Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Protein Snickerdoodle Bars

I LOVE cinnamon.  Like, seriously! It is so good in so many things! Mixed with yogurt, on a peanut butter sandwich, in oatmeal, in cereal, cinnamon cookies, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake...I could go on and on!! I am even drinking cinnamon roll coffee as we speak! It is super tasty too :)

Snickerdoodles are one awesome cookie in my opinion.  You just can't go wrong with a cinnamon sugar combo.  No, we are not making cookies today...but we are making Snickerdoodles! Snickerdoodle Protein Bars that is....
These taste amazing!! And in case you had any doubt, they are crazy good for you! You get to have all 6 bars for only 275 calories! The thing is...they are secretly good for you!  Wait til you see the ingredients.

You may be a bit surprised when you see what we are going to use to make these soft, moist, cinnamon bars of deliciousness.
Cinnamon protein powder, egg substitute, canned pumpkin, chickpeas/garbanzo, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder, salt, and sweetener of choice.
*You could use vanilla protein powder and they just won't be quite as cinnamon-y*
*Sub applesauce or banana if you don't have canned pumpkin*

Drain and rinse your beans well.
You will find that after draining them, you will only get about 2 servings per can. 

Add the beans, pumpkin, and egg to a blender or food processor and puree smooth.  
You will probably have to add a little liquid to get all the chunks out.  I just used about 2 T of unsweetened almond milk, but you could more egg, some syrup, or honey.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix by hand.
It should be pretty thick.  Almost like a pudding consistency.  It it's too thick, add a bit more liquid.  

I used a small 5x7 glass baking dish.  You could use a bigger one and get thinner bars. Or double the recipe if you still want them nice and thick!
After I pour the batter in my dish, I like to top it with a sweetener/cinnamon mixture I always keep on hand.  The more cinnamon the better! This also makes them look extra pretty :)

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.  Stick a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, they are done!! I think they are better just a tad bit under baked, but I will leave that choice up to you.
It depends on the dish you use, but I got 6 good sized bars! Each one is only about 45 calories with 6 grams of protein.  

But of course, you can eat the whole batch yourself! That way you get a whopping 36 grams of protein.  These make a great breakfast at well under 300 calories.  You might be surprised by how filling they are too.
I highly recommend using a small dish or doubling the recipe so you can get them nice and thick!!!

That cinnamon sugar top!!
The chickpeas give them such a great texture and the pumpkin makes them so moist! So in love with these! If you're feeling crazy, you can top them with some fat free cream cheese :)

Protein Snickerdoodle Bars
  • 1/2 cup chickpeas/garbanzo (130g)
  • 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (60g)
  • 3 T egg substitute (46g)
  • 1 scoop cinnamon protein powder (30g)
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 2 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t vanilla
  • dash salt
  • sweetener to taste (4-5 packets)
  1. Drain and rinse beans
  2. Add beans, egg, and canned pumpkin to blender or food processor and puree smooth.  May need a bit of water or other liquid to help blend.
  3. Add other ingredients and mix by hand.
  4. Pour into 5x7 baking dish and top with cinnamon/sweetener mixture.
  5. Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes
  6. Enjoy!
Makes 6 bars at 45 calories each
(will vary depending on protein powder used)

275 calories for the whole batch
3g Fat
28g Carb
36g Protein


2 comments:

  1. How do you store these? Should they be put in the fridge? I left mine out and they started to smell weird after about 2 days

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    Replies
    1. Definitely store in the fridge. Should have mentioned that! Since they are so moist, they will go bad quickly if left out too long.

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