Oreos either! One quick note on the Cookie Monster flavor – I used a bunch of blue gel food coloring to achieve that look, but you can absolutely leave it out if you prefer!
I’ve made a few protein cookie doughs in the past, but have only used chickpeas in those recipes (don’t knock it until you try it, because it’s delicious!!). Anyway, as much as I love those recipes (seriously), I wanted to create a protein cookie dough that was a bit more accessible. Chickpeas, otherwise known as garbanzo beans, are easy to find, but not quite as easy to work with as flour. I also really wanted to achieve that classic cookie dough texture and flavor, and I think I did a pretty damn good job! To get there, there’s really no getting around the holy trinity of baking…flour, sugar, and butter. Yum 😉
Speaking of that classic cookie dough texture, the type of protein powder you use in this recipe definitely matters! Check it out…
What’s the best protein powder to use in cookie dough?
The type of protein powder you use in this recipe has a huge impact on the final texture of the cookie dough! Here you can see how the birthday cake flavor turned out with 4 different kinds of protein.
- Whey + Casein Blend – This was my favorite protein powder to use in the the cookie dough. The dough turned out tender but still held its form easily. It also retained a good level of moisture so it wasn’t overly dry or overly wet, but instead came the closest to the real thing. I also tried different ratios of whey to casein and found that my favorite was 3 parts casein to 1 part whey (so out of 1 cup protein powder, 3/4 cup should be casein and 1/4 cup should be whey).
- Casein Only – I found this one to be a bit too firm and dry. When you mix casein protein powder with liquids, it generally results in an ultra creamy mixture, but that wasn’t the best thing for this recipe. You can see in the photo that it really held its shape strong! Note: the Reese’s flavor in the photos is made with casein only, but the recipe below recommends the whey + casein blend that I liked best.
- Whey Only – This resulted in a really soft cookie dough that struggled to hold its shape and was a little too wet and sticky to imitate the real thing. Note: the Cookie Monster flavor in the photos is made with whey only, but the recipe below recommends the whey + casein blend that I liked best.
- Plant Protein – Using plant protein in this recipe is a whole other ballgame. Plant based powders typically have stronger underlying flavors (like from pea protein) and tend to be a bit gritty compared to dairy based powders – read more about that here. That means the cookie dough made with it carries over some of those same qualities, but I still thoroughly enjoyed eating the plant protein version of this cookie dough. Just note that you’ll need a bit more almond milk to get a cookie dough like texture. I recommend adding an extra tablespoon at a time.
Birthday Cake Protein Cookie Dough
Birthday Cake Protein Cookie Dough
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix, (97 grams)
- 6 tbsp Dymatize Elite Vanilla Casein Protein Powder, (48 grams)
- 2 tbsp Cellucor Whipped Vanilla Whey Protein Powder, (16 grams)
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, (64 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, (46 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, (2 fl oz)
- 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles, (24 g)
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- Heat treat cake mix by placing in a bowl and microwaving for 30 seconds. Stir and set aside to cool.
- Using a hand mixer, stand mixer with paddle attachment, or fork, cream the butter and sugar.
- Add protein powders, cake mix, and almond extract, and almond milk in the bowl and mix until just combined. Fold in sprinkles, then serve.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 weeks or store in the freezer for up to 3 monhts.
Tips & Tricks
- You can use any brand of protein powder and cake mix, but I included the specific brands here since those were the ones used to calculate the nutrition info.
- Click here or scan the barcode below to log this food in My Fitness Pal.
Nutrition Information
Reese’s Protein Cookie Dough
Reese’s Protein Cookie Dough
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp all purpose flour (1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp), (75 grams)
- 6 tbsp Dymatize Elite Chocolate Casein Protein Powder, (48 grams)
- 2 tbsp Cellucor Molten Chocolate Whey Protein Powder, (16 grams)
- 2 tbsp dutch cocoa, (12 grams)
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, (64 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, (46 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, (2 fl oz)
- 1/2 cup Reese's Pieces, (94 grams)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat treat the flour by placing in a bowl and microwaving for 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.
- Using a hand mixer, stand mixer with paddle attachment, or fork, cream the butter and sugar.
- Add protein powders, flour, vanilla extract, and almond milk in the bowl and mix until just combined. Fold in Reese's Pieces, then serve.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Note: the color on the Reese's Pieces will begin to run after about a day in the refrigerator.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information
Cookie Monster Protein Cookie Dough
Cookie Monster Protein Cookie Dough
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp all purpose flour (1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp), (75 grams)
- 6 tbsp Dymatize Elite Vanilla Casein Protein Powder, (48 grams)
- 2 tbsp Cellucor Whipped Vanilla Whey Protein Powder, (16 grams)
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, (64 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, (46 grams)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, (2 fl oz)
- 4 Oreo cookies, chopped, (45 grams)
- 4 Chips Ahoy Chewy cookies, chopped, (62 grams)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- Optional: 1/4-1/2 tsp of blue gel food coloring to achieve desired color
Instructions
- Heat treat the flour by placing in a bowl and microwaving for 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.
- Using a hand mixer, stand mixer with paddle attachment, or fork, cream the butter and sugar.
- Add protein powders, flour, vanilla extract, almond milk, and gel food coloring (if using) in the bowl and mix until completely combined. Fold in cookie chunks, then serve.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Note: the cookie chunks will get very soft after about a day in the refrigerator.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information
