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It’s no secret I am nuts for nuts. Peanuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, you name it…I eat them. Clearly nuts make a pretty frequent appearance in my recipes in their various forms. But I realize that not everyone is as fortunate to be able to or has the desire to eat nuts. Having a nut allergy must suck not only for the obvious reason that you can’t eat them, but also because obnoxious people like me eat them and talk about them incessantly. I don’t blame you for hating me!
Many people with nut allergies and intolerances opt to replace recipes with nuts with their closely related cousin, seeds. I am also a big lover of seeds believe it or not. In fact pumpkin seed butter may be up there as my favourite nut/seed butter (behind PB & pistachio butter of course). I’ll be honest, I was not blown away by sunflower butter the first time I tried it. Note to self, don’t try making it with salted sunflower seeds. It will taste well…salty. I did however start experimenting and found I came to enjoy it with a bit of added cinnamon and vanilla extract. If you are interested in making your own I usually add 2 cups of sunflower seeds, 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of vanilla extract to a food processor and within 5 mins have sunflower seed butter. For this recipe feel free to make your own or use store-bought. If you are making your own, no need to add the additional cinnamon and vanilla extract the recipe calls for.
Since I was in an experimenting mood I thought I would make another interesting substitution. Instead of using cocoa as I normally would I replaced it with unsweetened carob powder. I tried carob chips (similar to chocolate chips) for the first time a few years back in Israel. I immediately loved them. They taste like chocolate with a bit more of an earthy, almost caramel flavour. Carob is part of the legume family that comes from the carob tree. In addition to its awesome taste, carob packs a serious nutritional punch:
-Good source of fibre
-Contains many B vitamins, vitamin A, and many minerals including calcium, magnesium and potassium
-compared to chocolate it is 1/3 less calories and 17x less fat
-It does not contain caffeine
-In chip or bar form less sugar is added because carob is naturally sweeter
Clearly this stuff is pretty awesome. But if you’re more of the chocolate type feel free to just use cocoa powder. I hope this is a recipe that everyone can enjoy!
Sunflower Butter Carob Bites
Prep Time: 15 mins
Keywords: no-bake dessert snack sugar-free nut-free gluten-free dairy-free carob
Ingredients (Yields: 12 balls)
- For the sunflower seed butter center:
- 1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seed butter
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 T coconut flour
- 2 T apple sauce
- 6 drops liquid stevia
- For the carob coating:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened carob powder
- 4 T melted coconut oil
- 6-10 drops liquid stevia
Instructions
1. Mix together all ingredients of the sunflower seed butter center and roll into balls. Set aside
2. Combine carob powder, coconut oil and stevia.
3. Drop balls into carob mixture and coat.
4. Remove from mixture and place on a parchment-lined plate or sheet.
5. Place balls in freezer to set for at least 20 mins.
6. Keep in fridge or freezer.
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Do you have a nut allergy? How do you manage? Have you ever tried carob?
I adore sunflower butter and only wish I would have discovered it sooner in life.
These are really impressive and look delicious! The perfect vegan treat!
Thanks Sarah! I wish I hadn’t written it off initially…glad SSB made a comeback!
Yum! I am slightly scared I will eat the whole batch if I make these!
I would tell you not to be scared but I basically just polished off the batch in a day…worse things have happened right?!?!
THESE LOOK SO AMAZING… And they also look really easy to OVER EAT! LOL!!!!! 😉 I want like 10 right now!
Wow I could go for these right now!!! I don’t think I have any nut allergies – I love nuts! And carob too is so ridiculously delicious 🙂
If I didn’t polish off the last one from the freezer I’d be shipping them your way!
Just pinned this recipe. These bites look delicious. I’ve tried carob and really enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of nuts and nut butters too! Thank goodness I don’t have a nut allergy 🙂
Thanks Alex! Ahhhh finally someone who has tried carob! Everyone keeps asking what it is lol
I’ve never tried sunflower butter but these balls look fantastic. Fortunately I don’t suffer from any allergies (at least none that I am aware of) which is a good thing especially in terms of nuts- I eat a looot of almonds and peanut butter daily ;)!
I know!!! Thank goodness I’m not allergic. I live off almonds and peanut butter!
I have not had both these things – will need to get my hands on them!!!
I love sunflower seed butter, although I must be honest and admit that the only kind I tried was the one from Trader Joe’s. Have you tried that one?
I also never tried carob, but it reminds me of a really dark chocolate.
Yup! Definitely like the TJs brand! Try to find some carob when you can. It has such an interesting taste, would love to hear your thoughts!
YUM! I want these right now! ive never even heard of sunflower seed butter before, but now im so intrigued- i want to make it! how do you always know about the coolest stuff??
I actually go to health food stores for inspiration..I’m a total freak!
I can’t imagine what this would taste like, but I really love that you posted a nut free recipe! I’m allergic to peanuts, and I always try to figure out how I can substitute the (or peanut butter) in some of the delicious recipes I see around the blogosphere.
Where would one find carob powder?
I get it at the bulk barn in Toronto but my guess is that Whole Foods or a health food store would likely carry it. Sunflower seed butter is actually an awesome replacement for peanuts in recipes! Trader Joe’s has great sunflower seed butter.