No Bake Protein Thin Mint Cookies – Homemade + Healthy

Remember back in the good ol’ days when we used to go out and sell goodies in order to raise money for our school? Candy bars, chocolate covered almonds and my favourite, those thin mint scout cookies!

But as a kid, I didn’t have the knowledge of food that I appreciatively have today and never did I ever think twice about eating a whole box of cookies to myself in one sitting. I was a kid with a major junk food addiction. And a box of thin mint cookies was my antidote. Funny enough, my generous grandma bought 1/3 of my sales because of my ridiculous sweet tooth; actually, she’d have no choice sometimes because I was an impatient little bugger. (Thanks grandma!)

So the other day, I randomly had a hankering for them and for most dishes, I prefer whipping up alternatives that are much healthier yet still satisfying and comforting. Because, let’s face it gang, those original thin mint cookies we all used to love never loved us back!

These are the “ingredients” gathered from their website: Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, vegetable shortening (palm and/or partially hydrogenated palm kernel oils), cocoa (processed with alkali), caramel color (WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?), contains less than 2% of: high fructose corn syrup (GROSS), salt, baking soda, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor (?), peppermint oil. Also, 4 itty bitty cookies has about 11 grams of sugars – the bad kind too! So fast forward to an empty box of those bad boys, that’s, well, A LOT of sugar!

Da-dun-dun-da….that’s why I’m here, your convenient bohemian. We still need our cookies, but without all of those so called ingredients and added bad stuff. And to put a spin to it, add protein and green superfoods (the good stuff), just to make it even more beneficial and that much more awesome!

For protein, I used 100% hemp powder from Gold Top Organics, a plant based protein, which is cold milled (so no heat added), organic and made from whole hemp seeds. It gives the cookies an interesting taste and texture but you can opt for sprouted brown rice protein powder which will work just as well. Personally, I think the taste of hemp powder by itself isn’t consumable but I found a way to enjoy it so I’m definitely going to be using in future goodies.

Together to compliment the hemp protein powder, comes my secret ingredient! (I guess not so secret anymore, right?) SunFood formulated a handy and potent green powder that boasts an incredible array of nutrient dense, mineral and vitamin rich elements. Their vegan Sun is Shining Green Superfood is a robust combination of some of the best like whole leaf barley grass, wheat grass, dandelion leaf, alfalfa leaf, spinach juice powder, broccoli juice powder, ginger root, spirulina, kelp, chlorella, enzymes like protease and various probiotics. It can be easily used in juices, smoothies, salads, breakfast bowls and in my case, cookies! A great way to get sneak an extra boost of energy in your day! …and having cookies!! 🙂

These heavenly rounds are highly addictive and easy to make so it is much recommended that one must stock up on the recipe’s ingredients stat! It only takes a few minutes out of your day to throw together, so going back to make seconds is most likely going to happen…

It’s a delectable way to get your protein and dark leafy greens in your day if you’re not in the mood for a protein shake or bar. Plus, it tastes like dessert so you’ll forget they’re even “healthy.”

See, the H word can be a yummy thing too!

Low carb, grain free, sugar free, vegan, gluten and wheat free, preservative free, soy free and nostalgic! 

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup of pure hemp protein powder

1 teaspoon of SunFood’s Sun is Shining Green Superfood 

1/2 teaspoon of maca powder (omittable)

1/4 cup plus two teaspoons of unsweetened carob powder (can use raw cacao powder but you’ll need to adjust the sweetener because carob is naturally more sweeter than cacao) Or you can do half carob and half cacao too!

Note: I like chocolate but I don’t like to overdo it with caffeine (found in cacao) and carob is a delicious substitute for it! 

1 tsp of vanilla (no alcohol)

1/2 tsp of liquid stevia or 1 tbsp of xylitol (adjust to your preference)

1 tsp of peppermint extract

8-9 tbsp of organic cold pressed virgin coconut oil, liquid

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir well. Scoop onto parchment paper or cookie sheet and shape into balls then flatten into cookie shapes. If the mixture is too wet to hold, chill for a few minutes in the fridge or add  a little bit more protein or carob powder (not too much!) You want the dough to be hard to touch so they’re edible. Keep refrigerated or store in freezer. Enjoy! x