These double chocolate high protein cookies taste like an honest to goodness cookie. Rich, fudgy, deeply chocolatey, with melty chunks in every bite. They just happen to have 6.5 grams (80% more!) or more of protein each, nearly half the fat, and 30 percent less sugar than a regular double chocolate cookie. No protein powder. No tree nuts. Just real ingredients and a whole lot of chocolate.
These high protein chocolate cookies get their protein from whole food ingredients, mainly cottage cheese, bread flour, and egg yolks, so there is no protein powder and no chalky aftertaste. They are a cottage cheese cookie that bakes up like a thick, fudgy brownie cookie, not a health food experiment.
I set out to make a cookie that did not announce itself as a protein cookie the second you bit into it. I wanted lower fat, lower sugar, and higher protein, but I refused to give up the thing that makes a cookie worth eating. When I am craving chocolate, this is exactly what I reach for.
Table of Contents
- Why You Will Love These Cookies
- The Secret to a High Protein Cookie With No Protein Powder
- Ingredients You Will Need
- How to Make Double Chocolate High Protein Cookies
- The Sugared Top Trick
- Substitutions and Notes
- Nut Free Version
- Double Chocolate High Protein Cookie Macros
- I Want to Make These With Sourdough
- Tips for the Best Cookies
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More High Protein Recipes
- Recipe Card
Why You Will Love These Cookies
These double chocolate high protein cookies are not sad health cookies. They are thick, fudgy, brownie style cookies with a delicate sugared top and pools of melted chocolate. Here is what makes them worth your time.
They have 6.5 grams or more of protein per cookie with no protein powder. The protein comes from real food: cottage cheese, bread flour, and egg yolks.
They have nearly half the fat and 30 percent less sugar than a traditional double chocolate cookie, with about 75 fewer calories each.
You cannot taste the cottage cheese. The double dose of chocolate hides it completely.
They are tree nut free, with an easy nut free swap if you need to skip the peanut butter too.
The Secret to a High Protein Cookie With No Protein Powder
Most high protein cookies you find online lean on one of two things: a scoop of protein powder, or almond flour. I did not want either. Protein powder pulls these away from the whole food ingredients I love to bake with, and almond flour is a tree nut, which is off the table for me.
So the protein here is built from real ingredients doing double duty. Cottage cheese is the engine, since it is dense in protein and brings moisture in place of most of the butter. Bread flour adds more protein than all purpose flour and gives that chewy structure. Egg yolks and a touch of peanut butter round it out. Cocoa powder even chips in, and because it is nearly fat free, it adds protein without the fat.
The result is a cookie that gets more than double the protein density of a regular cookie, all from food you can pronounce.
Ingredients You Will Need
Here is what goes into these cookies and why each one matters.
Cottage cheese. I use Good Culture 4 percent organic. Blend it completely smooth. It is the protein engine and replaces most of the butter. Use a 4 percent, high protein cottage cheese for the best results.
Bread flour. I use King Arthur organic unbleached bread flour. The higher protein content gives more chew and more protein than all purpose.
Natural cocoa powder. This recipe is balanced around natural cocoa, which is important for the leavening (more on that in the notes). Hershey’s natural cocoa is readily available.
Brown sugar and a little white sugar. Brown carries the moisture, chew, and deep flavor. A little white sugar helps the cookies spread.
Egg yolks. Yolks only, no whites. This is the trick to a fudgy, dense cookie instead of a cakey one.
Peanut butter. I use Kirkland organic. Just a little, for richness and a protein bump. See the nut free swap below if you need it.
Butter. A small amount, for spread and structure.
Instant coffee or espresso powder. This deepens the chocolate flavor. It does not make the cookies taste like coffee.
Chocolate chips or chunks. The star. Use a good quality chocolate you love.
Baking soda, cornstarch, salt, and vanilla round things out.
How to Make Double Chocolate High Protein Cookies
Making these double chocolate high protein cookies comes together in three quick stages: the cocoa cottage cheese base, the creamed sugar mixture, and the dry ingredients. The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is the overview.
First, add the cottage cheese and vanilla to a food processor and blend. Add the cocoa powder and purée until completely smooth and blended in. This blooms the cocoa into the moisture and deepens the chocolate flavor. Set this mixture aside.
In a stand mixer, beat the softened butter, peanut butter, and both sugars together for about one minute, until combined. Scrape down the bowl. Add the egg yolks and mix again until incorporated. Then add the puréed cottage cheese mixture and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the bread flour, instant coffee, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Whisking the dry ingredients well on their own is what keeps the cocoa and soda evenly distributed and the tops looking even.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently mix just until the dough comes together and looks shaggy. Do not overmix. Add the chocolate chips and mix until just incorporated, holding back a small handful for the tops.
Chill the dough at least one hour, ideally overnight. This dough is softer than standard cookie dough because of the cottage cheese, so the chill is doing real work.
The Sugared Top Trick
Because there is so little butter in these high protein cottage cheese cookies, the tops bake up a little matte on their own. Here is the trick I landed on for a beautiful, sparkly, bakery style top.
Let the chilled dough form a good firm shell, then roll it into a ball. Press a few chocolate chunks onto the top. Dip just the top of the ball into granulated sugar, flip it sugar side up onto the pan, and gently press it down into a thick disc. The fine sugar gives an even, delicate sparkle that catches the light, and the chocolate chunks on top go glossy as they bake.
I tested this with a cocoa sugar blend and with turbinado sugar, and plain fine granulated won by a mile. The cocoa blend looked dusty and the turbinado crystals were too coarse and heavy. Fine granulated is the one.
Substitutions and Notes
Cocoa powder. This recipe is balanced for natural cocoa, like Hershey’s, which is acidic and activates the baking soda on its own. If you only have Dutch process cocoa, which is pH neutral, use one half teaspoon baking soda plus three quarters teaspoon baking powder instead.
Coffee versus espresso. Instant coffee works beautifully here and is what I prefer, since espresso powder can sometimes bake in a little grainy. A dark roast instant coffee gives the smoothest result and the deepest flavor. Use the same amount either way.
Cottage cheese. Use a 4 percent, high protein cottage cheese. Lower fat or lower protein versions have more water and the cookies can spread, however will still work, be sure to drain.
Chocolate. A darker chocolate keeps these from getting too sweet and balances the cocoa beautifully. Use what you love.
Nut Free Version
These cookies are already tree nut free. If you also need them peanut free, simply replace the peanut butter with an equal amount of softened butter. Swap the 2 tablespoons of peanut butter for 2 tablespoons of butter, which brings the total butter to about 55 grams or 4 tablespoons. The cookies will be very slightly richer and just as delicious.
Double Chocolate High Protein Cookie Macros
Here is how one of these cookies compares to a traditional double chocolate cookie of the same size. These numbers are calculated from the actual brands I use.
Per cookie, this recipe has about 243 calories, 6.5 grams or more of protein, 8 grams of fat, 38 grams of carbs, and 23 grams of sugar.
Compared to a classic double chocolate cookie the same size, that is about 80 percent more protein, 46 percent less fat, 30 percent less sugar, and 24 percent fewer calories. It comes out to more than double the protein density of a regular cookie, all without protein powder.
A quick honest note. A food generally has to get about 20 percent of its calories from protein to wear a formal high protein label. No whole food cookie can hit that, because a cookie is mostly flour, sugar, and chocolate by nature. What these deliver is real: 6.5 grams or more of protein per cookie, more than double the protein density of a normal cookie, and far less fat and sugar. That is a treat you can feel good about.
I Want to Make These With Sourdough
Love these and want to use up some discard? I have a sourdough version of these double chocolate high protein cookies too. Same fudgy, chocolatey cookie, with the gut friendly benefit of sourdough discard worked in. Head over to the sourdough double chocolate high protein cookies post for the full recipe and all the details.
Tips for the Best Cookies
Blend the cottage cheese until it is completely smooth. Any curds left behind will show up in the baked cookie.
Do not skip the chill. The dough needs it to firm up enough to scoop and to hydrate fully.
Whisk your dry ingredients thoroughly before folding them in. This is what keeps the tops looking even and prevents pale or dark patches.
Pull them when the centers still look underdone. They firm up as they cool, and this is how you get that fudgy middle.
Press a few extra chocolate chunks onto the tops right out of the oven for that glossy bakery look.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you taste the cottage cheese? No. The double dose of chocolate hides it completely. Use a 4 percent cottage cheese and blend it smooth and you will never know it is there.
Do I need protein powder? No. That is the whole point. All the protein here comes from whole food ingredients.
Why bread flour instead of all purpose? Bread flour has more protein, which gives both more chew and a little more protein per cookie. King Arthur organic bread flour is what I use.
Can I make these gluten free? I have not tested these with a gluten free flour. Because the bread flour is doing real structural work here, a straight swap may change the texture.
How should I store them? They keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days. After that, because of the moisture from the cottage cheese, they can turn a little overly fudgy, so the best thing to do is move them to the fridge and store them there. So far they have been just fine for up to three days on the counter.
Can I freeze the dough? Yes. Scoop and freeze the dough balls, then bake from frozen with an extra minute or two.
What makes a cookie high protein? Protein in a cookie can come from added protein powder or from whole food ingredients. In these, it comes entirely from whole foods: cottage cheese, bread flour, and egg yolks. That gives 6.5 grams or more per cookie, which is more than double the protein density of a regular cookie.
Are these protein cookies actually healthy? They are a treat, first and foremost. What makes them a smarter treat is that they have nearly half the fat, 30 percent less sugar, and about 80 percent more protein than a classic double chocolate cookie, all from real ingredients with no protein powder. A better choice and one that doesn’t leave you feeling like you just ate cardboard.
Can I use low fat cottage cheese? You can try it. A 4 percent, high protein cottage cheese gives the best texture and the most protein. Lower fat versions have more water and the cookies may spread too much and lose richness.
How much protein is in these cookies? About 6.5 grams or more per cookie at the size in the recipe, with no protein powder.
More High Protein Recipes
If you love these double chocolate high protein cookies, here are more whole food high protein bakes to try next. No protein powder, just real ingredients.
Recipe Card
Double Chocolate High Protein Cookies
Equipment
- Food processor blender
- Stand Mixer hand mixer/spoon
- Mixing bowls
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- kitchen scale
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 250 grams cottage cheese blended smooth (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- 25 grams butter softened (2 tablespoons)
- 32 grams peanut butter 2 tablespoons, see notes for nut free swap
- 150 grams brown sugar packed (3/4 cup)
- 50 grams granulated sugar 1/4 cup
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 215 grams bread flour 1 3/4 cups
- 50 grams natural cocoa powder 1/2 cup
- 1 to 1.5 teaspoons instant coffee
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 200 grams chocolate chips or chunks 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons, plus a small handful reserved for the tops
- Granulated sugar for rolling (about 1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Add the cottage cheese and vanilla to a food processor or blender and blend. Add the cocoa powder and puree until completely smooth and blended in. This blooms the cocoa into the moisture and deepens the chocolate flavor. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, beat the softened butter, peanut butter, and both sugars together for about one minute, until combined. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the egg yolks and mix until incorporated. Add the pureed cottage cheese mixture and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the bread flour, instant coffee, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently mix just until the dough comes together and looks shaggy. Do not overmix.
- Add the chocolate chunks/chips and mix until just incorporated, holding back a small handful for the tops.
- Chill the dough at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.
- Scoop the dough into thick mounds, about 70 grams each. Let each one form a firm ball, press a few chocolate chunks onto the top, then dip the top into granulated sugar. Place sugar side up on a lined baking sheet and gently press down into a thick disc.
- Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers still look slightly underdone.
- Let the cookies set on the pan for a few minutes before moving them to the cooling rack. They firm up as they cool.
Notes
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