If you’re familiar with our naturally gluten-free cookies, you know that nut butter is a key player in our ingredients list. Although the addition of nut butter comes from the original, decades old recipe that inspired us to start Meli’s, it’s not just there for flavor enhancement!
Whether you opt for peanut, cashew, or almond butter when baking our easy gluten-free recipe, nut butter is PACKED with health benefits. With plant-based protein snacks, supplements, and powders on the rise, it’s only fitting that we outline why the addition of nut butter in our cookies makes them a better-for-you treat.
When you flip over a box of Meli’s, you’ll see we have four shining star ingredients that make our cookies a unique gluten-free dessert: certified gluten-free oats, butter, egg, and a whopping ¼ cup of nut butter all contribute to making our cookies taste as delicious as they do. Since we aren’t a traditional cookie (no flour or flour alternatives here!) the addition of nut butter aids in binding our oat-based cookie mix together for a shapeable cookie dough. In addition to serving as a great binding agent, the nut butter ramps up the plant-based protein content of our cookies to a total 4g per cookie.
If you aren’t sold on the protein content alone, nut butter is also full of fiber that keeps you feeling full and energized, which can aid in reducing your overall calorie intake and give you a boost of energy to meet your fitness goals. Nut butter also contains unsaturated fat (this is the good kind of fat!) which can help stabilize your blood sugar and keep cholesterol in check for a healthier heart. PLUS, if you regularly consume nuts or nut butter, you can put down those pesky supplements because nuts contain plenty of antioxidants, vitamin E, B6, folic acid, niacin, magnesium, zinc, copper, and potassium (so good for you!).
Here at Meli’s HQ, we tend to opt for a traditional no-stir peanut butter when shopping for the perfect nut butter. No-stir peanut butter gives us a final product that most closely resembles our original family recipe, but we do love to venture out and switch things up! Extra crunchy peanut butter makes a yummy, crunchy cookie with more texture, and almond or cashew butter creates a more complex flavor profile when paired with our gluten-free mix. These alternatives tend to have a lower sugar content than traditional peanut butter, so they’re even better for health conscious fans who are looking to reduce their overall sugar intake when indulging. If you have a nut allergy, tahini, chickpea butter, and watermelon seed butter taste great in our mix as well.
The average person needs 46 - 56 g of protein per day, but they also need to treat themselves! Grab a box of Meli’s on your next shopping trip for a great tasting gluten-free cookie that’s full of plant-based protein and nutrients.
Have you tried Meli’s yet? You can buy our cookies directly from our website, or find a store near you. Be sure to give us a follow on Instagram!