SUNBUTTER SQUARES
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If you are looking for an easy vegan and healthy treat to have in your home or pack in a lunch box, this is it!
These no-bake, vegan, sunflower butter squares have been everyone's favorite treat around the house. They are a great healthy choice for a snack or dessert that won't give you that sugar crash but leave you feeling satisfied. The best part is how easy they are to make- only five ingredients and no baking involved allows you to store the squares in the fridge for a week or in the refrigerator for as long as you'd like!
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Not only are these Sunbutter Squares delicious, they have quite the nutritional value.
Sunflower Butter, the star of this recipe, is specifically great for it's high mineral and vitamin content (iron, magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, phosphorus, vitamin E) compared to other butter such as peanut or almond. These vitamins and minerals aid the absorption of the healthy fats. The healthy (unsaturated) fats aid in hormone balancing, absorption of nutrients and delivery of vitamins throughout the body.
To pair with the healthy fats, sunflower seed butter contains high amounts of vitamin E which is great for maintaining healthy and youthful skin and acts as a powerful antioxidant to boost immunity and balance cholesterol. Only one tablespoon of sunflower butter contains approximately 24% of your body's daily need for vitamin E. Sunflower seed butter contains loads of magnesium, an important mineral to maintain high energy levels, relieve cramps, relaxing the body and aiding in restful sleep. And as an extra bonus, this butter contains approximately 7 grams of protein for 2 tablespoon. As a plant based dieter, it never hurts to get some protein in!
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INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Sunflower Butter - unsweetened, no added oils
1/2 cup Crunchy Almond Butter - CAN BE SUBBED FOR SUNFLOWER BUTTER.
1/3 cup (or 6 tbsp.) Coconut Sugar
1/2 cup Coconut Flour
1 cup Vegan Dark Chocolate Chips/ cut up chocolate bar. I used half a cup of "completely cocoa" chips from trader joes which are 100% cocoa and have a bitter, non sweet flavor, and half a cup of lily's brand dark chocolate baking chips which sweetened with stevia. This mix made the dark chocolate layer rich yet sweet enough with a low sugar content that is all natural.
1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt
Optional: 2 tbsp. organic honey / maple syrup and a handful of almond flakes.
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DIRECTIONS:
Prepare an 8 by 8 inch pan with parchment paper.
01. In a large bowl, mix 1 cup sunflower butter, coconut flour coconut sugar and sea salt. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly combined. Transfer to the prepared pan, and spread out the mixture so it's an even layer to every edge of the pan.
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*Optional step: drizzle some honey in horizontal lines for a little extra sweetness and texture* Now place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
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02. While your first mixture is cooling and becoming a fudgy-like square, prepare your chocolate layer. Combine the 1/2 cup almond butter (or other 1/2 cup sunflower butter) and chocolate chips, mix and microwave for 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring in between until the chips are all melted.
03. Once the mixture is smooth, pour into the pan on top of your layer of (now solid) sunflower butter mixture. Evenly spread and place the whole thing in the freezer for 45 minutes! Before you place is in the freezer you can add more honey drizzle and some crushed almond flakes and chocolate chunks to the top if you'd like as I did for mine. Not a must, but I highly recommend it :)
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After taking it out the freezer you can take the out and enjoy at room temperature for a few hours, if longer than that I suggest leaving them in the fridge to avoid fully softening the butter, or you can save them in the freezer if you plan on eating them over days/weeks and take them out 5-10 minutes before enjoying it.
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