No baking required for these easy Protein Breakfast Cookies, made to look and taste like a cinnamon roll! They’re loaded with good ingredients and (optionally) drizzled with melted white chocolate.
Protein Breakfast Cookies
These protein-packed breakfast cookies are flavored to taste like a cinnamon roll, and they’re my latest obsession. I’ve been meal prepping these almost every Sunday for weeks now, and I thought it was time to share. The base is adapted from a recipe my sister texted me—one of her favorite energy ball recipes.
When I told her I’m trying to increase the amount of protein in snacks (instead of always snacking on this white chocolate Chex mix), she suggested those energy bites. They’ve got so much protein in them, from the almond butter to the buttermilk pancake mix to the actual protein powder. But the best part about these breakfast cookies? They are so flavorful and can actually pass for a healthy-tasting cookie. I mean, my boys inhale these, which is saying something for the flavor.
Ingredients
IngredientsNone of the brands I mention below are sponsoring this post or website; they are just what I use and love in these protein breakfast cookies.
- Almond butter: I like using all-natural almond butter in these Protein Breakfast Cookies. My favorite is Justin’s® vanilla almond butter, but their plain almond butter is delicious as well. Because there is no egg, this really binds the ingredients.
- Pure maple syrup: Maple syrup is full of antioxidants and nutrients like zinc, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. It has more minerals and fewer calories than honey, and it adds a tasty cinnamon roll flavor to these bites. (Read more about health benefits here.)
- Vanilla protein powder: To keep these bites from tasting chalky or like protein powder, use a good stevia-sweetened Whey protein (or whatever protein is YOUR favorite). I personally like the Optimum Nutrition Gold® standard whey vanilla protein powder best.
- Kodiak Cakes® Power Cakes Buttermilk Mix: This mix is made of whole wheat flour, oat flour, and lots of protein, so it makes a great base for these bites. Alternatively, I have had success by using half almond flour and half oat flour in place of the mix. The bites need to chill a little to set up with the oat flour and almond flour, but they work!
- Ground cinnamon: Hence the cinnamon roll flavor!
- Vanilla extract: Optional ingredient, but it adds a nice subtle flavor.
- Salt: The salt balances the sweetness and enhances all the flavors — don’t leave it out!
How To Make Protein Breakfast Cookies
These steps correspond to the numbered photos above.
- Combine all the ingredients into a large bowl.
- Stir the mixture; it’s thick and will seem like it’s not coming together, but keep stirring (or use a hand mixer to speed up the process).
- Here’s how the dough looks when everything is combined.
- Use a small cookie scoop (I use a 1-inch one) to form balls.
- Shape all the dough into miniature balls — you can stop here and eat these as energy bites (another one of our favorite ways to enjoy this recipe) or…
- Flatten the balls to make small cookies.
- Add melted white chocolate mixture to a small bag and pipe on the cookies.
- Repeat until all the cookies have a cinnamon roll swirl.
Storage
Storing High Protein Breakfast Cookies
Allow the white chocolate to harden at room temperature. Then cover cookies tightly and store in the fridge or freezer. Place them in small airtight bags in the freezer and transfer a bag at a time to the fridge to enjoy. Cookies will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
More Healthy Snacks:
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins with Greek yogurt
- No-Bake Energy Bites protein-packed granola bites
- Chocolate Protein Balls with almonds and oats
- Pumpkin Protein Shake reader favorite!
- Fat Bombs Keto friendly snack
Protein Breakfast Cookies
Equipment
- Hand mixer or wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon Kodiak Cakes Power Cakes Buttermilk Mix
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon vanilla protein powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1/16 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the almond butter, maple syrup, Kodiak mix, protein powder, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and salt. Mix well with a hand mixer or a wooden spoon.
- Use a 1-inch cookie scoop to measure out the dough; you should get around 40 balls. You can stop here and enjoy these as protein bites or keep going to make the cookies.
- Press the balls flat and form into a small cookie shape. Place on a parchment-paper-lined sheet pan.
- Optional White Chocolate Drizzle: In a small bowl, combine white chocolate chips and coconut oil (measure when melted). Microwave in bursts of 15 seconds, until melted and smooth. Stir in the ground cinnamon. Transfer to a small, resealable plastic bag and cut a tiny tip off the end corner. Pipe a swirl on top of all the cookies.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t have protein powder and am not looking to get any. If I would like to modify to not have the protein powder, what would you suggest? Increase the pancake mix (by the 1/4 c + 1 T)? Or ok to just cut that out? Thanks!
Unfortunately I don’t think these work super well without the protein powder. The protein adds a lot of flavor and sweetness so they’d probably be pretty bland without it. You could increase the pancake mix, I’m just not sure how flavor would be.
Coconut will kill me. Is there any way you could offer alternate suggestions?
I haven’t tested other options so I don’t want to suggest something that potentially wouldn’t work. I don’t know what other oil would work in place of the coconut here, since coconut will solidify nicely and keep that white chocolate topping solid.
Recipe sounds de-lish! Will definitely try it. Am a post Bariatric patient looking for high protein options in cookies and other snacks. Actually have cinnamon bun powder on hand so this looks like a good fit for me, but I have a suggestion for your blog. Start including nutritional values in it. Folks like me really need that kind of thing to read before trying a recipe. I can take the recipe and input the ingredients into a tool such as that on Allrecipes.com or other cooking sites, but if I have the nutritional value per serving up front, it saves me oodles of time. Just a thought.
Hi Cheri! I actually do share nutrition labels on my newer recipes 🙂
Maybe I missed it, but do you have the nutritional information or macros for this recipe? Thanks!
I love these!! Thank you for such a great recipe! I had a different flavored protein powder on hand, so I used it instead and it worked great. I make a double batch of these on Sunday while baking my peanut butter oatmeal cookies. These become our healthy protein snacks for before and after exercise/sports for the whole family. I have to limit everyone to one or they would eat the whole batch!! Thank you for sharing! Now, on to try your No Bake Double Chocolate Breakfast Cookie………. YUM
So glad these were so well enjoyed! Thank you for the comment Sarah 🙂 I hope you love the double chocolate breakfast cookies!!
Just what I have been looking for!
These look beyond delicious! I can’t wait to make them. Thanks for this one!
Thank you Erin!
Oh my gosh these cookies are so cute. I will have to try them!