Cowboy Protein Cookies

Once in a while, I have an itch to bake, and lucky for my boys, today was one of those days 🤗 An old supervisor of mine in the Air Force brought some cookies in one day for a shop potluck, which he dubbed "Cowboy Cookies". They were delicious, and when I asked for the recipe, he said it was basically a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe with coconut, oats and some nuts added as well. I tried a few combinations myself, and this one is by far my favorite.

You will need:

Dry ingredients 🍚

1 cup FlapJacked Buttermilk Pancake mix
4 tbsp peanut butter powder (Honeyville)
1/4 cup raw oats
1 level scoop vanilla protein powder (Orgain)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Wet ingredients 🍪
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
1/3 cup organic salted butter
1 tbsp flax seed meal
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp room temperature almond milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Mix-ins 🍫🍒
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup dried cherries

Putting it all together:

First, preheat oven to 350F. Next, combine all the dry ingredients and mix until well combined; set aside. (Using the Flap Jacked Pancake mix worked out great, and I didn't need to add any eggs as a result.) Mix the flax meal and water together, set aside as well.

If your butter is not softened already, you can place it into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 minute at the lowest percentage (10%) heat to start softening ...sometimes I need to add an additional 20 seconds or so to get it soft enough to cream with the sugar, it depends on your microwave 🌞

Cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and room temperature almond milk. Next add in the flax/water mixture, combining until well blended. Now it's time to add the dry ingredients and mix-ins (I find doing it all at once makes it easier). Once all ingredients are well incorporated*, they are ready to get on that cookie sheet!

*if the dough is a little dry, add more almond milk, 1 tbsp at a time until it isn't crumbly anymore, this will depend on the protein powder used*

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then take about a tablespoon of dough and form a ball, flattening into a disc on the pan. Repeat until pan is full, I fit 9 on the first pan and had enough for 7 the second time. Bake at 350F for about 8 minutes, until edges begin to brown. Cool on a cookie rack for a few minutes, then give them a taste! It will be hard not to eat half of the batch, but these are healthier cookies you won't (as) feel guilty about. ☺️ Ensure remaining cookies are cooled completely, then store in an airtight container or Ziploc. Makes about 16 cookies 🍪

See MFP nutritional info below 👇