Flourless Sunflower Butter Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Here’s the story of how these flourless sunflower butter chocolate chunk blondies came to be.
One day, I ordered some bulk raw sunflower seeds online. But, when the order arrived, I realized that instead of ordering five pounds of seeds, I had accidentally ordered twenty-five pounds. Yes, that’s correct, I now had TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS OF NON-RETURNABLE SUNFLOWER SEEDS on my hands. And who has room to hold TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS OF SUNFLOWER SEEDS in their pantry?!
So. That’s when I started playing around with all types of sunflower seed recipes. First, I made batches and batches of sunflower seed butter for family and friends (think sunflower seeds, maple syrup, a lil vanilla, a little cinnamon, a lot of yum). And then, I started testing desserts made with a sunflower seed base.
My very first sunflower butter dessert enterprise was, what do you know, sunflower butter blondies.
And that, my friends, is the story of how these flourless sunflower butter chocolate chunk blondies came to be.
The main ingredient in these flourless blondies is sunflower seeds. And by main, I mean there are a grand total of six ingredients in these blondies, including the chocolate chunks, and the sunflower seeds are the foremost component.
As mentioned, these sunflower butter blondies are flourless; there is absolutely NO FLOUR in these blondies. The sunflower seeds act as both the flour AND the butter in this dessert.
What you’re gonna do is take your sunflower seeds and grind them up in your food processor until they become smooth and buttery. And, alas, you have created sunflower seed butter!
Then. The rest of the blondie ingredients — sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, chocolate chunks — are added into your machine and your blondie mixture is complete.
If you’re into very rich and dense and gooey blondies, I’ll venture to guess that you’ll be into these flourless sunflower blondies.
These chocolate chunk blondies are soooooo soft and dense and rich and gooey. Remember — no flour. Which means no cakiness. Whatsoever.
All you’re getting here is a super quick and easy blondie that’s gluten-free and dairy-free and fairly wholesome (lotsa healthy fats), especially if you use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, which you most certainly can do with great results.
These sunflower butter blondies are rich and indulgent and filling and comforting.
The sunflower butter adds a distinct and special flavor that’s deep and nutty and rich. The chocolate chunks melt into little pools of hot chocolatey heaven. And each bite is melt-in-your-mouth and amazing.
Oh. Last thing. I also love to add a sprinkling of flaky salt to the blondies before I bake them. That contrast of the sweet, deep, nutty flavor of the blondies and the rich, dark, melty chocolate chunks with the flaky salt is diviiiiiine.
Soft and gooey. Rich and dense. Quick and easy. Dairy-free and gluten-free. Filling and indulgent. Nutty and chocolatey.
Flourless sunflower butter chocolate chunk blondies — you, me, tea, now.
Flourless Sunflower Butter Chocolate Chunk Blondies
Yield: 16-20 blondies
2 generous cups raw sunflower seeds
1 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chunks
-Flaky salt, for sprinkling (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8” square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some excess hanging over the rim for easy removal later.
2. In a food processor, blend the sunflower seeds for a few minutes until mixture is smooth and buttery, scraping down sides periodically. Add in sugar and blend till smooth.
3. Add in eggs, vanilla extract, and salt and blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate chunks by hand last.
4. Spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with some more chocolate chunks and flaky salt, if desired. Bake for 23-27 minutes, until edges are golden but center is still slightly under baked. Let cool before lifting from pan by excess parchment paper and slicing into blondies of desired size.
