These Sunflower Seed Cookies are the ultimate soft and chewy nut-free cookies. These Sunbutter cookies are the best cookie recipe when it comes to allergen-friendly desserts. This recipe is perfect for so many diets and food allergies, yet nobody would because they're so delicious!
After seeing the success my Gluten-Free Pistachio Cookies and my Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cookies have had, I knew I needed to make a delicious nut-free cookie recipe!
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Jump to:
- Ingredients For Sunflower Seed Cookies:
- How To Make These Sunflower Seed Cookies:
- Substitutions:
- Sunbutter Cookies Variations:
- What You'll Need To Bake These Sunflower Seed Cookies:
- How To Store Sunflower Cookies:
- Top Tip:
- Frequently Asked Questions:
- More SunButter Recipes:
- Best Sunflower Seed Cookies
- Food Safety:
- More Healthy Vegan Cookie Recipes:
Ingredients For Sunflower Seed Cookies:
These Sunflower Seed Cookies are the perfect healthy, quick, and easy treat because they're delicious and all the ingredients are easy to find.
Wet Ingredients:
- SunButter No Sugar Added Sunflower Seed Butter - The key to achieving the perfect soft and chewy cookie texture is Sunbutter! Their sunflower seed butter is the best, there is no gritty texture, the flavor is rich and deep, and it's super healthy! I love using the No Sugar Added because it has great flavor and it's perfect for making Sunbutter cookies!
- Coconut Butter - If you can not eat coconuts, don't worry! This recipe can be added without the coconut butter. You can either omit the coconut butter completely and use more Sunbutter (¼ cup for 1 batch of these cookies), or you can use half the amount of any plant-based oil. If you do plan on using the coconut butter, make sure that it is soft and smooth. If your coconut butter has dried up you can add ½-1 tablespoon of raw coconut oil to the mixture and mix until a smooth liquid-like texture has been achieved.
- Vanilla Extract - I recommend using Mexican Vanilla. It has a very deep flavor that really takes cookies to the next level.
- Water - You will just need a little water to create the flax egg.
Dry Ingredients:
- Gluten-Free Flour - Any flour blend will work. Make sure to look for one that is not stripped of essential nutrients like fiber and protein. I have linked my favorite.
- Coconut Sugar - Coconut sugar is a great natural sweetener. Unlike white sugar or brown sugar, it retains many vitamins and minerals.
- Ground Flax Seed - Flax seed is a great vegan egg replacement. All you have to do is add water and let it sit for a couple of minutes and you have a nutrient-dense egg substitute.
- Baking Soda - This will help these sunflower seed cookies to spread and bake evenly.
- Cornstarch - A staple in any chewy cookie recipe. A little cornstarch makes the world of difference.
- Unsalted Sunflower Seeds - I love adding a little bit of crunch to these sunflower cookies with raw sunflower seeds. They're highly nutritious, and perfect for adding texture to these cookies.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How To Make These Sunflower Seed Cookies:
These Sunflower Seed Cookies are perfect for bakers of all levels. They only require a few simple steps and a little prep time.
Begin by making the flax egg in a separate bowl by combining the ground flax seed with the water and setting it aside for 5-10 minutes. I like to use warm water because it speeds up the process slightly. Once the flax egg is ready, add it to a medium bowl with the remaining wet ingredients.
Use an electric mixer (a hand mixer or stand mixer will both work)to whip all the wet ingredients together at medium-high speed. Once the mixture is fluffy, add the coconut sugar.
Mix the coconut sugar in. You may see the natural oils from the Sunbutter and coconut butter begin to separate from the mixture. This is normal.
Add the baking soda, cornstarch, and gluten-free flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until the dough forms one solid ball.
Add the unsalted sunflower seeds and mix. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the sunflower seed cookies onto a prepared baking sheet (you can either use parchment paper or cooking spray on the baking sheet). Place in the oven to bake for 12-13 minutes, or until golden brown.
Once done, remove from the baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Hint: You can achieve perfectly round cookies using the metal ring from a mason jar. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, wiggle the cookies into the ring and swirl them around a couple of times. Remove the ring and allow the cookies to chill.
Substitutions:
Although these Sunflower Seed Cookies are very allergen friendly, you may need to substitute an ingredient. Luckily this sunflower seed cookie recipe is very flexible.
- Flour - I often get asked if regular flour can be substituted in my gluten-free recipes, and the answer is yes! Since this recipe calls for. a 1:1 gluten-free flour mixture, you can easily substitute it with regular flour. If you want to make this recipe using whole wheat flour, I recommended using 1 part whole wheat and 1 part white flour.
- Sugar - If you choose not to use coconut sugar, you can use brown sugar instead. However brown sugar is a refined sugar, so keep that in mind.
- Sunbutter - Any variety of Sunbutter can be used in this recipe. Multiple of their products are available at most grocery stores. I went with the no sugar added variety to make these cookies refined sugar-free!
Sunbutter Cookies Variations:
Although this Sunflower Seed Cookie Recipe is delicious as is, there are plenty of fun variations you can try with this recipe!
- Chocolate - Use Chocolate Sunbutter and plant-based chocolate chips for the ultimate chocolate sunflower cookie!
- Sunbutter Filled - Add a teaspoon of chilled sun butter to the middle of the cookies and wrap the dough around the Sunbutter. Bake as you would and enjoy the gooey goodness inside.
What You'll Need To Bake These Sunflower Seed Cookies:
Equipment can always have an impact on how a recipe turns out. Luckily this sunflower seed cookie recipe requires minimal equipment and is perfect for kitchens of all kinds. You will need:
- Medium Bowl - Any sized bowl works perfectly. I like to use a medium bowl because I can fit it in the fridge with no issues. However, a large bowl will work just fine as well.
- Baking Sheet - I recommended using a light-colored baking sheet because it will help the cookies bake evenly and not burn at the bottom. You can use a nonstick, oil, or parchment paper to keep the cookies from sticking.
- Electric Mixer - Both a hand mixer and a stand mixer will work perfectly. You can also mix the cookie dough by hand.
- Wire Rack - Although a wire rack is not absolutely necessary, I think it's the best way to cool these cookies.
As always you can find all my go-to equipment on my Amazon storefront or my affiliate page.
How To Store Sunflower Cookies:
These Sunflower Seed Cookies are great because they store super well! I recommend storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also store them with plastic wrap, or in a ziplock bag. If stored properly these cookies can keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.
These Sunbutter cookies can also be frozen. I recommend storing them in a freezer bag, or a ziplock with the air sucked out of it. If stored properly, these cookies will keep for up to 3 months.
Top Tip:
Allow the cookies to cool completely. They will take a while to cool, but it is worth the wait.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Sometimes Sunbutter cookies can turn green. The green color comes from the chlorophyll in the sunflower seeds reacting with the baking soda. This doesn't always happen, but it can happen and it's completely natural!
Sunbutter contains much more vitamin E than peanut butter, and it's also full of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc!
More SunButter Recipes:
Looking for other recipes made with Sunbutter? Try these:
If you try this Sunflower Seed Cookie recipe, I’d really love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. I’d also really appreciate a recipe card rating! Thank you for supporting The All Natural Vegan!
Best Sunflower Seed Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Mixer
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- â…” cup Sunbutter No Sugar Added Sunflower Seed Butter
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoon water
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup gluten-free flour
- 2 tablespoon ground flax seed
- â…“ cup raw sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Begin by making the flax egg in a separate bowl by combining the ground flax seed with the water and setting it aside for 5-10 minutes. I like to use warm water because it speeds up the process slightly. Once the flax egg is ready, add it to a medium bowl with the remaining wet ingredients.
- Use an electric mixer (a hand mixer or stand mixer will both work)to whip all the wet ingredients together at medium-high speed. Once the mixture is fluffy, add the coconut sugar.
- Mix the coconut sugar in. You may see the natural oils from the Sunbutter and coconut butter begin to separate from the mixture. This is normal.
- Add the baking soda, cornstarch, and gluten-free flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until the dough forms one solid ball.
- Add the unsalted sunflower seeds and mix. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the sunflower seed cookies onto a prepared baking sheet (you can either use parchment paper or cooking spray on the baking sheet). Place in the oven to bake for 12-13 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Once done, remove from the baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Video
@theallnaturalvegan NEW! 🌟Sunflower Seed Cookies 🌟 Happy Monday friends! I’ve got the perfect delicious and allergen friendly cookie recipe for you guys today! These cookies feature my favorite @sunbutter no sugar added sunflower seed butter. I love using this Sunbutter for baking, because it has great flavor, super creamy texture, and it’s oil-free!! These cookies are perfectly soft and chewy, and made with simple and clean ingredients. This recipe is: vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and refined sugar-free! You can find the full recipe on my website: theallnaturalvegan.com Enjoy 💕 #vegancookies #veganbaking #veganrecipes #vegansweets #healthysweets #cleaneatingrecipe #nutfreevegan #nutfree #allergenfree #allergenfriendly #sunbutter #sunbuttercookies #sunflowercookies #sunflowerseeds #cookierecipe #cookiesofinstagram
♬ got 2 be real - sapphire
Food Safety:
It's always important to practice safe habits whenever in the kitchen.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
More Healthy Vegan Cookie Recipes:
Looking for more healthy vegan cookie recipes like these Sunflower Seed Cookies? Check out more of my recipes:
Holly
Delicious and easy to make We like these cookies as an afternoon snack. 😊
nancy
wow this sunflower seed cookie recipe is so healthy and satisfying! I could have this every day!
Rosanna
I made these when my vegan friend came over for coffee and we both adored them! Will definitely make again
kate
love these nut free cookies so much! i love the taste of sunflower seeds. they are so addiciting
Vaishali
These are delicious!! We have allergies in our house and for once, I could make a cookie recipe without any substitutions!
Andrea
these cookies turned out incredible! will definitely be making these again!