Chewy cookies full of sweet sunshiny lemon flavor and fresh juicy strawberries. With their protein boost, they’re even healthy enough for breakfast!
My brother’s birthday is next weekend! Because he adores lemon treats—anything from cookies to cupcakes to scones to cheesecake and more—I’m helping him celebrate by declaring this Lemon Week on the blog. I don’t know who’s more excited about that… Me, who gets to bake everything, or him, who gets to eat it all!
As a computer science person, my brother often fields lots of questions from my family about various technology-related things like external hard drives and frozen laptop screens. Lately, the majority of the queries have come from our parents, but every so often, I jump in with one of my own.
This past week, I did just that… And I asked my brother to help me learn all about Snapchat. Have you heard of Snapchat? It’s one of the more recent additions to social media, and the app is a place to share quick snapshots and short videos on smart phones and mobile devices.
I know I’m part of the younger generation, but boy do I feel old while trying to figure some of this stuff out!
So my brother spent a couple of days walking me through the various screens, captions, filters, and stickers associated with the app. I filmed short silly videos to send to him, and he replied with little clips and pictures of his own. By the end of the week, I actually felt like I understood what I was doing, thanks to his technological smarts and patience!
P.S. For those of you on Snapchat, I’m AmyBakesHealthy. Follow my account for sneak peeks and exclusive behind-the-scenes blog footage!
As a huge thank you to my brother, I wanted to bake him lemon cookies because they’re one of his favorite desserts. Yet knowing me, I had to put a little twist on the classic flavor, and I added another fruit he enjoys to create these…
Strawberry Lemonade Protein Cookies! Bright sunshiny citrus paired with sweet juicy berries in one irresistible dessert… And the added protein boost makes them a dream come true. The plate of treats disappeared extremely quickly after I handed it over to my brother!
To make these cookies clean-eating friendly and low-carb, we need two important ingredients: coconut flour and protein powder. Coconut flour behaves very differently than any other flour! It’s about three times as absorbent, meaning we use a lot less, but that extra absorbent property also means it’s incredibly important to measure the coconut flour correctly because any extra will quickly dry out the cookies and turn them cakey. I highly recommend a kitchen scale! Thisis the exact inexpensive model that I own, and it’s worth its weight in gold. I use it in every recipe I bake for this blog!
These healthier cookies require whey-based protein powder. I used this exact brand, and I love that its whey taste isn’t as noticeable as with many other brands. You’re welcome to use whatever whey-based protein powder you already have at home, but remember, not all protein powders absorb equally! If the cookie dough seems too wet, add a tiny bit more coconut four, but if it seems too dry, add a hint of milk.
Note: I do not recommend using plant-based protein powder because it is typically much more absorbent than whey-based protein powder and would make the cookies dry and cakey.
I added fresh strawberries to the cookie dough because they tend to contain less moisture than frozen. Too much moisture from the fruit can cause the cookie dough to spread a lot while baking, and it really isn’t fun when your cookie dough turns into one giant blob in the oven! If you can only use frozen strawberries, then thaw them first and lightly pat them with paper towels to soak up any excess moisture before dicing.
However, these cookies only flatten a teensy tiny bit, so you must flatten the cookie dough before baking to your desired thickness and width. The cookie dough tends to be sticky, so use a spatula instead of your hands! Then bake, wait, and…
Yum!
| Strawberry Lemonade Protein Cookies | 5.0 from 2 reviews |
Yields: 12 cookies
These chewy cookies are full of sweet sunshiny lemon flavor and fresh juicy strawberries. They’re even healthy enough for breakfast with their protein boost! Leftovers will stay fresh if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 5 days—if they last that long!
- ¼ c (28g) coconut flour (measured correctly)
- 2 scoops (84g) vanilla protein powder (I used Jamie Eason's Lean Body for Her)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (3g) lemon zest (about 1 medium)
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (45mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 medium)
- ¼ c (60mL) agave
- 2 tbsp granulated Swerve
- 2 tbsp Truvia
- ½ cup (80g) diced fresh strawberries
- In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the lemon juice and agave. Mix in the Swerve and Truvia until completely dissolved. Stir in the coconut flour mixture until completely incorporated. Gently fold in the strawberries. Let the cookie dough rest for at least 10 minutes.
- While the cookie dough rests, preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drop the cookie dough into 12 rounded scoops onto the prepared baking sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width using a spatula. (Between ¼” to ½” is best.) Bake at 325°F for 11-13 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Notes: This recipe was specifically designed for whey protein powder. Most protein powders behave differently, especially when it comes to absorbing moisture. If you substitute a different whey-based protein powder than the one linked to in the recipe above, you may need to add more protein powder if the dough is too wet OR a tiny bit of milk if the dough is too dry. Do not substitute plant-based protein powder; it tends to be much more absorbent and will most likely result in dry, cakey cookies.
If the cookie dough looks too dry, add 2 teaspoons of milk at a time until everything comes together. If it looks too wet after letting it rest, add 1 teaspoon of coconut flour at a time until the texture is thicker.
Xanthan gum helps hold the cookies together and make them chewy.
Honey may be substituted in place of the agave.
Swerve and Truvia are both no-calorie, Stevia-based sweeteners. You may use all of one or the other, or you may substitute your preferred granulated sweetener instead.
For more tips and answers to all other questions, including substitutions, see my .
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower carb, high protein}
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