I grew up going to church every Sunday with my parents. As early birds, we usually went to the 8:15 am service instead of the one held later at 10 am. With a community full of people who enjoyed sleeping in, the sanctuary was normally fairly empty at that hour!
But during the summers, the church only offered one service at 9:30 am to give the pastors a “summer break…” Or at least the ability to sleep in too! So the building filled up to the seams, threatening to burst open, with all of us rambunctious kids squirming in our seats.
After the first 10 minutes and the Children’s Moment, we were excused to run out the doors and into the adjoining hall, where a few very patient people held a children’s worship for us. We spent the rest of the hour coloring, singing, and playing games, which allowed the adults time to listen to the regular sermon in peace and quiet.
Besides the coloring, my favorite part of the summers at church was the special brunch held after the service. Different members would bring in trays of goodies: fresh fruit and veggies, cucumber sandwiches, deviled eggs, muffins, donuts, and sometimes even cookies.
Yes, donuts and cookies! You can probably guess what I filled up my plate with… Mom always reminded us that the “cookies for breakfast” treat was a special occasion and not something that would regularly occur at home, but…
Even now, I sometimes think about cookies for breakfast. (Same with crumbles—but those are mostly fruit and granola anyway, right?) So I came up with these Lemon Chia Seed Protein Cookies as a compromise. They taste just like dessert but are packed with nutrients and protein, so they’re actually healthy enough for breakfast!
These special cookies have 3 things that make them healthy enough for your morning meal.
1) Low carb. I used coconut flour instead of all-purpose in these cookies. It’s much more absorbent that regular flour, so you’ll only use a third of the amount. That really helps cut out carbs! I also use a combination of agave and no-calorie plant-based sweeteners, so you won’t experience the same sugar high (and crash) as with regular cookies.
2) Protein powder. Since I still had lots left over from these healthy muffins, I used a few scoops of this protein powder as the other half of the dry ingredients. It has a sweet vanilla taste and no strange flavors. I promise you can’t tell—they taste just like regular, sunshiny lemon cookies!
3) Chia seeds. For an extra nutritious boost, I added a tablespoon of chia seeds to the cookie dough. They’re full of fiber, antioxidants, and omega-3’s, as well as other micronutrients, and the cookies are a fun way to sneak all of that in!
Because both the coconut flour and chia seeds are fairly absorbent, the cookies don’t spread during baking, so it’s important to flatten the cookie dough to your preferred thickness and width before popping the pan in the oven. If you prefer thicker cookies, they may need a minute or two more than the bake time called for in the recipe.
Just look at these sweet, sunshiny beauties! And the fact that they’re healthy enough for breakfast? Yeah… I’m probably not sharing a single one. 😉
| Lemon Chia Seed Protein Cookies | | Print |
- ¼ cup (28g) coconut flour (measured correctly)
- 2 scoops (84g) vanilla whey protein powder (I used Jamie Eason's Lean Body for Her — see Notes!)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (15g) chia seeds
- 1 tbsp (3g) lemon zest (about 1 medium)
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (45mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 medium)
- ¼ cup (60mL) agave
- 2 tbsp Swerve
- 2 tbsp Truvia
- In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, chia seeds, and zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the lemon juice and agave. Mix in the Swerve and Truvia until completely dissolved. Stir in the coconut flour mixture until completely incorporated. Let the cookie dough rest for at least 10 minutes.
- While the cookie dough rests, preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drop the cookie dough into 12 rounded scoops onto the prepared baking sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width. (Between ¼” to ½” is best.) Bake at 325°F for 11-13 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Not all protein powders absorb liquids equally. If the cookie dough looks too dry, add 2 teaspoons of milk at a time until everything comes together. If it looks too wet after letting it rest, add 1 teaspoon of coconut flour at a time until the texture is thicker.
Xanthan gum helps hold the cookies together and make them chewy.
Swerve and Truvia are both no-calorie, Stevia-based sweeteners. You may use all of one or the other, or you may substitute your preferred granulated sweetener instead.
For more tips and answers to all other questions, including substitutions, see my Protein Powder Recipes: Tips & FAQ page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low carb, high protein}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
I am really really pleased with this recipe. Easy to make – and I HATE TO BAKE – I love to cook food – but not bake treats (cookies, cakes, brownies, etc.) Getting ready to make another batch.
After thoroughly cooling, I placed my cookies in a glass container, covered with plastic wrap, snapped plastic lid in place, and placed in frig. Didn’t remember them until a day and a half later – so good! Nice flavorful treat / snack to knock out all those sweet teeth cravings I have.
Thank you Amy for creating this delicious recipe. Cheryl
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Cheryl! It means a lot that you’d already want to make another batch. That’s such a huge compliment, especially knowing that you hate to bake. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know — you made my entire day! 🙂
Ha! I have 4 left from my 3rd batch – besides being delicious – they satisfy my screaming sweet tooth at night. I could easily eat them all day long. I also find these easy to make and to bake. 🙂
You’re just making my heart melt, Cheryl… You’ve already made three batches??? Despite not really enjoying baking all that much? 😉 That’s truly the BEST compliment there is!! I’m so glad you love these cookies! ♡
I cant wait to try these out! Should I use a whey protein or whey/casein blend?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Abby! I’d recommend the first option, whey protein, rather than a whey/casein blend. Although the exact protein powder that I used is no longer available, this one is almost exactly the same! So if your protein powder has a really similar ingredients list and nutrition information, then it should work. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you make them!
Hi Amy,
I would love to try these! It looks like the product link above is for a chocolate protein powder. Can you share a link for a vanilla product that’s currently available that works well in the recipe? I’ve been baking for years, but am new to using protein powder. Thanks so much!
Jayne
Oh gosh — I’m sorry about that, Jayne! Thanks for catching that and letting me know. I just updated the recipe links! This protein powder would be my top recommendation to use in this recipe, as well as my other recipes that call for whey-based protein powder. If you find other brands of whey-based protein powders with very similar ingredients and nutrition information (especially the total grams of protein and sugar!), then there’s a good chance that those should work as well.
I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you try making them!
Is there a substitute for agave?
Honey or pure maple syrup would be the two best alternatives! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you try making them, Shannon!
I am keto and trying to increase my fiber intake. I have read that chia seeds pack a large amount of fiber. I also read that you should soak them before using. Some say they hurt their stomach if not soaked, which I never experienced. But I am looking for an answer to “does it matter if they are soaked or unoaked when trying to get the most fiber benefit/ lower your blood sugar reading. I am inclined to think maybe it would be better to soak, to get that gel like texture, which supposedly slows digestion and thus helps with glucose spikes which contribute to slow weight lose. I am looking for your opinion on the topic. If I was to soak them and use the lemon juice, vanilla and added a bit of water then what would you change to get the right cookie texture? More flour? Increase bake time to dry the mixture? Any thoughts?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Sherry! I’m not a trained healthcare professional, so I don’t feel comfortable providing advice about what to do to get the highest fiber benefits and lowest blood sugar readings. That might be something your doctor could answer though!
For the best taste and texture in these cookies, I do recommend following the recipe as written. However, if you’d really prefer to soak the chia seeds first, then I think it’d be best to soak them in water, rather than the lemon juice and vanilla, and simply mix the water-soaked chia seeds in right after the Swerve and Truvia so you minimize any effect there may be on the ratio of wet to dry ingredients.
I’d love to hear what you think of these cookies if you try making them!
I do not use protein powders…what do u suggest as a replacement? Please
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Sandra! This recipe does require protein powder to work properly, so I don’t recommend substituting for it. However, I have some other lemon cookie recipes that do not! These lemon cookies, these lemon sugar cookies, and these lemon “snickerdoodles” might be better options for you. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try any of those!
Thanks for a great recipe, Amy! I’ve made these a few times now…they are perfect for me since I am an endurance rider/athlete and need a quick protein snack during my events without all the junk and fillers. I love this lemon version, but today I made a strawberry protein cookie that turned out really good!! I mashed some strawberries until they were juicy and there were no big chunks left, then used an equal amount of that in place of the lemon juice. I added a bit of strawberry extract, left out the zest, and I used mostly unflavored whey protein with a small amount of strawberry whey protein (I get mine from Trim Healthy Mama, but Isopure also has one that I want to try next). They did bake a little differently than the lemon, and they didn’t flatten as much, but they’re also a bit lighter. Oh, and I have found that it works just as well to mix all of the dry ingredients and all of the wet ingredients, then combine them, instead of mixing in the Swerve separately at the end.
Thanks again! Happy baking!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying these cookies, Stephanie! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. It means a lot! 🙂 I really appreciate you including your fun strawberry modifications too. I always love hearing what recipe tweaks work!
So there’s no Nutritional info. Just that they are “low calorie, Gluten free etc.” before I try and do the math myself I hoped maybe you have an estimate Calories/Carbs/protein etc? They look delicious!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe! The full nutrition information is available directly underneath the recipe box. It includes the calories, macros, and more. Look for the text “View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points” — I know it can be really easy to miss though! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these protein cookies if you try making them!
OH! I think I would love these for breakfast!
These cookies are great. Although I didn’t have fresh lemon (I used the kind in the bottle) they turned out lemony. Because the protein powder was vanilla flavored I used lemon extract instead of vanilla extract. And added an extra 1/2tsp of lemon juice. They turned out just the way I like. Just an FYI, these cookies are calcium loaded because of the whey protein and Chia seeds. That’s a plus in my book 😁
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies, Rebekah! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. It means a lot! 🙂 I also appreciate you sharing your recipe modifications. I always love to hear what tweaks work!
My daughter loves lemon and I have been searching for a healthy recipe to make for her and she would absolutely love these. The only problem is I’m allergic to coconut so we can’t have it in the house. I know it would change the recipe a bit but is there another flour I could use that’s peanut free, tree nut free, coconut free and oat free? Could I just use regular flour? If so, would I use the same amount?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Tracie! Your daughter is really lucky to have you as her mom. You’re so thoughtful to want to make lemon cookies for her! I’ve actually covered the answer to this exact question on my Protein Powder FAQ Page, and there’s a link to that FAQ Page in the bottom of the Notes section (located directly underneath the Instructions!). I know it can be really easy to miss, though! 😉
I also have a few other lemon-flavored cookie recipes that don’t call for coconut as an ingredient, including cut-out lemon sugar cookies, lemon snickerdoodles, and lemon pudding cookies. Perhaps one of those might be a better fit — or at least worth a glance? 🙂
If you end up making any of these cookie recipes, I’d love to hear what you and your daughter think of them!