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Protein Snickerdoodle Puffs

I’m going to be totally honest with you: this recipe was an accident.

I recently came across “Magic Marshmallow Puffs” and this was my attempt at making those.

You may have heard of them as Resurrection Rolls or Empty Tomb Rolls… basically, you dip a marshmallow in butter, roll it in cinnamon & sugar, then wrap it up in a crescent roll. When you bake it, the marshmallow completely melts like magic, leaving you with a big empty puff.

These were my high-protein spin on that recipe, but after trying a few times, I just couldn’t get the marshmallow to magically disappear. Chalk it up to the dough not being as buttery and airy as crescent roll dough, leading to the marshmallow not getting fully absorbed.

But when life gives you stubborn marshmallows, you use it to make protein snickerdoodle puffs!

The melted marshmallow inside provides a ton of extra moisture, which is especially welcomed in high-protein baking (since high-protein baking tends to get dry).

Plus, it gives these a similar flavor to a cinnamon roll, since the marshmallow acts almost like a frosting.

Call these whatever you want, but just trust me when I say you need to give them a try.

You would never know these were packed with protein, and if you like snickerdoodles as much as I do, I promise you’re going to love these.

 

The process

With my recent pretzel recipe, I broke down the steps in a handy little graphic and you guys seemed to find that really helpful, so here we go…

  1. Mix everything together to make the dough. It may seem like there’s not enough liquid, but keep working it- it’ll come together. Refrigerate the dough for one hour to make it easier to work with.
  2. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface, then sprinkle some flour on top as well.
  3. Roll it out into a large rectangle (I use the word rectangle loosely here).
  4. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 8 triangles. They don’t have to be triangles if you’d rather cut out circles, that works too. Triangles just makes it easy to wrap ’em up.
  5. Dip each marshmallow in butter, then roll them in a cinnamon/sugar mixture.
  6. Place the marshmallow on the point of the triangle and then roll it up fully.
  7. Pinch in the sides and use your hands to form a ball and make sure the marshmallow is fully closed in.
  8. Dip one side of the ball into butter, then roll the entire dough ball in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
  9. Place the dough balls with the butter side up in a muffin tin, then bake for 15 minutes.

That’s all there is to it! After 15 minutes, you’re ready to dive into these.

Once you let them cool for a few minutes, the tops will become nice and crispy from the butter on top, and the inside will be soft and moist from the marshmallow.

 

No muffin or cupcake pan?

If you don’t have one, these aren’t going to work out very well. The pan is what keeps the shape of these.

Since I love you and want to help, I attempted to bake one of these just on a normal baking sheet. And, well…

I think it’s safe to say that didn’t really work well.

I highly recommend picking up a silicone cupcake tray. You’ll use it for more than just this recipe, and they’re available all over Amazon for very cheap.

Here’s one for only $9 at the time of writing this- totally worth it, in my opinion!

 

Substitution Questions

I’ll do my best to get ahead of some of the most common questions here for the ingredients:

Protein Powder

I used a Whey/Casein blend here, and it has been my go-to for a long time now. I recommend PEScience, but only because that’s what I have historically used and found success with. You can use any brand you want! I can’t promise a pure whey protein will work as well, because it tends to be pretty sticky. It’s worth trying, however. As long as you refrigerate the dough for an hour to firm up, you should be okay, but I did not test it.

Can you use a vegan protein powder? Maybe. But honestly, I wouldn’t risk it- I’d just opt for leaving out the protein powder completely.

You can absolutely make these without protein powder for a great result! You can leave the protein powder out completely, and then use 180g of flour instead. Check out my pretzel biscuit recipe, because that will basically be the dough you want to make.

Flour

You can swap a 1:1 gluten-free flour, but you won’t be able to use almond flour here. That’s a popular substitution question, but I can assure you that almond flour will lead to a real mess. In my experience, there’s no real substitution for flour here.

Butter

I use “light butter” but any butter will do. Regular butter, a vegan buttery spread, even coconut oil will work great here! Just note that I like to use light butter for the reduced calories, so you’d need to re-calculate accordingly if you change it out.

Marshmallows

If you’re trying to save calories and sugar, you may be tempted to leave the marshmallows out here- but that defeats the whole point of this recipe! The marshmallow is what gives these the “puff” we want. You’re free to experiment with something else if you truly want to, but I wouldn’t risk it. Each marshmallow used is only 25 calories, so you won’t be saving a whole lot by leaving them out.

 

Need some other recipes?

You’re here because you love cinnamon & sugar. I mean, who doesn’t? You’ll definitely like these recipes, too:

 

Protein Snickerdoodle Puffs

Protein Snickerdoodle Puffs

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

These protein puffs are a combination or a snickerdoodle cookie, cinnamon bun, and muffin. With a gooey marshmallow inside and a crispy cinnamon exterior, these are something you're going to have to try for yourself.

Ingredients

Base Ingredients

Filling & Coating Ingredients

  • 8 Marshmallows (not Jumbo)
  • 21g Light Butter
  • 90g Granular Sugar Substitute of Choice
  • 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients for your snickerdoodle base. Once mixed, add in the butter and Greek yogurt. Mix with a silicone spatula (and use your hands if needed) until you have a ball of dough.
  2. Refrigerate the dough for one hour to firm up. You can skip this step if absolutely necessary, but the dough becomes significantly easier to work with after an hour.
  3. Remove the dough from the fridge and preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
  4. Add your dough to a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a rectangle (it doesn't need to be a perfect shape). We want the dough to be pretty thin here (see photos above for reference). It also helps to sprinkle flour on top of the dough before rolling to prevent sticking.
  5. Using a pizza cutter or butter knife, cut the dough into 8 long triangles. if you're ever made crescent rolls, we're mimicking that dough.
  6. In a small bowl, melt down the 21g of butter (light butter melts very quickly, about 5-10 seconds, and will pop, so cover with a paper towel). In a separate bowl, mix the cinnamon & sugar.
  7. Take one of your large marshmallows, fully coat it in the melted butter, then roll it in the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
  8. Place the marshmallow on the point of one of your triangles, then roll it up. Fold over the sides and pinch them closed until the entire marshmallow is covered. You can pick it up with your hand and form it into a ball at this point to make sure it is fully sealed.
  9. Continue for all 8.
  10. Take each ball, dip the top in the butter (this will achieve a crispy top) and then roll the entire ball in the cinnamon sugar to fully coat it. Do this for all 8, adding more cinnamon & sugar if needed.
  11. Place each ball in a muffin or cupcake tin (butter side up), then bake for 15 minutes.
  12. Carefully remove from the oven and empty out onto a cooling rack. If you didn't fully enclose the marshmallow, some may have "popped" with melted marshmallow, so be careful.

Notes

You can keep this in a sealable bag or container at room temperature and enjoy for a few days after baking. These puffs will reheat well!

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1 Protein Puff
Amount Per Serving Calories 145Total Fat 4gCarbohydrates 18gFiber 0.5gSugar 6gProtein 9.5g

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Suzanne Carlin

Thursday 12th of November 2020

FYI, Bowmar Nutrition protein powder has been formulated to be used in higher temperatures. It is also has many great flavors. I do not work for this company, but thought I would pass this along, as it works so well for baking.

About Matt Rosenman

With over 15 years of experience in health and fitness, Matt Rosenman is the expert voice behind Cheatdaydesign.com. Matt’s philosophy is simple: no foods are off-limits, and a healthy lifestyle shouldn't be complicated or restrictive. As a former certified personal trainer with a bachelor’s degree in Health Behavioral Sciences, Matt brings well-rounded expertise to his blog. From revamping classic recipes with a nutritious twist to breaking down fast food menus, his goal is make healthy living less confusing for everyone. Featured in major publications and with a strong following on social media, Matt is committed to making “healthy” uncomplicated—no matter where you are in your health journey. Join Matt on his mission to simplify health without sacrificing flavor. Learn More

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