Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

I am so excited to share this recipe! I have been searching for so long for a homemade granola bar that is shelf/pantry stable and won’t melt in a lunch box. I have tried freezing my favorite granola bar recipe (which works great if you aren’t letting it sit out too long) and putting them in a lunch box wrapped in parchment, but they are melty (they are still solid, but just really messy) by the time my kids eat them for lunch. I finally searched “Protein Cookie,” in hopes that baking a granola bar/protein bar would allow me to store them in the pantry versus the refrigerator. And… Voila!! I finally found one! Thank you to thecleaneatingcouple.com! This recipe is amazing. I tweaked it a little, partially because of the ingredients that I keep on hand, and also to add a bit of sweetness for kids. However, I’m sure their recipe is equally as amazing so you should go check it out.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup peanut butter (I use Whole Foods Organic Peanut Butter or Once Again Peanut Butter)
• 3/4 cup Panela unrefined, organic cane sugar (if using regular cane sugar, you may need to reduce to 1/2 cup and add to taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup vanilla whey protein powder (I use ballerinafarms.com vanilla protein powder and it works great! It is a combination of whey, collagen, hemp and colustrum. See thecleaneatingcouple.com for more recommendations. They say that it’s important to use a whey protein powder.)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Redmonds Real salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Add eggs to a mixing bowl and break up with a fork.

Add peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, protein powder, baking soda and salt in the mixing bowl and mix well until thick and dough like and all ingredients are combined.

Once mixed, fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill a small ice cream scoop or cookie scoop about half full with cookie dough (which is about 2 tablespoons) and place on cookie sheet, making space for 24 cookies. You may have to add and take away dough when you’re done to make the 24 cookies.

Once divided equally into 24 cookies, roll each cookie into a ball shape and put them back on the cookie sheet and spread out evenly.

Bake for 9-11 minutes at 350 degrees. Mine are perfect at 9 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy or place in an airtight container for storage. Mine haven’t lasted longer than a few days and they’ve kept very well in the pantry.

Enjoy!!