Why You Will Love This Recipe

If you grew up grabbing those soft pink frosted sugar cookies at the grocery store, this one is going to wreck you in the best way. It tastes like the cookie, the frosting, and the sprinkles, but you are eating an entire pint of ice cream that hits 30 grams of protein with clean ingredients you can pronounce.

No artificial fillers. No sugar bomb. No protein chalk. Just a creamy, frosted, sugar cookie dream that pulls double duty as dessert or a high-protein post-workout snack.

The almond extract is the move here. That is the secret behind every great sugar cookie, and it is what separates a basic vanilla protein pint from one that actually tastes like the cookie.

Ingredients

For the Ice Cream Base

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 scoop vanilla whey or whey protein powder
• 2 tablespoons light cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon almond flour
• 1 to 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or allulose, to taste
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• Pinch of fine sea salt

For the Mix-Ins (added after the first spin)

• 2 to 3 clean cookies of choice, broken into chunks (use your favorite. Simple Mills, Partake, or a homemade clean-ingredient cookie all work beautifully)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons natural rainbow sprinkles (India Tree or Supernatural brand)

Equipment

• Ninja Creami or Ninja Creami Deluxe
• Creami pint container

Instructions

1. Build the base. Add whole milk, Greek yogurt, protein powder, softened cream cheese, almond flour, maple syrup, vanilla, almond extract, and salt to the Creami pint. Whisk hard for 30 seconds until completely smooth and the protein powder is fully dissolved. No clumps. Clumps cost you texture.
2. Freeze flat. Snap the lid on and freeze on a level surface for at least 24 hours. Tilted freezing equals icy spots. Be patient.
3. First spin. Pull the pint, take the lid off, and load it into the Creami. Run the Ice Cream function.
4. Read the texture. If it looks powdery or crumbly, that is normal. Add a splash of milk, 1 to 2 tablespoons, then run the Re-spin function. This is the move that gives you that soft serve, scoop shop texture.
5. Add the mix-ins. Use a spoon to dig a well down the center of the spun ice cream. Drop in the broken cookie chunks and half the sprinkles. Run the Mix-In function.
6. Top and serve. Scoop into a bowl, finish with the rest of the sprinkles and an extra cookie crumble on top. Eat immediately. This is when the texture is at its absolute peak.

Pro Tips From My Kitchen

• Soften the cream cheese first. Cold cream cheese will leave little white chunks. 15 seconds in the microwave is all you need.
• Use real extracts. Imitation almond extract tastes like a candle. The real stuff is the entire personality of this recipe.
• Cookie choice matters. A frosted sugar cookie is the obvious move because it doubles down on the flavor. A clean shortbread or vanilla wafer also works if you want a softer cookie crunch.
• Sweetener swap. Allulose freezes softer than maple syrup. If you want a softer scoop straight from the freezer, use allulose. If you want depth and a more dessert-forward flavor, use maple.
• Protein powder matters. A clean whey isolate gives the smoothest texture. Plant-based protein can work but expect a slightly grittier finish.
• Sprinkles. Standard grocery store sprinkles use artificial dyes. If you are committed to clean ingredients, look for sprinkles colored with vegetable juices.

Nutrition Estimate

Per pint, using listed ingredients:

• Calories: around 420
• Protein: around 32 grams
• Carbs: around 32 grams
• Fat: around 14 grams
• Sugar: around 16 grams (mostly from dairy and maple)

Numbers shift based on the protein powder, cookie, and sweetener you use. Run yours through your tracker for accuracy.

FAQ

Can I use cottage cheese instead of Greek yogurt?
Yes. Whip 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese in a blender first or it will leave curds. Cottage cheese gives you a slightly tangier, richer pint.

No Ninja Creami. Can I still make this?
The recipe is built around the Creami spin. You can pour the base into a loaf pan, freeze, and stir every 30 minutes for 3 hours, but the texture will not be the same.

Can I make this lower fat?
Swap the whole milk for 2 percent and skip the cream cheese. You will lose a little richness but the protein and the cookie still carry it.

Why is my Creami pint icy?
Two reasons. The base was not mixed long enough so the protein did not fully hydrate, or the pint froze on a tilt. Re-spin with a splash of milk fixes most icy results.

How long does it last?
Best the day you spin it. You can refreeze leftovers and re-spin the next day with a splash of milk.

Did you make this recipe? Tag @kelkooks on Instagram or leave a star rating below. I read every single one.