Satisfy your holiday sweet tooth and get a packing punch of protein in these gingerbread “muscle men” protein cookies! Great for serving at holiday parties, giving as holiday gifts or even snacking for a refueling post workout snack. Not only are they simply sweet but are easy to make to. See below for recipe.
Gingerbread “Muscle Men” Protein Cookies
Ingredients
- 5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup vanilla protein powder like Aloha’s
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 Tbsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 cup butter substitute, melted and cooled
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter substitute, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg whites, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Gradually stir in the sifted dry ingredients until they are completely absorbed.
4. Roll dough into a flat ball. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. (I love making gingerbread men and circular ginger snaps.)
7. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an dry cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven.
9. Let cool, and decorate as you like.
Recipe by Ilise “Baker Babe” Reilly, former manager of Lucille Roberts Flushing.