Packed with protein and fiber, this edible protein cookie dough tastes like your favorite chocolate chip cookie, making it a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth! With just a handful of ingredients and five minutes you can have a high-protein sweet treat that’s safe to eat straight from the bowl.
Let’s be honest… who doesn’t love cookie dough?
If you have a sweet tooth like me, you probably love making all kinds of yummy dessert recipes. But while I wish I could eat homemade cookies all the time, I’ve been trying to find some higher protein ways to enjoy dessert from time to time to help curb my dessert cravings in a little bit more nutritious way.
This edible cookie dough recipe has been a go-to for protein desserts in our house. It’s quick and easy to make, perfect for splitting with a friend or partner, and if you don’t feel like sharing you don’t have to feel bad about enjoying the entire bowl of cookie dough yourself.
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Why You’ll Love this High Protein Cookie Dough
A high protein dessert. I’m here to tell you that you can enjoy a delicious treat AND get your protein in too! One serving of this protein cookie dough packs nearly 20 grams of protein!
Quick and easy to make! You’ll have this edible protein powder cookie dough prepped and ready to enjoy in about five minutes! Simply measure, mix, and devour.
No heat-treating required. Because we’re using almond flour (and not all-purpose flour) we don’t have to worry about heat-treating the flour (in case you didn’t know, along with raw eggs, another concern about sneaking a bite of raw cookie dough comes from containments that come from the raw flour). Meaning that we have less steps and less time required to dive into our protein chocolate chip cookie dough!
No refined sugar. We’re using pure maple syrup to sweeten our cookie dough naturally, avoiding adding extra refined sugars to our treat.
Protein Powder Cookie Dough Ingredients
- Salted Butter. Butter is a staple in chocolate chip cookies, so we’re using it in our edible cookie dough too.
- Almond Flour. The almond flour in this recipe adds nutrients, fiber, and protein to your dessert. It’s also accessible to more people because almond flour is gluten free!
- Vanilla Whey Protein Powder. Using protein powder gives us the biggest boost of protein in this easy no bake dessert, and the vanilla adds nice flavor to your dough.
- Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. We use unsweetened almond milk in this recipe because it’s a lower calorie option. And like the almond flour, it’s a good source of nutrients like vitamins A, E, and D.
- Pure Maple Syrup. We’re naturally sweetening our dessert with pure maple syrup.
- Chocolate Chips. Mini chocolate chips are my personal favorite in this, but regular size semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips are all great options too.
- Optional: Pinch of Salt. Salt is a flavor enhancer, and can be a nice addition to your edible protein cookie dough recipe. Think of this like adding a sprinkle of flakey sea salt on top of your cookies!
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Protein Cookie Dough Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Use oil instead of butter. If preferred, replace the butter one-for-one with a neutral oil (like canola, vegetable, or even coconut oil).
- Use a different milk. Try oat milk, skim milk, or another non-dairy milk you enjoy in place of the unsweetened vanilla almond milk if desired. If you choose to do this, I’d also recommend adding in a small splash of vanilla extract.
- Use a plant-based protein powder instead of whey. If preferred, you can try making this with your favorite vanilla plant-based protein powder too.
- Try chocolate protein powder. If you love double chocolate chip cookies, then this may be a great choice for you!
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
This recipe is already a gluten free edible cookie dough and is vegetarian too! This protein cookie dough can easily be made vegan and dairy free:
- If you have celiac disease, make sure to select an almond milk brand that is certified as gluten free. While almond milk is naturally gluten free, it may be cross-contaminated depending on how it is processed.
- To make this into a dairy free and vegan edible cookie dough, you will need to make a few easy substitutions:
- Replace the butter with a vegan alternative like coconut oil or vegan butter. Note: using coconut oil does change the flavor a bit. I like it, but it isn’t as classic of a chocolate chip cookie flavor as when butter is used.
- Replace the vanilla whey protein with a vegan vanilla protein powder.
- Ensure the chocolate chips you have selected are vegan (I like Enjoy Life brand that is certified to be vegan).
How to Make Edible Protein Cookie Dough
Melt the butter in a medium or large bowl (about 30-seconds in the microwave).
Mix in the remaining wet ingredients (the almond milk and maple syrup).
Slowly add in the dry ingredients (starting with the almond flour, protein powder) to create the dough.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Grab a spoon, dig in, and enjoy!
Storing Protein Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Store any leftover edible cookie dough in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week (if it lasts that long!).
High Protein Cookie Dough FAQs
I personally use Simply Tera’s vanilla whey protein powder because it has a clean ingredients list and tastes great! However, select a protein powder that fits your dietary needs.
I’ve chosen to use almond flour for this high protein cookie dough recipe for a several reasons:
– Almond flour is packed with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and protein.
– It is also low in carbs, has primarily unsaturated “good” fats, and is high in fiber.
– Almond flour is safe to eat as-is. No need to take the time to heat treat wheat flour! It also helps avoid any potential safety issues if you don’t know how to heat treat flour.
– Using almond flour makes this protein cookie dough recipe accessible to those who are gluten free.
While I will fully admit that I have destroyed an entire batch of this cookie dough by myself a time of two (no shame!), the full recipe is really a better size for two people to enjoy. If you’re looking for an edible cookie dough for one, I would recommend cutting the recipe in half. Or, saving half for the next day. But it’s up to you!
More Recipes To Try
Edible Protein Cookie Dough
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salted butter melted
- ¾ C + 2 tablespoon almond flour
- ¼ C vanilla protein powder
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 2 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¼ C chocolate chips
- Optional: pinch of salt
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium sized mixing bowl (about 30-seconds in the microwave)
- Add almond flour, protein powder, almond milk, and maple syrup to the bowl and stir until combined and a dough is formed
- Stir in the chocolate chips
- Grab a spoon, dig in, and enjoy!
Notes
- Use oil instead of butter. If preferred, replace the butter one-for-one with a neutral oil (like canola, vegetable, or even coconut oil).
- Use a different milk. Try oat milk, skim milk, or another non-dairy milk you enjoy in place of the unsweetened vanilla almond milk if desired. If you choose to do this, I’d also recommend adding in a small splash of vanilla extract.
- Use a plant-based protein powder instead of whey. If preferred, try your favorite vanilla plant-based protein powder too.
- Try chocolate protein powder. If preferred, swap the vanilla protein powder for chocolate protein powder.
- If you have celiac disease, make sure to select an almond milk brand that is certified as gluten free. While almond milk is naturally gluten free, it may be cross-contaminated depending on how it is processed.
- To make this into a dairy free and vegan edible cookie dough, you will need to make a few easy substitutions:
- Replace the butter with a vegan alternative like coconut oil or vegan butter. Note: using coconut oil does change the flavor a bit. I like it, but it isn’t as classic of a chocolate chip cookie flavor as when butter is used.
- Replace the vanilla whey protein with a vegan vanilla protein powder.
- Ensure the chocolate chips you have selected are vegan.
kelly says
Do you think I could sub the almond flour for coconut flour? Can’t have almonds. :-/
Meredith says
Hi Kelly – I think it’s definitely worth trying! From my experience, these flours have pretty similar textures. If I were doing this, I’d start with a little less than the recipe calls for and add in more until the perfect, cookie-dough texture is made! Let me know how it goes!
Adelle says
The edible cookie dough at the store is soooooo expensive! I’m so excited about this and it’s gonna save me hundreds of dollars!
Meredith says
🙌🙌🙌 Yas girl!! I’m so happy you’re excited about this edible cookie dough!
David says
Just hits the spot 🙂 and just a few bites is very satisfying!
Meredith says
So happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Emily says
My 4 year old and I made this recipe when we were suffering from a serious sweet tooth one night! It really only took 5 minutes and was just enough for the 4 of us to have some without a massive amount leftover afterward. This recipe is a great one to save and bust out when you want a treat without having to invest time, massive amounts of calories or effort to get it!
ourlovelanguageisfood says
Aw, I love this!! I’m so happy you all enjoyed this, and that you and your 4yo could make this together!