Easy high-protein cookie recipes are perfect for a post-workout snack

The best protein cookie recipes reconcile an ongoing internal conflict: the desire to eat healthily and the love of decadent desserts. Fortunately, there are a bunch of recipes out there for protein cookies — which typically use less sugar and add protein powder to the mix — that help satisfy both needs.

And talk about the perfect post-workout snack!

First up is a recipe at Shape for blueberry lemon protein cookies. I already feel too pressed for time to bake, and when I see a recipe that requires getting out the food processor, I often pass right on by it. But with this recipe, the food processor actually simplifies things by blitzing the oats into flour and mixing the batter. (If you already have oat flour on hand, you skip that first step.) I don’t have to clean up two appliances? Whew, I’m in.

These cookies draw bonus protein from several ingredients, including Greek yogurt, almond flour and, of course, protein powder. And I don’t know about you, but I love fresh blueberries and lemon in just about everything, so this recipe is hitting some pitch-perfect flavor notes for me.

But you also can’t go wrong adding chocolate chips to cookies. Ever. If a cookie without chocolate chips is a no-go for you, you’ll want to try this recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip protein cookies from Grace and Good Eats.

This recipe is closer to a standard cookie recipe — no yogurt, no almond flour — and just gets its pop of protein from the powder.

Both of these recipes are gluten-free, and Grace and Good Eats lists some substitutions to make them vegan. Also, yes to peanut butter! It’s a natural addition to any protein cookie recipe.

If you’re wanting to keep things even simpler and have whey-based protein powder on hand, you can try this five-ingredient protein cookie recipe from iFoodReal. The recipe calls for bananas, oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips and whey powder — plant-based protein powder won’t work because it absorbs liquid too readily, the recipe’s author writes.

I’m not sure which of these to start with, but I might have to try them all!