Soft, chewy, perfectly sweet Peanut Butter Cottage Cheese Cookies that are lower in sugar with a boost of protein. Each serving contains 8 grams of protein and 250 calories. Not too shabby for a healthier dessert!
While I don’t always get on board with food trends, the cottage-cheese-in-everything trend is one in which I am happily partaking.
You’ve seen it in my Cottage Cheese Breakfast Casserole, Blueberry Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Bread, Cottage Cheese Muffins, and so much more!
These Peanut Butter Cottage Cheese Cookies have created quite the stir in my family. We’re simply taking classic peanut butter cookies, giving them a protein boost and making them lower in sugar for an everyday treat you’ll feel great about.
The texture turns out soft and chewy on the inside with an amazing crisp on the outside, and the flavor is peanut butter forward, just as it should be.
Plus, they are kid approved! My brother, sister-in-law, and all of their six kids all agreed they are a worthy treat to keep on hand.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Great Taste & Texture: While the texture isn’t an identical match to classic cookies, it is still worthy of praise. Similar to little muffin tops with a crinkle edge, we’re going soft and sultry here.
- Less Sugar: We’re using less added sweetener to keep them wholesome. I use coconut sugar for a lower glycemic cookie too.
- More Protein: The almond flour, peanut butter, and cottage cheese make these a higher protein cookie.
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for these healthy peanut butter cookies.
Ingredients for Cottage Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies:
Cottage Cheese: Taking the place of butter, we use cottage cheese for a lower fat, high protein alternative.
Unsweetened Peanut Butter: Creamy peanut butter brings rich nutty favor, moisture and deliciousness to the cookies.
Eggs: A couple of eggs contributes to the soft and chewy texture and helps hold the ingredients together.
Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of warm flavor is brought to use by vanilla extract. If you don’t have any on hand, feel free to skip it.
Granulated Sugar: The sweetener here. Pick your favorite kind of granulated sweetener. I use coconut sugar, but regular cane sugar, brown sugar, and sugar-free sweetener are great options too.
Almond Flour: Taking the place of regular all-purpose flour, we use fine almond flour, which brings a light and soft texture. It also imparts protein, healthy fats, and fiber, giving the cookies a boost of nutrition.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda: The leavening agents that help the cookie dough rise and generate a chewy texture. We end up with a lovely crisp on the outside and soft and chewy inside.
Sea Salt: A pivotal ingredient, salt enhances the peanut butter flavor and the sweetness.
Ways to Customize:
- Chocolate Infusion: Add ⅔ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the dough for little pockets of chocolate goo. The next time I bake these cookies, I’ll be doing so! Dark chocolate chips, sugar-free chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and chocolate chunks work too.
- Nutty Crunch: Mix ⅔ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans into the cookie dough for a lovely crunch.
- Cottage Cheese Swap: Use plain Greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese. Butter is a fabulous replacement too, as seen in my Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies:
Add the cottage cheese, peanut butter, eggs, and pure vanilla extract to a food processor and process until everything is creamy and combined. You may need to stop the food processor several times to scrape the sides to get everything to blend.
Add the remaining ingredients (almond flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt) to the food processor and process until a thick sticky dough forms. Refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use a small cookie scoop or a spoon to scoop cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before eating.
Storage Options:
- Room Temperature: Store cookies in an airtight container or a large zip lock bag on the counter for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: Store cookies in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: For longer storage, freeze cookies in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Recipe Tip:
- Because this recipe makes 30 cookies, you will need to bake the cookies in two or three batches, or use two cookie sheets and bake all of them at the same time.
- If you double the size of the cookies and make 15, each cookie contains 8 g protein and 250 calories. This is roughly four times the amount of protein in regular cookies, with the same calorie content.
Frequently Asked Questions:
This is a great question. Cottage cheese takes the place of a higher fat ingredient like butter or cream in order to add protein while minimizing calories. It also adds moisture without sacrificing too much flavor.
For this reason, I see cottage cheese as being one of those miracle ingredients, where we’re adding nutrition, lowering calories, and lowering fat content for a more wholesome approach.
If you don’t own a food processor, but you do own a small blender such as a Magic Bullet or a NutriBullet, you can still make the recipe!
Simply blend the cottage cheese by itself until most of the lumps are out and you have a creamy consistency. Transfer the blended cottage cheese to a mixing bowl with the rest of the wet ingredients, and mix well.
Then, add the dry ingredients and mix until your dough is well combined.
As an alternative, use Greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese, and prepare the cookie dough in a mixing bowl (as instructed above).
Swap out the almond flour for 1 ⅔ cups of gluten-free all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour. I do recommend sticking with almond flour for the best texture and the highest protein.
I suspect oat flour would work too, but I haven’t tested the recipe using it yet. If you try it, I would start with 1 2/3 cups and assess from there if I needed to add more. If you try it, please do drop a comment below letting us all know how they turned out.
I haven’t tested the recipe using pure maple syrup, but I imagine it could be done. I would start with 2/3 cup and add more almond flour if is appears as though the dough is too wet.
Yes! For extra protein, swap out 2/3 cup of the almond flour for 1/2 cup of protein powder. I recommend using an unflavored, unsweetened protein powder or a vanilla protein powder. Do note that this will change the texture of the cookies and make them slightly dryer.
And that’s it! The next time you’re deep in a peanut butter craving, whip out these wholesome cookies!
If you enjoy healthy cookie recipes like this, also try these gems.
More Healthy Cookie Recipes:
- 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
- No-Bake Breakfast Cookies
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Cookies
- Fudgy Chocolate Sweet Potato Cookies
- Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
Enjoy these treasured lumps of joy!
Cottage Cheese Peanut Butter Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- ¾ cup unsweetened peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar*
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sea salt**
Instructions
- Add the cottage cheese, peanut butter, eggs, and pure vanilla extract to a food processor and process until everything is creamy and combined. You may need to stop the food processor several times to scrape the sides to get everything to blend.
- Add the remaining ingredients (almond flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt) to the food processor and process until a thick sticky dough forms. Refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a small cookie scoop or a spoon to scoop cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 7-9 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before eating.
