Vegan Coffee Cookie Dough Protein Bars

If, like me, you have had enough of chugging down on your favourite protein shake before and after each workout you'll be pleased to know that there is another way!

These bars don't taste like protein, they taste like a sophisticated, gorgeously coffee flavoured cookie dough - no joke. The texture is melt in your mouth smooth, and with the extra addition of buckwheat groats you get a satisfying crunch with it all too.

But let's look at the nutrition. If you cut these into 4 chunky bars, each bar will contain roughly 22.5g of protein. They're also relatively low carb too so you can eat 2 of them without the need for worrying about a hefty sugar intake - and let's be honest that's like any dessert lover's dream come true.

I've also used coconut oil as it's a rich source of MCTs (medium chain triglycerides), a high-energy fuel that your body uses to prevent muscle loss and take off body fat.

As PERFORM is sweetened with stevia it really is sweet enough as it is - although I've put maple syrup on my list of ingredients as I know that some people may like things a little sweeter. I highly advise to go without if you are wanting to hit your weight loss targets but sample both the cookie dough and chocolate and sweeten if you feel you need to.

Vegan Coffee Cookie Dough Protein Bars

Recipe yields 4 - 5 chunky bars

INGREDIENTS:

For the cookie dough:

• 200g ground almonds (Roughly 2 cups)
  
• 2 scoops Madagascan Vanilla PERFORM
  
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
  
• 3 tbsp coffee grounds
  
• 1 tbsp maple syrup or alternative sweetener (optional)
  
• 2 tbsp almond milk

For the raw chocolate:

• 100g of your favourite raw chocolate bar
  
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
  
• Generous pinch Himalayan rock salt

Optional toppings:

• Buckwheat groats
  
• Freeze dried strawberries

METHOD:

1. Place all of the ingredients for your cookie dough into the bowl of your food processor (except for the almond milk) and pulse a few times before blending until smooth. Pulse in your almond milk until the mixture begins to form a smooth ball.

2. Line a dish (roughly 19cm x 14cm) with grease proof paper or baking parchment so that there is a decent amount of overhang on both sides. Lightly grease. Spoon in your mixture and carefully knuckle in the mix until nice and even and about 2cm thick. Transfer to your freezer for 30 minutes.

3. Remove the dish from the freezer and carefully lift out the cookie dough using the overhanging grease proof. If it feels as though it doesn't want to come out then use a palette knife to loosen it a little before lifting out.

4. Slice the cookie dough into 4 or 5 neat bars that are about 1" wide and return to the freezer for 1 hour until solid.

5. 20 minutes before removing your bars from the freezer start to melt your chocolate in a bain marie over a low heat. Once fully melted add your vanilla extract and salt and stir thoroughly. Leave to cool for 5 minutes.

6. Remove your bars from the freezer and roll each bar one at a time using 2 forks until fully coated in chocolate. Place the bars onto a tray and leave to drip dry. Once the chocolate has lost its sheen repeat the process once more but this time sprinkle over your toppings before the bars set. Once the chocolate has set move the bars into an airtight container and place into the fridge until you want to eat them!