Gingerbread Protein Cookies

Every Christmas,  we have a cookie bake-off at my parents' house. There's six of us in my family, so we team up and each team tries to make the tastiest, most festive cookies. Our family and friends are the unofficial cookie judges, and the cookie that gets the most positive feedback wins. The winning team wins nothing, just the glory of being the year's cookie champs.

During our cookie bake-off, I stick to the original recipes. However, I got the itch to make one healthier cookie, and make a batch before the competition began. My family loved them, and my mom even asked me to write down the recipe to send into a cookie contest she saw in a magazine. I love when I convince others that healthy tastes good :).

Gingerbread Protein Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3/4 teaspoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 banana
2 tablespoons almond milk
2 packets Truvia

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Blend oatmeal into flour (I use my Ninja food processor for this).
3. Slice the banana. Add all ingredients into a blender (or use a hand mixer). Blend until smooth.
4.  Roll the dough into 10 uniform balls. Flatten slightly with the back of a spoon.
5. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool.

For the frosting, I just mixed together some plain Greek yogurt with vanilla casein. Casein protein powder makes the yogurt thick like frosting. Whey protein will not have the same effect. Make sure your cookies are completely cool before adding the frosting or the yogurt will melt!

Nutrition information (1 cookie without frosting): 60 Calories, 1.4 grams Fat, 7.7 grams Carbs, 4 grams Protein