Undeniably, the best part of winter is all the delicious baked goods. Cinnamon, apple, gingerbread, peppermint—no time of the year is as tasty. But, sadly, enjoying those sugar-laden treats certainly has its drawbacks. You need an alternative that’s healthier than what you’ll find at the local bakery. These snowflake cookies are teeming with good-for-you protein—even the frosting is packed with it! And, like the desserts you crave, these cookies are still irresistibly sweet.
Sweet Apple Snowflake Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
2 scoops Quest Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder
2 scoops Quest Multipurpose Protein Powder
¼ cup erythritol
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
2 oz. (or 48) almonds
1 tsp. baking powder
4 oz. apple
1 jumbo egg
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/8 tsp. vanilla
Frosting
1 scoop Vanilla Milkshake Quest Protein Powder
1/3 cup erythritol
2 Tbsp. coconut flour
1 Tbsp. sugar-free cheesecake instant pudding
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup 30 cal/cup almond milk
¼ cup low-fat cottage cheese
4 oz. fat-free cream cheese, at room temperature
10 drops French vanilla stevia
1/8 tsp. vanilla
Food coloring, of your choice
Sugar pearls, if desired, for garnish
Directions
- First, prepare the frosting. In a high-speed blender, combine almond milk, cottage cheese and cream cheese and process until smooth. Add in remaining ingredients, except for food coloring and sugar pearls, and continue to process until smooth.
- Pour mixture into an air-tight container, and chill in the fridge to thicken. Keep leftovers stored in the fridge.
- Now, make the cookies. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with Silpat or parchment paper.
- In a food processor, combine all cookie ingredients and process until smooth.
- Drop 14 equal circles onto prepared baking sheet and pat down. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add desired amount of food coloring to about cup of frosting.
- Remove cookies from heat and let cool.
- Once cool, top each with about 1 tablespoon of colored frosting. Use a pastry bag (or a plastic bag with the tip cut off) to pipe white frosting on the cookie in a snowflake shape. Dot the snowflake tips with sugar pearls, if desired.
Paige’s tips:
- Grind apple and almond (separately) before blending together all cookie ingredients.
- After processing the cookie batter, the mixture will be very sticky. Grease your hands with coconut oil to prevent sticking.
- The cookies will continue to cook as they cool, so don’t worry if they look wet when you remove them from the oven.
