CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT PROTEIN COOKIES (VEGAN)

December 17, 2018

Who else is baking today? With Christmas fast approaching, and I just had to make another batch of these Chocolate Peppermint Protein Cookies! These delicious little cookies are vegan, gluten-free, low-sugar and low-calorie… less than 500 calories for the entire batch (all six). Unbelievable! There are two ways to make these: (1) mix the white chocolate peppermint chunks right into the dough, or (2) dip each cookie in melted white chocolate then sprinkle it with crushed peppermint.

Did you know? Emphasizing lower-calorie foods is more effective for weight management than “portion control” alone, studies show. This is because people tend to be unsatisfied with the smaller portion sizes of higher-calorie foods (source). It’s much easier to moderate intake with more “high volume” foods (fruits, vegetables, oatmeal, popcorn, cooked rice, lean protein, calorie-reduced snacks) versus more “energy dense” foods (nuts, dried fruit, sugary sweets, fried food).

Protein recommendations

These cookies get their protein from a chocolate pea protein isolate. I’ve tested rice protein and soy isolate as well. If using whey or casein, I’d suggest adding an additional tablespoon of Greek yogurt, buttery spread or nut butter and using one egg white in place of the aquafaba (see below). Feel free to swap out the protein powder for an equal measure (25g) of additional flour.

Flour substitutions

I used one tablespoon of gluten-free baking flour in this recipe, but you can also use all-purpose flour, brown rice flour, cake flour, cassava flour (Paleo), oat flour (oats blended into flour), sorghum flour, spelt flour, tiger nut flour or whole wheat pastry flour.

Sweetener substitutions

For added sweetness without any sugar, I used a calorie-free organic stevia-erythritol blend that’s twice as sweet as sugar with no bitter aftertaste. If swapping it out for baking stevia, granulated erythritol, or granulated sugar, use twice as much (one quarter cup) for the same level of sweetness.

Other substitutions

These cookies get there crumbly soft texture from cashew butter and vegan buttery spread. If you don’t have cashew butter, feel free to use almond butter or sunflower seed butter! The vegan buttery spread can also be subbed for coconut oil, regular unsalted butter, or ghee.

Aquafaba, or the liquid from canned chickpeas, replaces egg white in this recipe. However, you can also use a vegan egg replacer, or one egg white if not vegan. Finally, a little pure vanilla and peppermint extract makes these cookies extra festive and flavorful.

Optional white chocolate peppermint

If you’re dipping your cookies into white chocolate then sprinkling with crushed peppermint, I would suggest using vegan white melting chocolate.

Now, if you’re mixing the peppermint chunks into the dough, you can either use Ghirardelli peppermint baking chunks (not vegan) or this vegan peppermint bark, broken into chunks.

Here’s the printable recipe for these vegan Chocolate Peppermint Protein Cookies! Kindly rate and comment below if you try them 😉

This post contains affiliate links. Recipe created in collaboration with Abby Pollock and TransformNation.

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