CHOCOLATE SEA SALT ALMOND PROTEIN COOKIES (VEGAN)
These Chocolate Sea Salt Almond Protein Cookies are one of my favorite “eat the whole batch” cookie recipes! They’re totally up there with my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies. I was wanting some sort of chocolate topped cookies – and had a ton of almond butter on hand – so these happened 😉 They’re gluten-free, vegan, high in protein, and low-calorie, too… only 500 calories for the entire batch!
Did you know? Just one ounce of dark chocolate contains almost 20% of your daily iron requirements (source). Menstruation leaves women low in iron, it’s no wonder we crave chocolate around that time of the month! In other words, feel free to indulge in a little dark chocolate, ladies.
Protein substitutions
For added protein I used LIV Body Lean Vegan Protein in Frosted Oatmeal Cookie (use code NOEXCUSES for 20% off all LIV Body). LIV Body is the best – NO artificial ingredients, macro-friendly, added probiotics and enzymes, not to mention amazing flavors like German Chocolate and Fruity O’s.
That said, any plant-based protein powder should work. If using whey or casein, add twice as much nut butter (or two tablespoons additional buttery spread, unsweetened applesauce, or yogurt) to keep them from drying out. Keep in mind, using something besides nut butter will change the texture significantly.
Flour substitutions
Gluten-free baking flour works great in these! Feel free to swap it for for all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, oat flour, spelt flour, sweet white sorghum flour, white whole wheat flour, or cassava flour for Paleo. Or try half as much coconut flour to lower the carbs (again, this will alter the texture).
Almond butter adds moisture and rich almond flavor to these cookies. You could also use cashew butter or sunflower seed butter… or do half nut butter, half unsweetened applesauce, coconut oil or vegan buttery spread.
Sweetener substitutions
For extra sweetness, I used Pyure Organic Stevia Blend, an all-natural calorie-free sweetener that’s twice as sweet as sugar. Truvia Spoonable Natural Sweetener is an almost identical substitute. If using a sweetener that measures one-for-one like sugar (erythritol, baking stevia, monk fruit sweetener, or coconut sugar), you may need up to twice as much. Although if your protein powder is quite sweet, you might not need extra sweetener!
Other substitutions
To hold these cookies together without eggs or flaxseed, I opted for Vitafiber syrup, but you can also use sugar free pancake syrup or real maple syrup. Using maple syrup will add about 16 calories and 4 grams of carbs in the form of sugar per cookie. Egg white should also work in place of the syrup!
Of course, these wouldn’t be Chocolate Sea Salt Almond Protein Cookies without a little melted vegan dark chocolate and sea salt sprinkled on top! I just melted my dark chocolate in the microwave using 10-20 second intervals.
Here’s the printable recipe for the cookies! I hope you’ll rate this recipe and comment below if you try it 🙂
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Chocolate Sea Salt Almond Protein Cookies (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (30g) vegan protein powder* I used LIV Body Lean Vegan Protein in Frosted Oatmeal Cookie, code NOEXCUSES for 20% off
- 3 tbsp. gluten-free baking flour* or oat flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp. calorie-free sweetener* I used one that's twice as sweet as sugar
- 1/8 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tbsp. almond butter*
- 2 tbsp. VitaFiber syrup* or sugar-free pancake syrup or maple syrup
- 2 tbsp. unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. dark chocolate melted
- 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
*See above for substitutions.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk together dry ingredients (through baking soda) in a small mixing bowl.
- Add wet ingredients (through vanilla extract) until a crumbly dough is formed.
- Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Using rounded tablespoons measure out cookie dough and roll into balls, placing on the cookie sheet 2″ apart. Press flat in a criss-cross pattern using a fork.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until cookies are firm on the edges and soft in the center. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt dark chocolate in the microwave using 10-20 second intervals.
- Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies and sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy! The entire batch is only 500 calories, so feel free to eat them all or save some for later in an airtight container. Will keep up to one week in the fridge.
Notes
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