Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough Bites (No Protein Powder)

Cottage cheese blends into something that tastes remarkably like raw cookie dough once the curds are gone and the sweetener goes in. The protein comes from three whole-food sources stacked together: cottage cheese, powdered peanut butter, and a spoonful of nonfat dry milk powder. Five grams per bite is honest for a batch this size, and two bites gets you to a real snack. The dough needs a rest before rolling, so plan for the chill time.

Ingredients

• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese (about 226g)
• 3/4 cup oat flour (about 85g)
• 1/2 cup powdered peanut butter (about 48g)
• 2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder (about 15g)
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Blend the cottage cheese by itself in a food processor or blender for 45 to 60 seconds, scraping down the sides twice, until it is completely smooth with no visible curds.
2. Add the oat flour, powdered peanut butter, dry milk powder, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt, then pulse until a thick, sticky dough pulls together.
3. Scrape the dough into a bowl, fold in the mini chocolate chips by hand, and refrigerate uncovered for 20 minutes so the oat flour and milk powder absorb moisture.
4. Roll the chilled dough into 14 balls, about 2 tablespoons each, wetting your hands if it sticks.
5. Chill the bites another 30 minutes to set, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Tips

• If the dough is too loose to roll, add oat flour one tablespoon at a time. Cottage cheese brands vary a lot in moisture and full-fat tubs run noticeably wetter than 2 percent.
• Blend the cottage cheese alone first. Adding the dry ingredients too early stops the curds from breaking down and you will feel them in the finished bite.
• For a peanut-free version, swap the powdered peanut butter for 1/3 cup more nonfat dry milk powder plus 2 tablespoons oat flour. Protein stays about the same.

FAQ

Can you taste the cottage cheese?

There is a faint tang that the peanut butter and chocolate mostly cover. A 2 percent cottage cheese tastes milder than a 4 percent one if you are sensitive to it.

Where does the protein come from without protein powder?

Cottage cheese does most of the work at roughly 25g per cup. Powdered peanut butter adds 24g, oat flour about 11g, and dry milk powder 5g, for around 68g in the batch.

Can I use quick oats instead of oat flour?

Blitz quick oats in a blender for 20 seconds to make your own oat flour. Left whole they make the dough grainy and much harder to roll.

Do these need to be refrigerated?

Yes. Cottage cheese is fresh dairy, so keep them cold and pull out only what you are eating. They hold 5 days in the fridge and 3 months frozen.

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