High Protein & Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies (ve, gf, refined-sugar free)

Feeling snacky? Want something to dunk in your tea? Need an after-dinner sweet treat? Post-gym fuel?
These high protein cookies answer all the above! They’re chewy, stress-free (only a bowl and a whisk needed!) and can be easily made gluten free (just make sure you get GF oats). All whilst being plant-based and super healthy.

Instead of regular flour, I used gut-loving oats and high protein ground almonds to create a well nutritionally balanced cookie that are great for your heart (thanks to the nuts and flavonoids in the cacao) as well as your waistline since they have lots of fibre and no added fat or refined sugar. They take less than 30 minutes to make so you can quickly whip them up mid-week.

Some words of advice: please try and use cacao powder and nibs instead of cocoa. Cacao is the a raw, less processed form of cocoa, contains little or no added sugar and is higher in antioxidants when compared to other highly processed products. Cacao can taste a little bitter so, if you’re not used to the taste, you might want to add an extra tablespoon of maple syrup to the cookie dough but stick to just an extra tablespoon. Even though maple syrup is a natural sweetener, it’s still sugar.

• Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

  • 15 tbsp almond (or other plant-based) “mylk”

  • 1.5 cups oats

  • 1 cup ground almonds

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 0.5 tsp baking powder

  • 1.5 tbsp hemp seeds powder

  • 2 tbsp cacao powder

  • 1 tbsp maple syrup (or more if you have a sweet tooth)

  • 1 tbsp cacao nibs

• Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

  2. To a large bowl, add the peanut butter and a few tablespoons of the almond mylk. Whisk together to loosen the peanut butter.

  3. Add in all ingredients except the cacao nibs and mix well together. Fold in the cacao nibs.

  4. Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture, roll it into a ball and flatten it into a cookie shape. Repeat until all the dough has been used up. It should be enough for 12 cookies.

  5. Place in the lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Hope you enjoy it and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can see your recreations.