brownie cookies with peanut butter sandwiched between

Boost your daily energy with Chocolate Brownie Protein Cookies

Boost your daily energy with Chocolate Brownie Protein Cookies

protein brownies on wooden board
Brownies packed with protein

There are many times when people ask me where I get my protein from! Where do I start – there are so many many vegan sources of protein! You could have any nuts, seeds, pulses, grains, substitute meats, tofu and even vegetables! Did you know the garden pea has about 5g of protein per 100g. Anyway, these chocolate brownie protein cookies (or bites) were created to add more protein to a hospital diet. As I was experimenting with recipes, it made sense to make them vegan – so I could taste test and get the best possible version.

brownie cookies with peanut butter sandwiched between
Brownie cookies sandwiched together

These are a great portable snack and they are also great for breakfast too! I have eaten them as they are, dipped them in yogurt and sprinkled them on crumpets with bananas and forest fruits. There is no added sugar in these and (as with most of my recipes) you can add in extras such as coconut, different nuts, chopped dried fruit and even chocolate chips if you wish.

The Protein Cookies Recipe

There are three main ingredients in these. Fresh banana – the riper the banana, the sweeter the finished result will be. Porridge oats – gluten free can be used if required. Something you may not have, but is great for adding protein, is peanut flour. You could substitute almond, sesame or coconut flour, but if you can get defatted peanut flour it adds protein without too much of a peanut taste. If you have protein powder, you can add a teaspoon of that in too, but they work just as well without. The other ingredients are milk, cocoa powder, baking powder, a bit of mixed spice and chopped hazelnuts. The result is a batch of protein bites containing around 21g of protein.

plate of protein brownies
Brownies. Cookies. Bites.
Chocolate Brownie Protein Cookies

Packed full of protein, these chocolate brownie cookies (or bites) make a great snack or breakfast.

Keyword: brownies, cookies, protein
Created by:: Laurena @LifeDietHealth
Gather
  • 100 g fresh banana mashed (approximately 1 medium)
  • 25 ml milk (I used unsweetened oat)
  • 40 g porridge oats (gluten free if required)
  • 20 g peanut flour
  • 5 g cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice
  • 10 whole hazelnuts (roughly chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • *optional 5g protein powder (chocolate or vanilla)
Prepare
  1. Put the banana in a bowl, mash well and add the milk.

  2. Add the oats, peanut flour, cocoa poswer and mixed spice and mix well to combine. (add protein powder if using too).

  3. Fold the chopped hazelnuts through.

  4. Sprinkle the baking powder over and gently mix in.

  5. Either drop spoonfuls on a lined baking tray, or put into a shallow baking tin as one brownie. You want the thickness to be about 0.5cm to 1cm thick.

  6. Bake at Gas Mark 6 (425f / 210c) for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

  7. Enjoy.

These chocolate brownie protein cookies are so easy to make there’s no step by step required! Mash the banana, mix everything in, bake!

What do I need?

As previously mentioned, you can add extras in to your own tastes. These can be made into freeform cookies or, if a more uniform shape is required, made in a shallow baking tin and cut into squares.

stack of protein brownies
Protein Brownie Squares or Bites

Here are a few useful ingredients and utensils for this recipe. I receive a small commission if you click and purchase through these links (this is at no additional cost to you)!


Serving

I suggest eating these as they are, or sandwiching together with peanut (or almond) butter. You could also chop them and sprinkle on to other sweet dishes such as on top of some pancakes or even add to your porridge.

crumpets with forest fruits
Crumpets with yogurt, forest fruits & protein brownie

Storage

These store relatively well, either covered on the worktop for a few days, or in the fridge for a week. You can also freeze them for up to three months. If freezing, portion or separate with greaseproof paper, label and freeze. Allow to defrost at room temperature (unless eating hot with ice cream!)

brownie cookie sandwich
Brownie Cookie Sandwich

Sharing

I hope you make your own version of these protein brownie cookies. I love seeing your adaptions and interpretations of my recipes and I’d love to know what you’re putting in yours? Please share and tag me @LifeDietHealth or using #LifeDietHealth on InstagramPinterest,  Facebook or Twitter.

Leave me a comment below… I love to chat!

I hope to speak with you soon

Laurena x

12 Comments

  • tulips79 20th May 2021 at 20:24

    These remind me a bit of chocolate ‘cracknell’ but so much healthier 😊My goodness, I had completely forgotten about the peanut powder I used around 5 years ago lol when I first went vegan, I need to get some more!

    Reply
    • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 20th May 2021 at 20:49

      I might have had quite a fiar amount of protein this week… even if nobody else has! I have PB powder too, but this peanut flour is denser and is literally just ground defatted peanuts! Ooo, now I’m wondering if I could make something fudgy with it! I’m searching chocolate cracknell now as all I can think of is pink shiny wrapped Quality Street…

      Reply
      • tulips79 20th May 2021 at 21:07

        Oh Laurena, you’ve got me thinking about Quality Street too now😋 I hope all’s well with you x

        Reply
        • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 20th May 2021 at 21:09

          Nope. Not with you on that! Now Roses… 😛

          Reply
  • tulips79 20th May 2021 at 21:12

    Funnily enough, I used to love Roses and QS not so much…it ended up being the other way around years later lol

    Reply
    • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 20th May 2021 at 23:23

      The old Roses were the best though… then they swapped all the sweets, shrunk them and changed the recipes! Do you remember when the Roses had miniature Cadbury Dairy Milk & Bournville bars in foil with paper sleeve?

      Reply
      • tulips79 21st May 2021 at 06:41

        I totally agree! My faves were the almond praline one in the green foil and the golden caramel barrell: they still have the barrell but the taste went years ago when they changed the recipe. I had actually forgotten about the miniature Dairy Milks… Now you mention it, I recall seeing these as refill boxes in Argos catalogues as a kid haha (not so keen on the Bournville).

        Reply
        • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 21st May 2021 at 07:36

          Caramel barrel, hazel in caramel and hazel whirl were always my favourites (the bournvilles were always left for my sister)! As we’re talking chocolate, do you remember Astro’s?

          Reply
          • tulips79 21st May 2021 at 13:56

            Your sister had grown-up tastes lol. Oh yes, how could I forget the hazel whirl, duh. Sorry, I don’t remember Astro’s, I shall have to look that one up☺️

          • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 21st May 2021 at 17:28

            Did you find the Astro’s?

  • tulips79 21st May 2021 at 19:52

    I just looked it up and I’m surprised to see I don’t remember this Cadbury version of Smarties lol. I really liked ‘Fuse’ around that time, basically a chunky Tiffin bar…yum. Shame my favourite bars tend to be discontinued (you can keep Wispa, I found that quite bland)- don’t get me started on Spira again hehe.

    Reply
    • Laurena@LifeDietHealth 21st May 2021 at 21:58

      Oh I used to make chocolate trifle with fuse bars! Picnics and star bars were my favourite!

      Reply

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