During my freshman year of college, I attended a potluck-style Thanksgiving party held by one of the Christian groups on campus since I had been friends with a few of the older members back in high school. Seven of the upperclassmen lived in a house together in the residential area near the university, so they offered to host the dinner.
Although all of us freshmen lived in the dorms, we still wanted to bring food to share, even though none of the older college kids expected us to. Many of my classmates tossed together salads or picked up store-bought rolls as easier yet still thoughtful options, but… I took the harder route.
Because my specific dorm originally had been an apartment building before the university transformed them, it had a decent-sized kitchen on the first floor, complete with an oven and stove. On the morning of the party, I biked to the grocery store for ingredients, lugged my mixing bowls and baking sheets down to the kitchen, and baked my favorite recipe for super soft pumpkin cookies.
When the evening rolled around, I piled the six dozen cookies onto four paper plates, covered them with foil, and walked a few blocks to the upperclassmen’s house along with my other freshman friends. We set down our contributions onto the long tables in the dining room already loaded with food, and by the end of the night, only a few slices of pumpkin and pecan pie were left—but none of my cookies!
As much as I still enjoy that recipe’s soft and chewy texture, those cookies are full of refined sugar and all-purpose flour, so I set out to make a healthier version this year. These Pumpkin Pie Protein Cookies are the result! They’re just as addictive as the originals—if not even more so—and they’re both clean-eating and lower-carb too!
These cookies start with two very important dry ingredients: coconut flour and protein powder. The coconut flour is what makes these cookies lower in carbs compared to the originals, but it behaves very differently than other flours. Coconut flour is about three times as absorbent, so it’s incredibly important to measure it correctly because any extra will quickly dry out the cookies and turn them cakey. I highly recommend a kitchen scale for this! I own this inexpensive one, and I use it in every recipe I make for this blog. It’s worth its weight in gold!
This recipe was specifically designed for whey-based protein powder. I used this brand, and I love it because it has a mostly sweet vanilla taste with very little whey flavor. It also contains very little fat and sugar—a really nice bonus! Not all protein powders act the same, so if you use a different whey-based protein powder, you may need to add a tiny bit more if the dough is too wet or add a hint of milk if it’s too dry.
However, I do not recommend using plant-based protein powder. In general, plant-based protein powders are much more absorbent than whey-based, so these cookies would turn out dry and cakey. Save those plant-based powders for these protein bars or energy bites instead!
For the pumpkin pie flavor, we’ll use cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin purée. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling! That contains extra spices and sugar, and in order to keep these cookies healthy and clean-eating friendly, we’ll go with pumpkin purée instead.
Most of the sweetness comes from two stevia-based sweeteners: Truvia and Swerve. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener. I prefer to blend a few different brands because some are easier to find and less expensive than others.
Now with all of those better ingredients, these cookies are practically healthy enough for breakfast! And I’d almost never turn down a cookie for breakfast… Would you?
| Pumpkin Pie 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)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (183g) pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup (60mL) agave
- 2 tbsp granulated Swerve
- 2 tbsp Truvia
- In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, protein powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Stir in the 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 using a spatula. (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.
Maple syrup or 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}
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