With a soft texture and comforting warm spices, these Protein Gingerbread Cookies are the perfect holiday treat. Made with vegan protein powder, almond flour, and a tasty cinnamon blend, these cookies pack in 7 grams of protein each!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ⏲️Ready In: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- 👪Serves: 6-7
- 🍽 Calories and Protein: 105 kcals and 7 grams of protein
- 📋 Main Ingredients: Vegan Vanilla Protein Powder, almond flour, ginger, cinnamon, honey, and egg whites
- 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: Enjoy cozy holiday spices, soft texture, and protein-packed goodness that make a guilt-free festive treat.
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Balancing holiday fun with your goals doesn’t have to mean skipping dessert, and these high-protein gingerbread cookies prove it. One of my favorite Holiday wellness tips is to find sweet treats that work for you, not against you. These cookies let you enjoy classic flavor while fueling your body with 7g of protein each... in just 161 calories!
If you’re looking for something more protein-packed than traditional cut-outs. Like these gluten-free almond flour sugar cookies, the dough chills beautifully to make rolling easy (though if you’re short on time, these peanut butter chocolate chip protein cookies are best). Pipe on some protein frosting or leave them bare, either way, they’re perfect for festive snacking. And if you’re feeling extra merry, pair them with a square of candy cane chocolate fudge!
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💭Why You'll Love This Recipe
Healthy classic: These protein cookies have all the flavor of a classic gingerbread cookie but are ultra-light and protein-packed.
Fun: It’s a recipe you can make and enjoy with your kids. They’ll love helping you cut out the shapes and decorate!
Healthy: Using a vegan protein powder, these gingerbread cookies are naturally dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegetarian.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Below is a quick shot of what you’ll need for the cookies to come together.
- Protein Powder: Know that the protein powder you choose will determine the texture and a bit of taste of the cookies. As of now, it needs to be a vegan protein powder to hold together. I haven't tried beef protein powder. I used Thrive protein powder and absolutely loved it. Learn more about how to choose a protein powder.
- Molasses: Both fancy and blackstrap molasses will work for the gingerbread protein cookies.
- Honey: You need honey and not maple syrup, as the syrup doesn’t sweeten them as well as honey, so I wouldn’t swap that.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Flavor Variations
Though a classic gingerbread cookie is the best, there are lots of ways to adjust the flavor if you want to switch it up!
- Chocolate: For a chocolate twist, add a bit of raw cacao powder to the batter or use mini chocolate chips as eyes before baking the cookies.
- Extracts: Adding an almond extract gives the cookies a nutty flavor.
- Icing sugar: Instead of frosting the cookies, try dusting the tops with icing sugar for a gingerbread, snowman look.
How To Make Gingerbread Protein Cookies
Step 1: In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, then one by one add the wet ones and mix well until sticky looking.
Step 2: Chill the dough in plastic wrap in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling it out between parchment paper to ¼ ¼-inch thickness.
Step 3: Use a cookie cutter to make your shapes and move them onto a lined cookie sheet.
Step 4: Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and let them cool fully on the tray.
Step 5: Once cooled, frost them as per preference.
Expert Tips
When you mix the cookie dough, you want it to be a bit sticky (this is what makes the cookies soft but not dry!) but not so sticky that you can’t roll or cut the cookies. This is why you’ll see “½ cup + 2 tablespoons”.
Peek the video for a better visual, but you may need to add 1 tablespoon of protein powder depending on the brand you use. I use a pea protein powder here, but if you use a fermented one, the cookies will come out too dry.
The high-protein gingerbread cookies when cut, are delicate; use a silicone spatula to help lift them onto a lined cookie sheet.
You want to take them out of the oven before they look “done,” as they firm up a lot when cooling. So, don’t panic if they don’t look finished. Less is really more.
If you plan to decorate them with dairy-free buttercream, know that the cookies have to be fully cooled first, or it will run.
How To Store Them
You can store unfrosted gingerbread protein cookies on the counter in an airtight container for 3-5 days. If they’re frosted, store them in the container on the counter for 1-2 days.
You can store them in the fridge for up to a week, but know that they do firm up a bit. I’d let them come to room temperature before you plan to enjoy them.
Protein Gingerbread Cookies FAQs
Any protein powder can be used to make gingerbread cookies, but the kind you choose will alter the texture. Vegan protein powder absorbs a lot of liquid and results in cookie dough that can be rolled and cut out. Whey and beef protein powders will create a stickier dough, and flour may be needed to help bind the cookies together.
Typically, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice are used to make gingerbread cookies.
Protein cookies will turn out dry when they are overbaked or too much protein powder is used, specifically when using vegan protein powder. Vegan proteins tend to absorb a lot of liquid, so if the balance is off, the result is drier cookies.
Dairy and Gluten-Free Dessert Recipe
If you tried this Protein Gingerbread Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!
Protein Gingerbread Cookies (Gluten-Free)
Video
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Vegan vanilla protein powder
- 2 tablespoons Vegan vanilla protein powder
- ½ cup Almond flour
- ¼ teaspoon Dried ginger
- 1 teaspoon Dried cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Dried all spice
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Molasses
- 3 tablespoons Honey
- ¼ cup Egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
- One by one add the wet ones and mix well until sticky looking.
- Roll the cookie batter into plastic wrap and squeeze it together before placing it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, remove it from the plastc wrap and place it between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll it out to ¼ inch thickness.
- Use a cookie cutter to make your shapes and a silicone spatula to move them onto a lined cookie sheet (I use a silicone baking mat).
- Continue the process of rolling the dough and cutting the shapes until you use up all the cookie dough.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, remove them from the oven and let them cool for 30-60 minutes on the tray.
- In that time, whip up the buttercream if you’re frosting them. Once cooled, decorate the cookies and enjoy them immediately, or store them on the counter.
Notes
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
Shelby S says
All the flavor of Christmas in cookie form! Love that these hold their shape too!