Cottage Cheese Protein Cookies
By Emily Carter ·
Published
Quick answer
Blend 1 cup cottage cheese smooth, then mix with 1 egg, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup sweetener or sugar, vanilla, 1 cup rolled oats, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/3 cup chocolate chips. Rest the batter for 10 minutes, then bake at 350F for 12 to 14 minutes. Each cookie carries about 4 g of protein from label values, not lab tested.
Cottage Cheese Protein Cookies are the soft, chewy cookies that happen to carry protein. They are just blended cottage cheese, egg, peanut butter, sweetener, vanilla, oats, baking powder and chocolate chips, rested, scooped and baked into twelve soft cookies that taste like a proper cookie, not like a health snack.
Why you’ll love it
- Taste like real cookies, soft and chewy, with peanut butter and chocolate chips.
- About 4 g of protein per cookie from label values, a better snack than a plain cookie.
- Fifteen minutes of prep and about thirteen minutes in the oven, all in one bowl.
- Kid friendly, vegetarian, and easy to make gluten free with certified gluten free oats.
- Perfect on their own, and perfect as the cookies for protein ice cream sandwiches.
Ingredient notes
Cottage cheese: blending is essential here. Blended cottage cheese keeps the cookies moist and soft, and it disappears into the batter so the cookies do not taste like cottage cheese at all.
Peanut butter: smooth peanut butter gives flavor, chew and a little protein, and it helps the cookies hold together. Natural peanut butter works, but runny peanut butter can make the cookies spread, so chill the scoops if needed.
Oats: rolled oats give these cookies their chew and structure. They also absorb moisture during the rest, which is what stops the cookies spreading too thin in the oven.
Egg: one egg binds the batter and helps the cookies set without going cakey. It also adds a little protein and richness.
Chocolate chips: a third of a cup is enough for chocolate in every bite without making the cookies too sweet. Mini chips distribute best, but regular chips work too.
Why blending, resting and pulling early matter
These cookies work because of three small steps that are easy to skip and hard to fix later. First, blend the cottage cheese smooth, since curds never bake out and leave lumps. Second, rest the batter for ten minutes, so the oats absorb moisture and the cookies hold their shape instead of spreading thin. Third, pull the cookies when the centers still look soft, since they firm up on the tray as they cool. Bake them until they look done in the oven, and they will be dry by the time they cool. Follow those three steps, and you get soft, chewy cookies every time, with no special skill needed.
Variations
- Oatmeal raisin: swap the chocolate chips for raisins and add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for a classic oatmeal cookie flavor.
- Double chocolate: add 1 tablespoon of cocoa to the batter and use chocolate chips for a richer chocolate cookie.
- Nutty crunch: swap half the chocolate chips for chopped walnuts or pecans for crunch in every bite.
- White chocolate cranberry: swap the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for a festive version.
What we learned testing it
- Blended cottage cheese beat unblended clearly in the side by side test. The blended cookies were soft and even, while the unblended cookies stayed lumpy and baked unevenly.
- Resting the batter for 10 minutes beat baking right away. The rested cookies held their shape, while the unrested cookies spread thin and crisp.
- Peanut butter gave the best flavor and chew in the test. Almond butter worked too, but the cookies were a little drier, so peanut butter is the first choice.
Read how we test recipes.
Cottage Cheese Protein Cookies
Makes 12 cookies · 38 min total · Easy
Ingredients
Equipment
Blender · Mixing bowl · Baking sheet lined with parchment
Instructions
-
Blend the cottage cheese until smooth
Add the cottage cheese to a blender and blend for 45 to 60 seconds until completely smooth, with no curds left. Smooth cottage cheese is what keeps these cookies soft and chewy instead of lumpy.
-
Mix the batter with oats and chocolate chips
Stir the blended cottage cheese, egg, peanut butter, sweetener and vanilla together in a bowl until smooth. Add the rolled oats and baking powder and stir until just combined, then fold in the chocolate chips.
-
Rest the batter, then scoop onto the baking sheet
Rest the batter for 10 minutes so the oats absorb moisture and the cookies hold together. Scoop 12 even mounds onto a parchment lined baking sheet, spacing them well apart, and flatten each one slightly with a spoon.
-
Bake until set, then cool on the tray
Bake at 350F for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the centers still look soft. Let the cookies cool on the tray for 10 minutes, since they firm up as they cool, then move them to a rack.
Notes
- Blend the cottage cheese first, every time. Unblended cottage cheese makes lumpy cookies that spread unevenly.
- Rest the batter for the full 10 minutes. The oats need time to absorb moisture, or the cookies spread too thin in the oven.
- Pull the cookies when the centers still look soft. They firm up on the tray, and overbaking is what turns them dry.
- Flatten each mound slightly before baking. Thick scoops bake unevenly, while slightly flattened cookies bake evenly all the way through.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition information is being calculated.
Substitutions
- Peanut butter
- Use almond butter or sunflower seed butter instead. Almond butter gives a slightly drier cookie, so add a teaspoon of extra milk if the batter looks stiff.
- Rolled oats
- Use quick oats instead for a softer, less chewy cookie. Do not use steel cut oats, since they stay hard and gritty in this batter.
- Chocolate chips
- Use raisins, chopped nuts or white chocolate chips instead. Raisins make a softer, sweeter cookie, while nuts add crunch.
Storage and make-ahead
Store the cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. They stay softest in a sealed container with a slice of bread, which keeps them moist. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months, and thaw at room temperature for about an hour before eating.
Frequently asked questions
Do cottage cheese protein cookies taste like cottage cheese?
No, not when the cottage cheese is blended smooth. The blended cheese disappears into the batter and just makes the cookies soft and moist, while peanut butter, vanilla and chocolate chips give the flavor.
Why did my protein cookies spread too thin?
It usually means the batter was not rested, or the peanut butter was very runny. Rest the batter for a full 10 minutes, and if your peanut butter is runny, chill the scooped cookies for 10 minutes before baking.
Can I make these cookies gluten free?
Yes, if you use certified gluten free rolled oats. All the other ingredients are naturally gluten free, so the swap is simple. Check your oats label, since regular oats can carry gluten from processing.
How much protein is in each cookie?
These are label-based estimates, not lab tested numbers, and they vary by brand. Each cookie carries about 4 g of protein, mostly from the cottage cheese, egg and peanut butter. Check your labels for your exact numbers.
Can I use these cookies for ice cream sandwiches?
Yes, and they are made for it. Bake them, cool them fully, then sandwich a scoop of freshly spun Creami ice cream between two cookies and freeze. See the related protein ice cream sandwiches post for the full method.
