I’m so excited to share these caramel cookie dough protein bites with you on this sunny Friday afternoon! These are great for a little pick me up throughout the day, at those times when you just need something sweet: after dinner, lunch, mid-morning.. or any time of day actually! They’re the perfect size to hit those sweet cravings, without over doing it and devouring half the contents of your kitchen snack drawer. We’ve all been there.
Not only are these utterly delicious, but they’re also no bake, plant based and super easy to make! Within the rich chocolate shell, there’s a soft layer of protein cookie dough, which you could also amp up with some chocolate chips! Chocolate chip cookie dough is always a good idea. Am I right?! Recently, I’ve also been loving peanut butter chips as well. (I use these ones) A combo of chocolate and PB chips in this would be ah-mazing!
Then to top this off, a gooey, decadent peanut butter caramel layer. This is my typical time saving alternative to date caramel, as you can simply mix everything together in a bowl within minutes.
What you will need to make Caramel cookie dough protein bites..
- Oat flour- this makes up the bulk of the cookie dough. I make my own by simply blitzing oats in the blender.
- Peanut butter- I’ve used a combination of peanut and cashew butter in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand/prefer.
- Agave/maple syrup- This is what adds sweetness to the cookie dough and caramel. You could also sub this for honey if you don’t need the recipe to be vegan.
- Dark chocolate- I like to use a good quality, high percentage dark chocolate for this. I find this counterbalances the sweetness from the other layers nicely.
- Vanilla vegan protein- I’ve used vanilla flavoured protein here, but you could also experiment with other flavours. This is the brand I’ve used.
Caramel Cookie Dough Protein Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup oat flour
- 25 g vanilla vegan protein
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut or cashew butter
- 2 tbsp agave/honey
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Pinch sea salt
- Handful chocolate or peanut butter chips
Caramel
- 3 tbsp smooth peanut or cashew butter
- 2 tbsp agave/honey
- Oat milk as needed
- Pinch sea salt
Chocolate
- 75 g dark chocolate
- 2 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
- To make the cookie dough, combine the nut butter, agave and coconut oil in a heat proof bowl gently melt these in the microwave for a few seconds.
- Mix through the oat flour, protein powder and a little pinch of salt. Once fully combined, fold through the chocolate or peanut chips if using.
- Press the mixture into a lined container and pop into the fridge to chill whilst you prepare the caramel layer.
- Mix the nut butter, agave and a pinch of salt together in a seperate bowl. Gradually drizzle in the oat milk whilst mixing so you're left with a smooth, spreadable consistency.
- Layer this over the cookie dough and place the bars into the freezer for 3 hours to set.
- Gently melt the chocolate and coconut oil together. Slice the caramel cookie dough into small bar sized pieces and carefully coat each of these in the melted chocolate.
- Place the bars onto a parchment lined tray and drizzle over a little extra chocolate for decorated. Allow them to chill in the fridge for an hour so the chocolate can set.
