By These protein chocolate chip cookies are the real deal - soft, chewy, bakery-style cookies with double the protein of traditional chocolate chip cookies, and no protein powder needed. They're ready in 20 minutes with no chill time, made with simple pantry ingredients like whole wheat flour and hemp seeds. After 6 batches of testing, these are the ones!
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why no protein powder?
If you search for protein cookies, most of what you'll find uses protein powder. We've tested that route, and the results are always the same - dry, crumbly cookies with a chalky aftertaste. No thanks.
These cookies get their protein from hemp seeds and whole wheat flour. The result is a cookie that tastes like an actual cookie - soft, chewy, and something you'd be proud to bring to a dinner party - but with meaningful protein in every bite.
As a NASM-certified nutrition coach, do my best to get my protein from whole-food sources when I can. And these cookies are proof you can have tasty treats while also hitting your protein goals.
what to use instead of protein powder in baking
If you're into high-protein baking but don't like dry, chalky protein powder, here's what we use across all our recipes instead:
Hemp Seeds: We use these all the time because you can hide them in just about anything given they're soft and have almost no flavor. We use them in these cookies, our no-bake protein cookies, and our protein balls without protein powder.
Almond flour has about 24g of protein per cup compared to the 13g in all-purpose flour. It also adds a tender, rich crumb to baked goods!
Whole wheat flour is an easy swap that most people already have. It has about 16g protein per cup vs. 13g for all-purpose.. not a massive difference per cup, but combined with other high-protein ingredients it adds up! That's the approach in these cookies.
Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are so, so good in muffins, pancakes, and cinnamon rolls. The moisture actually improves the texture while adding a ton of protein. Just look at all the positive comments on our protein blueberry muffins and cottage cheese cinnamon rolls!
Egg whites add protein and structure without changing flavor. This makes them great for dinner rolls and baked goods that need to rise.
key ingredients and swaps
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See the recipe card for quantities.
- Butter: I tested these with cashew butter and olive oil, and there is just no comparison when it comes to cookies with butter. So, use the butter.
- Sugar: Another key thing for bakery-style cookies is granulated sugar. We are using both white and coconut sugar. I tested these with maple syrup, and it didn't work. Again, there is just no swapping the sugar.
- Flour: For more protein and fiber, I use mostly whole wheat flour with a bit of all-purpose. This keeps the cookies tender but with some added nutrients. If you need gluten-free, a 1:1 GF blend works.
- Tip: Cookies turn out best when you weigh the flour, but if you don't weigh, add the last ¼ cup slowly - you might not use it all. The dough should be a bit runnier than playdough.
- Hemp Seeds: Just hulled hemp hearts - stir them right in with the flour. This is where most of the extra protein comes from. This recipe doesn't use peanut butter, so it's naturally peanut-free (see below for more on that).
- Chocolate chunks: Semi-sweet or bittersweet. We prefer chunks over chips for that bakery look, but chips work too.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
step by step: tips to nail this recipe every time
Step 1: Prep. Line your trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2: Cream. Use a hand mixer to whip the egg, sugars, salt, baking soda, and butter for 30+ seconds until a paste forms. This creates enough structure for the cookies not to over-spread in the oven.
Step 3: Mix the dry. Add the flour and hemp seeds slowly until you get a dough that's a bit runnier than playdough. You might not use all the flour. Fold in the chocolate chunks last.
Step 4: Scoop and bake. Use every last drop of batter - scrape that bowl clean! Bake at the recipe temperature and underbake them. The edges should be just set and the top still soft. They'll continue to set as they cool. This is the difference between a good protein cookie and an amazing one.
Step 5: The cookie scoot (for pretty cookies). As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place a round cookie cutter over each one and gently shift it in a circle to shape them. Then drop the pan on the counter to knock out air. This creates that beautiful wrinkled, bakery-style look.
quick recipe video
no peanut butter? no problem!
Good news - this recipe is already completely peanut-free! There's no peanut butter, almond butter, or nut butter of any kind. The protein comes from hemp seeds and whole wheat flour, and the fat and binding comes from regular butter.
If you also need to avoid tree nuts, just make sure your chocolate chunks are nut-free (check the label - some are processed in facilities with nuts).
how to store protein cookies
These cookies can be stored before or after baking!
- Room temp or Fridge: Baked cookies keep for up to 7 days in an airtight container in the fridge, or up to 5 days on the counter.
- Freezer: You can store baked cookies for up to 3 months in the freezer. You can also store the cookie dough by scooping it into balls, placing them on a sheet tray, and freezing for up to 3 months.
- How to bake cookie dough from frozen: You can simply take the cookie dough balls out and bake them right from frozen, like you normally would, just add a few minutes to the bake time.
Recipe
Protein Chocolate Chip Cookies (No Powder, No Chill!)
Equipment
- 1 hand mixer
- 1 large bowl
Ingredients
- ½ C + 2 tbsp unsalted butter (melted, if using salted, leave out the added salt, or vegan as needed)
- ½ C granulated sugar
- ¼ C coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ C all-purpose flour
- ¾ c whole wheat (can swap all flour for 1:1 gluten free as needed)
- 8 tablespoon hemp seeds (hulled hemp hearts)
- 6 oz chocolate chunks (semi-sweet or bittersweet)
Before you start!
If you make this recipe, please take a moment to leave us a review. We love to hear from you!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Melt the ½ C + 2 tablespoon unsalted butter for 40 seconds.
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to mix the melted butter, ½ C granulated sugar, ¼ C coconut sugar, 1 large egg, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon baking soda until a smooth paste forms. This should take about 30 seconds to a minute.
- Add in the ½ C all-purpose flour, ¾ c whole wheat, and 8 tablespoon hemp seeds and mix (with hand mixer) until the dough is fully hydrated. I like to add the flour in ¼ cup increments so I can add the last ¼ cup slowly. You might not end up using the entire last ¼ cup of flour if your batter is already the texture of wet playdough. See the video for what I mean!
- Stir in the 6 oz chocolate chunks or chocolate chips of choice.
- Scoop out 12 even balls (heaping full 1.5 cookie scoop) and place on the prepared trays. Be sure to use every last bit of the dough! Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges are just set and they are golden brown, but the center is still very soft.
- Remove from the oven and do the cookie scoot, if desired.The cookie scoot means using a round cookie cutter to gently shape cookies into a round shape while they're still hot. Place the cutter over and around the hot cookies and move it in a circular motion to shape them. Then, take the baking tray and drop it on the counter from a height of about 6" above the counter. This will create that perfect wrinkled look in the cookies!
- Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes before digging in. Then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
Great! Perfect texture!
These came out incredibly delicious. I did add chill time for easier scooping with a cookie scoop. I weighed all my ingredients and added into lose it! but got <4g protein per cookie. Alas, they are still delicious
Thanks for letting me know, so glad you still enjoyed! I've run the nutrition again and still get 5 but I'm definitely not an ingredient weigher and I know it really makes a difference! I'm just curious how you were able to weigh the ingredients without me listing the grams?
I am so impressed by how much I like these cookies! These have the perfect texture in my opinion — soft in the center and melt in your mouth crispness on the edges.
The first time I made these I used measuring cups to measure my ingredients, and they came out well. Since I prefer to bake by weighing my ingredients, the second time I baked them I used the standard gram to cup measurements. The cookies were too flat. The third time, I used the measuring cups again and weighed how much it actually came to. I found that they actually needed more flour than I was using when measuring by weight! I found that they come out perfectly if I use 80 grams of AP flour and 120 grams of whole wheat flour. Hope this helps somebody!
Can you use dark chocolate chips or chunks ?
yup!
Another hit! Quick and easy and even the folks resistant to healthier options say they are "really good"!
Can I use kitchen aide mixer instead of hand mixer?
Sure can!
Delicious for a “healthier” cookie! Didn’t have coconut sugar so subbed light brown sugar instead. I undercooked them, took them out around 8.5-9 minutes and thought they were perfect. Little bit of a nutty flavor with the hemp hearts, made it seem fancier than just a chocolate chip cookie.
So good!