If you've spent any time on the Internet recently, you've probably witnessed the cottage cheese renaissance. The creamy curds have long been considered to be a polarizing ingredient, but now they're back in the spotlight. And honestly? I was a hater too.
Much of the dairy product's bad rap is warranted. At its worst, cottage cheese is gloopy, strangely textured, and bland. Something about the chewy curds suspended in liquid triggers my automatic fight or flight response. It almost tastes like something that shouldn't be eaten at all.
But social media users have revived the traditionally maligned ingredient, using it as a high-protein substitute in popular recipes. People are blending it to make mac and cheese, creamy pasta sauces, and even pancakes. And the modern applications of this retro ingredient are converting even the staunchest cottage cheese haters.
I've been reluctant to try cottage cheese again, even with the new trends popping up on my TikTok feed. But then I saw one video that seemed too good to be true.
User @thesamplan used cottage cheese as the base of a high-protein edible cookie dough. The blended dairy product gets mixed with maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond flour, and chocolate chips for a sweet treat that's supposedly guilt free.
This cottage cheese transformation is one of the most drastic I've ever seen. And TikTok users who tried it for themselves claimed that it actually tastes like cookie dough. So I rushed to the grocery store to see if they're being serious.
The recipe starts with 1 pound of cottage cheese—the recipe creator doesn't specify which type, but I exclusively opt for the highest fat content when it comes to any dairy product. I threw the entire container into the blender along with ¼ cup of maple syrup and two teaspoons of vanilla.
I had to stop and stir the mixture in the blender several times before it looked as creamy as it did in the video. Even then, I saw small curds floating around in the mixture. I'm not going to lie—it made me really nervous.
Then I transferred the blended cottage cheese to a bowl, where I added protein powder and almond flour. My local supermarket only had whole almond flour that included the brown outer husk. So it added brown flecks to the overall dough, but tastes identical to the blanched almond flour used in the video.
Lastly, I added some chocolate chips. The video didn't include a specific amount, so I measured with my heart instead (which means I dumped in more than half a bag). And that was it: a high-protein edible cookie dough that came together in less than five minutes.
I braced myself, then went in for a taste. Flavor-wise, it's completely indistinguishable from regular cookie dough. You can't taste the cottage cheese at all—just sweet, vanilla-scented goodness.
The thing that did throw me off, however, was the almond flour. The texture of the almond flour lends a gritty texture that I didn't love, but not enough to make me stop eating it.
The protein is also enough to make the almond flour worth it. I did the math; with the protein powder I used, the entire batch contains 80 grams of protein!
If I were to make this again, I'd hunt for a super-fine almond flour or even blend the cookie dough (sans chocolate) in the blender to smooth it out. And this recipe wasn't enough to convert me into a cottage cheese enthusiast entirely. But if all cottage cheese recipes tasted like this, I might change my mind.
