When I was a kid, Pillsbury pre-cut cookie dough was my absolute favorite. Not only did they always bake into incredible sugar cookies, but the raw cookie dough was delicious.
Technically, you’re not supposed to eat raw cookie dough (although now most versions are safe to eat raw), but it was always a risk worth taking.
And while I will still channel my inner child from time to time and snack on some Pillsbury , I wanted to create my own with a healthy spin.
I know it’s going to be tough to believe, but this edible sugar cookie dough tastes just like the Pillsbury version.
Protein cookie dough is one of the most popular recipes on my blog, but if we’re being honest, it can be tough to stop yourself from eating an entire bowl of it in one sitting.
By creating a version that is firm and sliceable rather than scoopable, we make it incredibly easy to control your portions.
This cookie dough reminds me of those Pillsbury holiday sugar cookies minus the cute design they always have. They’re soft & buttery, and they have a slight grittiness from the sugar that you typically find in regular cookie dough.
But, unlike the Pillsbury version, this sugar cookie dough is secretly healthy!
Sure, my homemade version might not be quite as pretty. But with only 60 calories and 4g of protein, this is the perfect treat to satisfy your sweet tooth and remain perfectly on track toward your goals.
For the record, the Pillsbury cookie dough is super tiny, so I estimate that 2 of those cookies is roughly equal to 1 that we will be making here.
Give this recipe a try, and if you’re feeling daring, give it the “child test” by seeing if a child can tell that this isn’t regular sugar cookie dough. My bet is that they’ll never be able to tell the difference!
How to make high-protein edible sugar cookie dough
The base of this is a combination of protein powder, granulated sugar substitute (or regular white sugar if you prefer), and oat flour.
I love using oat flour in my recipes because unlike all-purpose flour, raw oat flour is perfectly safe to consume without heat-treating. Plus, since so many people out there are gluten-free, it’s a nice bonus.
That being said, you can certainly use all-purpose or whole-wheat flour in this recipe, but you’ll want to microwave or bake the flour to turn it into heat-treated flour to kill off any harmful bacteria.
Even though this is an eggless cookie dough without any raw eggs, many people don’t realize that uncooked flour is actually what runs the risk of containing e. coli, which is why heat-treated flour is necessary for most cookie dough recipes. But since we’re using oat flour, we can avoid that altogether!
As far as the protein powder goes, I used PEScience’s sugar cookie flavor, which naturally works very well in this recipe. I’ve used vanilla in the past as well and it works great!
PEScience is a blend of whey & casein, so I can’t promise the same results if you make this recipe with a different kind of protein powder.
To transform the protein powder, sugar, and oat flour into actual cookie dough, the secret ingredient is adding some full-fat butter.
In many recipes on this site I use Country Crock buttery spread, which is essentially margarine, because it’s half the calories of regular butter.
For this specific recipe, you MUST use actual full-fat unsalted butter.
Butter becomes solid when cold, so once we chill the sugar cookie dough, it will firm up to become the consistency we’re looking for.
You’re going to add some vanilla extract and melted butter to your dry ingredients, which will result in a crumble.
After that, you’ll add a small amount of milk a little bit at a time until you are able to bring it all together. Adding the milk slowly is very important because we don’t want this dough to become too wet or it will not be sliceable.
Use your hands to bring everything together until there are a few stray crumbs but it mostly all holds together in a dough ball.
Take the raw cookie dough, add it to some plastic wrap, and roll it into a tube.
The edges won’t be perfectly smooth, but that’s completely fine.
Refrigerate the sugar cookie dough for at least one hour to completely firm up. In my experience, letting it sit in the fridge overnight is the easiest solution.
Once the dough has completely chilled, it should be very firm. Take a knife and carefully slice the sugar cookie dough into 12-14 pieces (depending on how thick you want each to be).
Now you’re ready to enjoy some decadent, buttery, sweet sugar cookie dough.
Keep any leftovers stored in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy to make sure it stays completely firm. If left out at room temperature, the butter will soften and the cookie dough will become very sticky.
This homemade edible cookie dough will stay fresh for about 1 week, but between us, I’ve let it sit for almost 2 weeks in the fridge without any issues.
Can you bake this protein sugar cookie dough into sugar cookies?
I figured at least one person out there would be curious if they can bake this recipe into a batch of cookies.
The short answer is yes, you can, but the cookies aren’t great. They come out pretty dry, like a mediocre shortbread, and that is certainly not what we want.
BUT, I did use almost the same exact ingredients to create soft, buttery Snowball Cookies, so check out that recipe if you want a really simple & delicious cookie.
Otherwise, I have a Low-Calorie Sugar Cookie Recipe on my blog that is actually one of my favorite cookies of all time.
If you’re looking for a delicious baked sugar cookie recipe, then this is the one you need.
Love sugar cookies? You’re in luck…
Sugar cookies are one of my favorite treats on the planet, so it’s no surprise that a lot of my recipes revolve around sugar cookies in some capacity. Here are some great protein-focused recipes to check out if you feel the same way:
Edible Protein Cookie Dough Rounds (Pillsbury Copycat)
Yield:
14 Servings
Prep Time:
5 minutes
Additional Time:
1 hour
Total Time:
1 hour 5 minutes
As a kid, one of my favorite treats was making pre-cut Pillsbury cookies and snacking on the raw sugar cookie dough. We’re making our own version that tastes JUST like those cookies, but with a healthier twist: more protein and less sugar.
Instructions
- Mix together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Melt your butter in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, then add to the dry ingredients along with the vanilla extract. Mix until it forms a crumble.
- Add your milk one tablespoon at a time until it comes together to form dough. 3 tablespoons was the perfect amount for me, but since specific ingredients vary, you may need slightly more or slightly less.
- Scoop the cookie dough out and place it in the middle of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Roll the cookie dough into a tube, then refrigerate for at least one hour. As the dough sits, the flavor will develop and the butter will solidify, so leaving it overnight also works great.
- Once chilled, slice the cookie dough roll into 14 cookie rounds (exact number may vary depending on how thick you want them), then enjoy! Keep leftovers stored in the fridge to keep the cookie dough firm.
Notes
- Note: Real butter is necessary for the proper texture. If you use spreadable butter, it will not firm up to the level of being able to slice it. If you want a scoopable protein cookie dough recipe, use this one.
- I have only tested this recipe with PEScience protein, a whey & casein blend. I don’t believe whey protein will work here as the dough will become too sticky. (You can save 10% on any PEScience with the code “Matt”)
- You can make this recipe vegan! Swap out the protein for your favorite plant-based vanilla protein powder, then double the amount of sugar in this recipe to help balance out the plant-based flavor. You’ll likely need extra milk at the end since vegan protein is very absorbent, so add a little bit at a time until it comes together.
- I used a zero-calorie sugar substitute in this recipe. If you opt for regular white sugar each piece will contain 75 calories, 3g sugar, and 4g protein.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 14
Serving Size 1 Piece
Amount Per Serving
Calories 60Total Fat 4gCarbohydrates 3gProtein 4g
