Last summer, my mom fulfilled a dream she had been chasing for over a decade: she bought a cabin in the woods on a lake. After searching in three different states and countless different zip codes, she and my dad finally found the perfect little home-away-from-home last June.
Because most previous owners include all of the furniture, appliances, dishes, and linens when selling their cabins in that particular neighborhood, my parents had very little to purchase after receiving the keys. Mom added moose-themed towels and a few paintings of aspen trees to turn it into the exact rustic cabin she had imagined, but our entire family could tell she was completely smitten from the first moment she stepped foot inside.
My parents gave both my brother and me a key to the cabin in case we wanted to visit one of the weekends when they stayed home, so last month, my brother and his best friend headed up to the mountains to escape the scorching hot 110° weather in our hometown. Even though the forest expected temperatures around 90°, the lake nearby made that much more bearable!
They planned a few hikes for their trip: a leisurely one to the aspen-lined meadow a mile away from the cabin; another down to the beach for an afternoon of swimming in the refreshing, icy cold lake; and a third steep trek up the side of a mountain to see an impressive set of waterfalls crashing over the top.
With so much exercise packed into one weekend, I thought the boys could use a sweet yet healthy treat to make it through their sun-drenched hikes. Because my brother loves anything lemon-flavored, I baked these Lemon Poppy Seed Protein Cookies specifically for him!
Protein cookies… That sounds a little bit like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? But I promise it’s not! These gorgeous treats are lower carb, lower sugar, and packed with 5 grams of protein! Moreover, they’re gluten-free and clean eating… And basically healthy enough for breakfast too!
The base of these cookies consists of coconut flour and vanilla protein powder. Coconut flour behaves very differently than other flours! It’s about 3 times as absorbent, so we’ll only use about a third of how much flour you’d expect in a cookie recipe. We’ll also give the cookie dough time to rest to allow the coconut flour to absorb the moisture from the lemon juice.
I’ve only used this vanilla protein powder for these cookies. Not all protein powders behave the same, especially when it comes to baking recipes! They usually absorb different amounts of moisture, and they often result in varying textures too. Whey-based protein powders also act differently than plant-based ones. This recipe was designed for whey-based protein powder, so if you can’t find the brand that I used, I highly recommend substituting a different whey-based powder instead.
These cookies are sweetened with a combination of agave and stevia. Stevia is a no-calorie, plant-based sweetener that’s clean eating friendly. Because stevia sometimes has a funny aftertaste, I used a mix of two different kinds—Truvia and Swerve—to minimize any strange flavors. If you can only find one or the other, that’s fine! Just substitute it for the other as well.
After letting the cookie dough rest and dropping it on the baking sheet, you must flatten the cookie dough to your desired thickness and width. These cookies do not spread while baking! Use a spatula (I own these—aren’t they cute?) because the cookie dough will stick to your hands.
Here’s my big secret to the chewiest cookies: slightly underbake the cookies; then let them sit on the warm baking sheet for a few extra minutes. This allows the centers to continue to cook through without the outsides turning crisp and crunchy. This little trick keeps your cookies chewy for up to a week, if they last that long!
So here’s to sunshine, summer days, and sweet hiking treats!
| Lemon Poppy Seed Protein Cookies | | Print |
- ¼ c (28g) coconut flour (measured correctly)
- 2 scoops (84g) vanilla protein powder (I used Jamie Eason's Lean Body for Her)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (9g) poppy 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 white, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (45mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 medium)
- ¼ c (60mL) agave
- 2 tbsp Swerve
- 2 tbsp Truvia
- In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, poppy 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.
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.
Honey may be substituted in place of the agave.
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, lower carb, high protein}
This looks delicious! Thank you for sharing!
It’s my pleasure Suzanner! I’d love to hear what you think if you try making these cookies! 🙂
I don’t have coconut oil but could I use olive oil?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Taylor! If you don’t have coconut oil or butter, and olive oil is the only thing you have on hand, then you can try substituting it. It’ll create the same texture, but because olive oil tends to have a fairly prominent flavor in baked goods, you’ll likely detect an olive-like taste in your cookies. Just something to keep in mind! 🙂
I’d love to hear what you think of these protein cookies if you try making them!
I believe the Whey protein I used didn’t absorb enough liquid, but then it’s hard to tell what the consistency was supposed to be after the 10 minute rest.
Mine was really fluffy and soft and not like cookie dough at all, but spoonable. They did spread while baking, thus I believe I should have added some coconut flour?
i probably overcooked them as well as they came out pretty dry even though they only baked for about 8 minutes 🙁
It means a lot that you tried making my recipe, Britta! The cookies are supposed to be soft and chewy (not cakey or dry), and the cookie dough should be pretty sticky and dense. If that’s not how your cookie dough or cookies turned out, then I’m happy to help figure out why and how to get that texture, should you decide to try making this recipe again!
In order to help, I have some questions for you. 🙂
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients — especially the coconut flour, protein powder, and 3 sweeteners? (Agave, Swerve, and Truvia!)
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? (Other than baking for 8 minutes!)
What’s the exact protein powder that you used? (Brand + product name!)
What brand of coconut flour did you use?
How much did you flatten the cookie dough before baking? How thick were your cookies?
Did you bake them at 325°F? (Some people have accidentally baked them at 350°F since that’s such a common oven temperature for cookies, so I just like to double check!)
Did you use a regular oven or a smaller countertop-style oven?
If a regular oven, how many rack positions does your oven have inside, and which one did you use?
How much did your cookies spread while baking? A little, a moderate amount, or a lot?
How was their flavor? Was it only the texture that was off, or were they not sweet/lemony enough?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them! 🙂
Hi Amy!
Thank you so much for getting back to me!
First off, the flavor was good, but because of the texture I decided to not ‘waste’ my calories on them 😉
To your questions in order:
Yes, I used a kitchen scale.
I did substitute the truvia and swerve for just Monkfruit/erythritol blend. But I used the Agave syrup (lite blue).
Yes, instead of the full egg, i used 60g of egg white and I used unsalted butter (but that’s in the recipe) instead of coconut oil.
The protein powder I used is ‘Solumeve – Whey Protein & Probiotic Blend’
Bob’s redmill is the coconut flour I have.
I didn’t really flatten the cookie, since the dough was soft. I’d say the blobs we’re about 1/4-1/2 inch high.
Yes, I baked them at 325F in a countertop oven.
The cookies spread quite a lot.
After the 10 minute resting period the dough itself was really fluffy and airy as well. My guess is that’s because of the reaction of the baking soda and lemon juice?
I should probably try it again and add a little.more coconut flour…
Thanks again for trying to help!
Thanks for sharing your answers — as well as your patience, Britta! I took time off to be with my family, so I apologize for taking this much time to get back to you. I think I know the culprit, but just a few more questions should confirm it!
To clarify, did you use the kitchen scale to measure the agave? If so, how many grams or ounces did you use?
Did you use 2 scoops (35.5g) of the Sôlumeve protein powder?
Have you used your countertop oven to make any of my other recipes before, by any chance? If so, did those turn out okay?
We’re almost there — so thank you again for your patience!! 🙂