Flavors Tried: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle, Double Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Brown Butter
Price: $24.99 for 12 ($2.10 per cookie)
Nutrition: 240 Calories, 16g Fat, 19g Carbs (4g Net Carbs), 15g Protein
I remember when Quest Cookies first launched many years ago, they were truly innovative. As one of the first protein cookies on the market, they really changed everything.
Today, you’ll find no shortage of protein cookies on shelves, but is that a good thing?
If you ask me, most protein cookies are pretty awful. It’s one of the products that feels like we’re just adding protein for the sake of adding protein, but not actually considering the taste.
When you add protein and take away a lot of what makes a cookie truly delicious (like butter and sugar), is it even a cookie anymore?
Most protein cookies are hardly cookies at all, rather just protein bars shaped into a disc.
I hadn’t tried Quest Cookies in years, but I remembered them being exactly that- a protein bar shaped like a cookie.
But since I’m all about bringing you guys honest reviews, I wanted to try them again to see if they have improved from what I remembered.
I was able to get three flavors: snickerdoodle, double chocolate chip, and peanut butter chocolate chip. Quest also sells standard chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies, but since I got the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, it feels safe to say that’s a good representation of the two flavors I didn’t try.
Update: I have now included Quest’s seasonal flavor, Cinnamon Brown Butter.
I won’t include the Quest Frosted Cookies in this review, because those have their own dedicated review. Spoiler alert: I really like the frosted cookies, but they’re much closer to cake bites than they are cookies.
Quest Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Review
When you look at this photo, you might see a soft, gooey cookie, but looks can be very deceving.
While this peanut butter protein cookie may look soft, it’s actually quite dense and chewy. No, it’s not Quest Bar chewy, but it’s much chewier than I’d like in a cookie.
It’s a very firm & dense cookie, which can be chalked up to the high amounts of protein and lack of sugar.
You can certainly tell that this is a peanut butter cookie, but it’s not a very great peanut butter flavor.
In fact, I’d describe the flavor as “burnt peanut butter,” which really comes through in the bitter aftertaste.
All in all, I really didn’t find this cookie enjoyable. Yes, the chocolate chips and peanuts help to create a decent texture overall, but the flavor just isn’t there.
Quest Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Review
I kicked off my review with the peanut butter cookie, so the bar for this Quest double chocolate cookie was immediately lowered.
Luckily, this is definitely a step up from the peanut butter cookie.
The cookie is more bitter than I’d like, almost tasting like very dark chocolate. But again, that can be chalked up to the lack of sugar in these protein cookies.
Considering the alternative is likely lots of sugar alcohols, I can look past the bitterness.
The flavor itself reminds me of a brownie, which is definitely not a bad thing.
This double chocolate chip cookie is nice and soft, which is awesome, but it’s definitely on the dry side overall. If it had a little moisture to it, it would be a real winner!
If you’re comparing this to a regular cookie, it is still far too dry, but it’s a decent option given the favorable nutrition facts.
Quest Snickerdoodle Cookie Review
The Snickerdoodle Quest cookie is awesome.
When you open up the package, it smells like a delicious Snickerdoodle cookie, and the flavor really delivers.
Snickerdoodles happen to be one of my all-time favorite cookies, and these definitely do them justice. There’s still a slight aftertaste to the cookies, but not enough to make them unpleasant.
The Snickerdoodle Quest cookies are much softer and chewier (in a good way) than the other flavors, so I don’t find myself too bothered by the dryness of the cookie.
All in all, I really enjoy the Snickerdoodle flavor. No, it’s not nearly as good as a fresh-baked snickerdoodle, but it gets the job done.
Cinnamon Brown Butter (Seasonal) Cookie Review
Quest released this limited-edition seasonal flavor, and while it may look identical to Snickerdoodle, I actually think it’s a slight improvement.
Before trying this one, Snickerdoodle was my favorite flavor, but Cinnamon Brown Butter now sits atop my list.
This one has the same overall Snickerdoodle flavor and texture, with a slight crisp on the outside and soft tenderness inside.
However, they take it one step further by adding a hit of salt to the exterior, and the brown butter really comes through. When you add the richness of the butter, it truly makes this one a holiday treat.
Now, this is still not anywhere close to a real-deal homemade cookie, but it’s darn good for a protein cookie!
Quest Cookies: Overall Thoughts
As far as protein cookies go, Quest Cookies are some of the better cookies I’ve tried.
Please understand that this is a very low bar because I find most protein cookies to be similar to eating styrofoam.
But, Quest Cookies are decent.
I enjoyed the snickerdoodle the most and happily worked my way through a full box of that flavor. The double chocolate was less exciting to me, but still decent enough to eat.
The peanut butter chocolate chip cookie is a definite pass from me. I can’t say for sure if the peanut butter cookie and/or chocolate chip cookie would be similar (since I didn’t try those two flavors), but I have to assume they’d tell a similar story.
If you’re looking for a high-protein cookie that help you hit your protein goals, you could do much worse than Quest Cookies.
Personally, I’d still choose most protein bars of any version of protein cookies, but to each their own!
