We all know “C” is for cookie thanks to the furry blue monster that lives on Sesame Street.

Well, here on Fitness & Spice Whey we decided to make our cookies a little P-C by mixing in a little protein powder. If you like oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate, you just might like these little monsters, too.

Boys and girls, I give you…

Fitness & Spice Monster Protein Cookies

• 1 Egg
• 1/2 cup Splenda for Baking
• 1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
• 1 t Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 cup I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light*
• 1/4 cup Natural Peanut Butter
• 1/2 cup Oat Flour (I just blended oatmeal into a flour)
• 1/2 cup Vanilla Protein Powder
• 1/2 t Baking Powder
• 1/2 t Baking Soda
• 1/8 t Salt
• 1/3 cup Dark Chocolate Chips (I used 1/2 of a 72% cacao bar, chopped)

In a small bowl whisk together the egg, sugar substitutes, vanilla extract, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, and peanut butter. In a separate bowl combine the oat flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir. Fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheet and flatten slightly as the cookies will not much spread during baking. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Now let’s address your questions:

• How many cookies does this recipe make? According to The Count, this recipe makes 6 – 8 cookies.
  
• Can I double this recipe? I knew you were going to ask me that. Yes, of course you can double this recipe.
• Why did you make such a small batch of cookies? While these cookies are packed full of some (but not all) healthier-for-you ingredients, they are not entirely clean or low in calories, therefore this recipe is written for people like me that need P-C Protein Cookies, as in Portion Controlled.
• Speaking of calories, what are the calories and macros for this recipe? I very rarely track calories or macros to the number unless I’m (gasp!) dieting so you will very rarely see those numbers on my site. If you’re looking for the nutritional breakdown of this recipe, please plug the ingredients into your favorite online tracking system like myplate.com.
• I don’t like Splenda, can you recommend a substitute? I’m sure you could use regular sugar and brown sugar or play around in your test kitchen with honey or stevia.
• I love peanut butter in my cookies! Did you know November is National Peanut Butter Month? No whey! You must be nuts.
  

* This recipe is brought to you by the letters “P” and “C” and also by the good people on I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Street who sent me a free coupon to try their product along with some fabulous bakeware. Thank you very much for unbuttering me up and inspiring me to put a little shake into my bake.

Now I really must go! I can’t believe it’s mid-November and almost time for (the) Big Bird!

Remember the singing sensation Hall & Oates? Well just like Daryl Hall and John Oats I’m going to make your dreams come true by sharing a really great recipe named in their honor.

Allow me to explain.

I adore oatmeal but I don’t always adore how long it takes to make sometimes especially when I’m in a hurry. So what’s the next best thing? A portable (key word: portable) bowl of oatmeal baked into a cookie infused with a shot of vanilla protein powder. Fitness & Spicer’s give a warm welcome to…

Haulin’ Oats Protein Cookies

• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup vanilla protein powder (I use whey)
• 1 1/2 cup uncooked oats
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Toast almonds on a cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes at 300 degrees. Combine honey, egg whites, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl.  Mix well.  Add oats, protein powder, and roasted almonds.  Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture onto a nonstick cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove to wire rack to cool.

Now I really must go, I’ll see you maneaters a little later!

I don’t like to point out mistakes made on other websites because that’s just not classy. BUT when the FoodNetwork posted this article yesterday titled 50 After-School Snacks, I was like,

“Say what? I’d serve at least 49 and a half of those snacks to my kids before, during, and after school.”

That is, if I had kids. But I don’t so I just made myself some homemade granola inspired by one of those 50 simply delicious FoodNetwork recipes:

Mix 3 cups rolled oats, 1 cup mixed seeds, 1 cup chopped mixed nuts, 1/4 cup shredded coconut and a pinch each of salt and cinnamon. Toss with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and 3 tablespoons honey. Spread on a baking sheet and bake 25 minutes at 325 degrees F, tossing. Cool; stir in 2 cups mixed dried fruit.

Only I didn’t have any mixed nuts or dried fruit so I did some kitchen improv. I added flax seeds, frozen blueberries that I just baked right into the mix and didn’t bother to thaw first, and, you guessed it, I added about 3 tablespoons of protein powder for good measure.

And, if I had kids I’d probably let them help me make the next batch and I’d let them eat it as an anytime of day snack…if they promised to leave some for their mother.

Now I really must go get ready for show-and-tell the FoodNetwork that their granola rocks…even though it’s full of flakes!

Congratulations, Diane! You are our Country Choice Organics winner. You’ve won 3 Country Choice products. Not only do they sell delicious cookies, but they also have hot cereal and oatmeal bars, too.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your favorite children’s books with us…if you need a good book for a child this holiday season, grab a cookie and check out our list of contest entries!