Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies are dotted with mini chocolate chips, perfectly crisped on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside…and they are peanut, soy, egg and dairy-free.
I’ve had a blast the past few weeks exchanging cookies for the 3rd Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I sent these vegan Sunflower Seed Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips to three other participants and I got to try three other fantastic cookie recipes. In the process, over $13,000 was raised for Cookies for Kid’s Cancer. Not a bad way to get to know some fellow bloggers and raise money for a great cause.
We don’t do peanut butter at our house due to a severe food allergy. Most of our baking is also egg, dairy and soy-free for the same reason. But, we absolutely don’t miss out on tasty treats including ones that call for peanut butter…now that we’ve experienced sunflower seed butter. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had any peanut butter for quite some time, but I really can’t tell the difference!
In fact, I chose this recipe for this occasion because it exemplifies that even though we have a peanut, soy, egg and dairy allergy in the house…we don’t miss out on anything around here. We make delicious substitutions and focus on all the wonderful things that we are able to enjoy. And, if you happen to have dietary restrictions, I hope it inspires you to feel the same way.
One of the first things we made with our “peanut butter” alternative were cookies. And, since we’re chocoholics, we of course added chocolate chips. These sunflower seed butter cookies are perfectly moist and tasty…and definitely don’t last too long. They are also free of egg, soy and dairy. If you need product suggestions, check out our Allergy Friendly Food Products guide.
- 1/2 cup vegan butter substitute softened (can use real butter or margarine)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
- Egg replacer for the equivalent of 1 egg 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 Tablespoon water, 1 Tablespoon vinegar or can use a regular egg
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
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Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
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Cream "butter", sugars and sunflower seed butter together, first by hand and then with an electric mixer for several minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
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Combine and stir egg replacer ingredients in a separate bowl.
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Add egg replacer to creamed "butter" mixture and stir to combine.
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Add flour, baking soda and baking powder to creamed "butter" mixture and stir to combine.
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Fold in chocolate chips.
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Form dough into Tablespoon-sized balls and press to flatten.
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If desired, use a fork to press down on the dough to make criss-cross indentations.
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Line baking pan with parchment paper.
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Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies just begin to brown. They will still be soft when removed from the oven.
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Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 more minutes.
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Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool further.
Check all ingredients for food allergens. For product suggestions, see Allergy Friendly Food Products guide Adapted from Betty Crocker
Enjoy! And a big thank you to Julie from The Little Kitchen and Lindsay from Love & Olive Oil for coordinating this awesome event!
Hello! We’re sharing easy and healthy recipes the whole family will love! Why am I called the Dinner-Mom? 
they sound yummy!
Thank you!
These look fantastic! I’ve been meaning to try a sunflower seed butter cookie for quite some time, and now you’ve inspired me to do it right now! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thank you. We are big fans of sunflower seed butter here. We use it any time a recipe calls for peanut butter with lots of success. Hope you like it too.
I made these as “blossoms” and pressed a chocolate Kiss into the center of the cookies when they came out of the oven. The texture of the cookie is similar to a peanut butter blossom, and the sunflower seed butter lends an interesting flavor. One thing that we found a bit off-putting is that the cookies have a greenish tinge to them on the inside. You don’t notice this tinge until you break apart the cookie, and since I’ve never used sunflower seed butter in anything until now, I don’t know if this is typical or could be a result of the brand I used.
Hi! Thanks for commenting. I have to say I have not experienced this. We use SunButter in lots of recipes including Energy Bites. I hope that helps!
The green color seems to be a common occurrence when sunflower seed butter is mixed with baking soda according to several google sources. I apologize for not doing some research before posting a comment! It’s not harmful in any way, nor does it affect the taste.
Thanks for the info. I’ll be watching for that!
I wouldn’t want anyone to be turned off by my comment about the greenish tint to the inside of the cookie, because these are a great alternative to a peanut butter cookie. I’m going to try them again and will add a teaspoon of lemon juice which is supposed to counteract the chemical reaction. One last note….my yield was only 12 medium-sized cookies.
Thanks for the great recipe, from a home with severe nut allergies! I cut sugar to 1/3 c each, and left out the chocolate chips but put one chip in the center of each cookie for last 2-3 mins of baking. The recipe worked even with these changes. We were hoping they would be green, but they weren’t!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them…but, I must confess, I’m not sure why they might be green?! 🙂
from Sadie’s comment last June – apparently some chemical reaction between something in the sunflower seed butter + baking soda. We found that some of our cookies did in fact have a little green in them, but not a deterrent at all.
Made these today with real butter and egg and homemade sunflower seed butter. Used a little over half a cup of sun butter because I was trying to use it up. They turned out great! I still like traditional pb cookies better, but everyone in the house enjoyed these, and since my son is allergic to peanuts it was nice to have a treat he could share. mine did not turn green at all. The texture and chewiness were just perfect. Thanks!
Thanks so much for your feedback. I’m so glad you liked it. My daughter is allergic to peanuts too and this is our go-to recipe that everyone enjoys!