Delicious healthy chocolate chip sunbutter cookies

Delicious healthy chocolate chip sunbutter cookies

---

• 12.05.2013

I have a super fun and easy recipe to share today--I've made these cookies three times now (the first two times in one 24-hour period) because they are SOOOO good, and I've done slight modifications each time to perfect them. I've Instagrammed them twice (here and here) because they are so good and went so fast!!

This recipe (I found this one, modified it) is great in part because it's so easy to make and only requires you to dirty one dish item (for me, making my own sunbutter in the process, that's the Cuisinart bowl/blade. If you use pre-made or store bought almond butter and sunbutter, it's just one bowl).

I'm actually quite studied in the perfect chocolate chip cookie, from my pre-Paleo, pre-raw vegan days, having perfected my recipe in high school. I used to use the Nestle recipe like Phoebe on Friends; then I used Martha's recipe; then I heard a piece on The Splendid Table about the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe (biggest takeaway: it involves sea salt!) (I think this is that recipe, by David Leite). But I haven't bought wheat/grain flour since December of 2009, and aside from a couple raw vegan chocolate chunk cookie bar attempts, I haven't made chocolate chip cookies in years. I know there are a ton of delicious almond flour cookie recipes that are grain-free, but I try not to eat too much nut products (or baked foods at all, really) and I haven't played around with them. But when I found the sunbutter cookie recipe, I figured I ought to try.

I'm not sure about the official origins or definition of sunbutter, but I gather that it's sunflower seed butter, much like almond butter or peanut butter but made from sunflower seeds (seeds, not nuts or legumes like the other two). I try not to eat too much almond butter or too many nuts, because while they are a real, whole food source, they are high in phytic acid and contain lower quality fats (unsaturated, Omega-6) than many high saturated fat, high Omega-3 foods. Same with seeds, but to a lesser degree (particularly on the phytic acid). This means that sunflower seeds are easier for some people to digest than nuts like almonds (especially un-skinned, un-soaked ones).

They're also super affordable. Here's a pic of the two bins at Winco, which has a huge bulk food selection and good prices. Big difference!!

I also recommend super high quality chocolate chips (I stopped using Nestle years ago because it has fake vanilla, Vanillin, in it and I can taste the difference!!), with as few ingredients as possible. I often buy these 50% chocolate ones from the bulk foods bins at Winco, but ideally something like Enjoy Life brand with no soy lecithin or other non-food ingredients.

Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Paleo Chocolate Chip Sunbutter Cookie Recipe

So finally, on to the recipe!! I found this amazing cookie through this recipe on So Let's Hang Out, modified from this recipe on PaleOMG. I've modified it further by using different sweetener, omitting the baking soda (I hate the taste, and it doesn't seem to need it), and adding extra fat! There was no butter or coconut oil in these, I assume because sunflower seed and almond butter/meal have more fat than regular grain flours, but still--the extra fat really helps with the texture and makes it more like a regular cookie. (Plus helps regulate blood sugar from the carbohydrates in the sweetener and chocolate chips!)

You will need a food processor for this recipe (we have the 9-cup) unless you use store bought almond butter and sunflower seed butter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sunflower seed butter ("sunbutter") (either store bought or DIY by processing 2 cups of sunflower seeds in the food processor until it is smooth and creamy)
• 1/2 cup almond butter (store bought or homemade like I show in this tutorial, or just add the almonds to the food processor for the sunbutter)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (or butter or lard. I used coconut oil but I bet butter would be great!)
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar (or sweetener of choice)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips (these are great and soy free) or dark chocolate, broken into small chunks
• Coarse sea salt, to sprinkle on top (optional but why wouldn't you!?)

Directions

1. (If making your own sunbutter from raw sunflower seeds and using almonds instead of almond butter): Pulse the seeds and almonds in the food processor for, like, a super long time, stirring every few minutes. First it will turn into fluffy small chunks, then meal-ey texture, then oily meal, then it will get to the ball stage (see below). If you keep processing, it'll eventually become almost like melted liquid, but this is as creamy as it needs to be for this recipe.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Add the wet ingredients: coconut oil, egg, and vanilla; pulse till smooth.

4. Add the dry ingredients: coconut palm sugar (or sweetener of choice), cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

5. Add the chocolate chips. (Note: your batter may be a little warm still from the food processor when you make the sunbutter. You could give it a while to cool off if you want to be sure the chips don't melt as you stir. Or, just be fast when you make them into balls!) Stir by hand rather than with the food processor blade so you don't chop them up.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and scoop the cookies onto it. They will spread a little when you bake them but not as much as a traditional flour/butter/sugar cookie. (You can flatten them before baking if you want them less 3-D.) Sprinkle a little sea salt on top of each one. (A tip I learned from the pros!)

7. Bake for 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

Omigod. They are so good. Actually, you might want to double this recipe, because if you house is anything like mine, your husband and little brother-in-law, or friends who are over, will eat most of them before you even have a chance to put them away. ;)

SO good, people!! So good!!