Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

High Protein Sweet Potato Spice Cookies

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Another High Protein Cookie recipe?

Oh yes!

While eating my usual snack of Sweet Potato with Almond Butter and Cinnamon, I thought, “Why can’t I make this snack more portable?” Thus the cookie was born!

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High Protein Sweet Potato Spice Cookies

High Protein Sweet Potato Spice Cookies

~These cookies are high in protein because of the beans. Feel free to substitute garbanzo beans for the white beans if you wish. Grain-free, gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, and, of course, sugar-free!

Ingredients

  • 1 medium baked sweet potato-skin removed
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans, well-rinsed
  • 1/2 cup milk substitute (I used almond milk)
  • 1/4 cup ground flax
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400*.
  2. Make sure the beans are well-rinsed. Puree in a strong blender or food processor until smooth. Mash sweet potato and mix with beans.
  3. Add milk, cinnamon, baking powder, flax, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
  4. Spoon by tablespoonfuls on a un-greased baking sheet. Top each cookie with chopped pecans. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
  5. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
https://www.spoonfulofsugarfree.com/2011/07/01/high-protein-sweet-potato-spice-cookies/

Health Benefits
  • Sweet Potatoes: Click HERE for a post I wrote about the benefits of Sweet Potatoes.
  • White Beans: 
  • Flax: Full of healthy Omega-3′s to help your heart stay strong. It is also a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber to keep your gut healthy and help you stay full. Flax also contains lignans which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. These lignans help protect against cancer by blocking enzymes that are involved in hormone metabolism and interfering with the growth and spread of tumor cells.
  • Pecans: They help boost your immune system, reduce LDL cholesterol, and protect against Breast Cancer because of the high levels of oleic acid. It contains vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and fiber, as well as antioxidants.
  • Cinnamon: Studies have shown that it can help lower LDL cholesterol, help regulate blood sugar levels, has anti-clotting effect on blood, and it can boost cognitive function and memory.

I think they would also taste fabulous with some ginger mixed in. Sweet potato gingersnaps!

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

Do you ever cook things in bulk to save over time?

I cook huge batches of sweet potatoes so that  can eat them for snacks during the week. I think they taste better cold with almond butter and cinnamon!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I completely agree about cold baked sweet potatoes. I think they’re flavor is much more pronounced after chilling for a while. I cook up several chicken breasts at a time but otherwise I don’t do much prep work in the kitchen. I should, but I haven’t hopped on that just yet.

  3. I am a certified sweet potato addict! And yes, I bake them in bulk so that I only have to heat my oven up once! I wrap and freeze them. When ready for one, I just pop in microwave and they are just like fresh from oven (I know you don’t have one but for those who do). Instead of microwaving them, I have also cut the precooked ones in slices and broiled them. They are divine! But I like them cold as well, especially if I add to a smoothie. The cold/frozen ones work well for those.
    I agree that ginger would be a good addition or even Cardamom as well.
    These look great and since you use milk and flax, I may use my new Flaxmilk! I bet it will work good. Thanks for the recipe!

  7. oh man, i ONLY cook in big batches! i make huge portions of things and freeze them. i make a HUGE bowl of salad every sunday and portion it out in tupperware, portion out cooked meat, yogurt, beef jerky, oats, egg whites. My meals are all set on Sunday!
    …. I just realized how anal I am! 🙂

    • Hi Sue!

      Any kind of cooked bean will do. Canned beans are already cooked, but just make sure to wash them well. I have also used cooked dried beans before, and those work really well. Just make sure that they have been cooked, because raw beans would give it a really bean-y taste.

      Hope this helps!

  9. These didn’t work for me at all 🙁 they are nice on the outside but mushy on the inside. I used canned beans, and even added 1/2 cup of rice flour after I trialled one in the oven. Still very mushy :((

      • Not your fault – Just wish I had some nice slightly crunchies like your photos! Perhaps it is an oven thing, I’m in Australia and I’ve heard that it can change in different areas – as in the effect of temperature on a certain recipe (because of sea level?). I might put some oats in the rest of the mix, and try again tomorrow!

        • Yeah. If you want really crunchy cookies, this is what I would do: thin the batter a bit by adding more milk, bake longer at a lower temperature and then broil at the end to make sure it is extra crispy.

  10. It would be helpful to specify what type of beans you mean (pre-cooked) in the recipe because that is not clear unless you read the comments. I look forward to trying this recipe. Hope you’re well!

  11. How do you bake your sweet potatoes? Do you wrap them individually in foil? How long do you bake them for? Ive only baked them once and they leaked all over my oven 🙁

    • Hi Megan,

      I usually do not wrap them, and I simply scrub them and put them on a baking sheet at 400* for about 30-45 minutes or so (or until they are soft. Depends on size of potato). You can also try wrapping them and placing them in a slow cooker on high for a couple hours, or low for 7-8 (or overnight).

      Hope this helps!

  12. I made these yesterday, following the recipe precisely, and the cookies never hardened, no matter how long I cooked them. (I even tried leaving a pan in for an hour, and it just burned the edges while remaining a mushy consistency.) I really wanted to love these. They DO taste good, however.

    • Jessica,

      Was your batter too thin? They are supposed to be a soft cookie, but not so soft that it doesn’t stay together.

  13. I had the same problem as two others, it looks like – much too soft! The dough didn’t seem thin, so I don’t know what happened. After 20 minutes I turned the heat down to 375 and baked them for another 30 minutes or so, and they finally stayed together. They’re not that big, either, about 1 tablespoon worth each.

    • Beki,

      So sorry you had problems with the cookies! I’ll test the recipe out again since it has been a while since I made them.

  14. What do you mean when you say “medium sweet potato”? Do you have a ballpark for the weight of it or perhaps an estimated amount for how much it yields once cooked and mashed? Say, 1 cup of mash? Or perhaps 1 1/4 cup? Maybe that’s the problem previous commenters have run into — using more sweet potato than you did.
    Thanks!

  15. Okay, I tried this recipe a few times and I like it but I did have to tweak a bit – I cooked white lentil beans from scratch, drained those. I tried bean flour in one recipe, I dont recco that. Cooked or canned beans way better. I measured out roughly equal parts potato to beans. For me it was 1 cup beans + 1 heaping cup sweet potato (but if its a bit more sweet potato, prob make it sweeter) I pureed the beans with 1/4 coconut milk in blender then mixed with potato, added the other ingrediants (flax seed a must as it holds batter together) but I also added 1/4 cup buckwheat flour and 2 tbsp coconut oil, and some soaked golden raisins. Baked at 400 for 20 min or longer. They take longer to cook because so moist. These cookies defo taste better next day and will make again! Thanks for the recipe! : )

  16. I made these today and they were really good. I was short of time so I cut the sweet potato into chunks and placed in a microwaveable steamer until soft (about 5 mins). I didn’t find they were soggy at all. Next time I will try with some ginger as you suggested. And the time after that I will add some orange peel. Perhaps some raisins also. I suggest that anyone who would prefer just a little sweetness with their afternoon cup of tea could add a little xylitol. Not sure if that is against “Spoonful of Sugarfree” ethos. Anyway I felt holier-than-thou eating these for afternoon tea so thanks heaps! 🙂

    • I just made these and they turned out great…crispy on the outside but still mushy on the inside.

      How can they be stored? Are they fine in the fridge for a few days? Can they be frozen?

      • Hi michelle,

        Sorry for the delay in response, your comment was lost in my spam folder. They would be best stored in the refrigerator for a few days, and yes they can be frozen. Hope this helps!

  17. Hi
    My cookies are too soft to hold together.
    Tried giving them another twenty minutes in the oven but no better.
    Where did I go wrong?
    I’m keen to have sugar free things to eat on bike rides.
    Thanks
    Dave

    • Dave,

      Did you drain your beans all the way? Also, is your peanut butter solid and not liquid? If both of these don’t work, then maybe try adding some ground flax or an egg. Hope this helps!

  18. Hi Alex!
    First THANK YOU!! You’ve been my favorite blog since 2009, even though you don’t post much anymore I refer to your recipes often 🙂
    Second- I wanted to make these (happy Halloween!) so I read through the comments but I noticed there is no nut mm butter in the ingredients- is that a mistake? I thought I remembered them with peanut or almond butter.
    Thank you for clarifying!
    Casey

    • Hi Casey,

      So happy that you’ve kept up with my blog! I would love to post more, but I don’t have a lot of time right now. I hope to pick it up a lot more in the next few years! My chocolate peanut butter protein cookies do have a nut butter in them, but these do not. Feel free to add some almond butter if you like, though! It will still taste great!