SunButter Cookies
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Published Mar 08, 2022, Updated Aug 01, 2024
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These SunButter cookies are easy to make, naturally sweetened and absolutely delicious. They’re also gluten-free, nut-free and school-friendly. This post is sponsored by SunButter.
If you have never made cookies with SunButter before let me just start by saying that I couldn’t stop eating these cookies. Trust me when I say, these SunButter cookies are guaranteed to be a new family favorite!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They’re super easy to make – your kids could even help you out in the kitchen.
- They’re made with SunButter which means they’re nut-free and perfect for packing in your child’s lunch as a little treat. (See all of my kid’s lunch box ideas here.)
- You only need one mixing bowl – yay for less dishes!
SunButter 101
First let’s cover the basics of SunButter.
SunButter is made from roasted and ground sunflower seeds, which are packed with vitamins and minerals including Vitamin E, copper, manganese and selenium. Sunflower seed butter actually has more vitamins and nutrients than most nut butters!
SunButter is a great substitute for peanut butter or any nut butter in recipes. It’s free from the top 8 food allergies in the US: peanuts, tree-nuts, soy, milk, eggs, wheat, fish, and crustacean shellfish. SunButter has none of these!
fun fact! Sunflowers are heliotropic, meaning they swivel to face the sun, which allows them to soak up as much sun-power as possible and makes SunButter a great source of healthy energy. How cool!
Ingredients Needed
- SunButter – I used natural SunButter for these cookies, which contains 7 grams of plant-based protein per serving and more vitamins and minerals than most nut butters!
- coconut sugar – to keep things refined sugar-free we’re using coconut sugar instead of white sugar. White sugar also works in a pinch!
- egg – to help bind everything together. I haven’t tested a vegan version of these cookies, but I bet a flax egg would work well in this recipe. Let me know if you try it in the comments below!
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer!
- oat flour – you can use store-bought oat flour or make your own by grinding rolled oats in your blender or food processor. Check out my guide on how to make oat flour.
- baking soda – to help the cookies rise.
- sea salt – just a pinch!
- chocolate chips – I like using Lily’s chocolate chips because they are sugar-free, but Enjoy Life chocolate chips are great if you need these cookies to be allergen-friendly.
How to Make SunButter Cookies
In a large mixing bowl stir together SunButter, coconut sugar, egg and the vanilla extract. Add the oat flour, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine and then add in chocolate chips. Dough will be thick!
Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, make heaping 1-inch dough balls and place on parchment paper. Press each cookie down lightly before baking.
Bake for 10 minutes in your preheated oven at 375°F or until edges are lightly browned.
Remove and let cool on baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
FAQs
This hasn’t happened to me with this cookie recipe, but SunButter can occasionally give baked goods a green tint. The chlorogenic acid (chlorophyll) in sunflower seeds reacts with the baking soda/powder when baked. Just know that if this happens it’s completely harmless and your cookies will taste just fine!
Yes, SunButter makes a great substitute for peanut butter in cookies and other baked goods like muffins, protein balls and granola bars. SunButter has more of an earthy, roasted flavor that’s absolutely delicious and it’s an awesome option when you need cookies (or other baked goods) to be nut-free.
Storing and Freezing
After you let the cookie cool on the baking sheet for a bit, move to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool you can store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
For longer storage, you can refrigerate for up to one week and freeze for up to 3 months. If you freeze the cookies, just make sure you use a freezer-safe container.
More SunButter Recipes
- Sunflower Crunch Salad
- Nut Free Granola Bars
- Sunflower Butter
- SunButter Energy Bites
- Coconut Curry SunButter Noodle Bowl
More Cookie Recipes to Try
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet
- Almond Crescent Cookies
- No Bake Cookies
- Birthday Cake Cookies
- Cottage Cheese Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Almond Butter Espresso Cookies
- Almond Flour Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Lemon Almond Flour Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Almond Cookies
Be sure to check out all of the cookie recipes here on EBF.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
SunButter Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup natural SunButter
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup oat flour, gluten-free, if necessary
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl stir together SunButter, coconut sugar and egg. Add vanilla, oat flour, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine and then add in chocolate chips. Dough will be thick.
- Using a tablespoon, make heaping 1-inch dough balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Press each cookie down lightly before baking.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.
- Remove and let cool on baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- Chocolate chips: I recommend Enjoy Life chocolate chips for an allergen-friendly option or Lily’s (which are sweetened with stevia and lower in sugar).
- Coconut sugar: If you can’t do coconut sugar, I recommend using light brown sugar or cane sugar. Maple syrup could also work, but I haven’t tried it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi! I made these cookies with my homemade sunflower seed butter, and i wasn’t too sure, cause my butter was grayish and didn’t have the most appealing flavor. But…I made the cookies and they turned out GREAT!! They were chewy and chocolatey and delicious!!! VERY good for being healthy!!! Thank you for all ur great recipes!!!
YUM! These are some our favorite cookies and I am so glad you have them a try, Jane. Thank you for taking the time to share your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
hi, these are delicious! I’m wondering if you could add cocoa or chocolate protein powder (or substitute for some of the oat flour). has anyone tried that?
Hi Sarah! I am glad you are loving these cookies. I haven’t tried these with cocoa powder so I can’t be sure how they will turn out. Just a caution, if you use protein powder, just be aware that some will soak up more liquid than others leaving your dough quite dry, so you might need to use more liquid. Let me know if you give these a try and how they turn out for you!
can these be made egg free? I am allergic to eggs
Hi Nancy – I haven’t tested a vegan version of these cookies, but I bet a flax egg would work well in this recipe. Let me know if you try it. Enjoy these!
After discovering sun butter cookies for the first time at a local bakery I was determined to make some at home, and this was one of just a few recipes that existed online, since sun butter is not nearly as popular as other type of nut butters. The taste of them is great, I used the organic sun butter which has no sugar added so they were a little less sweet than probably intended, but next time I will just add a little extra sugar. They were also quite brittle/cracked and fell apart easily which is fairly typical for peanut butter/almond butter cookies, usually meaning they have a little bit too much of the (sun)butter in them. I will likely add a little extra flour next time and see if it improves or not. Overall delicious cookies, great for people like me who are lactose intolerant and my kids both loved them they were gone within a day!
WOO! This is amazing, Carrie. I am so glad you found this recipe and they turned out great for you and the family loved them. Thank you for coming back and sharing your review & star rating, I truly appreciate it. 🙂
I noticed the sun butter you link to is the one that has cane sugar in it. Just making sure — is this recipe supposed to be made with the sun butter w/ cane sugar or the no sugar added cane sugar?
Hi! You can make this recipe with the SunButter I linked to! This is the SunButter that is included in the nutrition info. Enjoy!
I used Monkfruit sweetener in place of sugar, came out amazing!
Yay! So glad these cookies turned out for you! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Can you replace sugar with maple syrup
Hey Natalie – I wouldn’t recommend swapping the dry sugar with a wet sugar like maple syrup. The consistency of the cookies will likely change.
These are delicious, so chewy and decadent. And I made quite a few substitutions since I didn’t have things on hand (coconut flour instead of oat flour, applesauce instead of an egg, and almond butter instead of sunbutter) and with all the changes they still came out delicious! I’ll have to grab the ingredients to make the exact recipe next time.
Woo! So glad to hear your substitutions worked out well, Christina! Thanks for sharing and leaving a review, I really appreciate it.
I love how quick and easy these cookies are to throw together! Not to mention they’re delicious!! I’ll be making these again and again. Thanks EBF!
Woo! Love to hear that, Erica! Thanks for leaving a review, I really appreciate it.
Oh my, these cookies are amazing!
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that, Mary! Thanks for leaving a review and star rating, I really appreciate it.