Sunflower Cocoa Mounds

Healthy sunflower cocoa mounds or peanut butter mounds, whichever nut or seed butter meets your needs. You’ll want these tasty cookies on hand for snacks and or desserts. They’re handy to grab before or after a workout, too. I’ve even had a couple of these cookies with breakfast many times.

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Sunflower seed butter is a fantastic alternative to peanut butter.  SunButter is the brand I use most often.

These nut butters would also be fun and delicious in this recipe:

• Almond butter
• Cashew butter
• NuttZo butter

Sunflower Cocoa mounds are made with a handful of basic ingredients and are not loaded with unhealthy fats. You could add 1/4 teaspoon of instant coffee for an extra flavor kick. Coffee enhances the chocolate flavor. A little instant coffee is always an option when baking with chocolate.

Make sure to use unsweetened applesauce in this recipe. It can be with or without cinnamon. I used cinnamon-flavored applesauce. If you don’t have cinnamon-flavored applesauce, add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dough.

To Make Sunflower Cocoa Mounds You Will Need These Ingredients:

• Sunflower seed butter: I used SunButter ~ use any nut or seed butter you prefer
• Bananas ~ just barely ripe for Low FODMAP
• Honey or pure maple syrup
• Unsweetened cinnamon flavored applesauce ~ adding cinnamon is another option
• Cocoa
• Old-fashioned oatmeal ~ gluten-free if needed
• Vanilla extract
• Semi-sweet mini chocolate chips ~ regular is fine, too, or some of both. I used allergy-friendly Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.
• Unsweetened coconut
• Optional instant coffee

This is a simple cookie mixed up in one bowl with ingredients you probably already have. It’s a fail-proof recipe your kids can help make, too, which means double the fun in the kitchen!

When I make the peanut butter version of these cookies, I like to drizzle warm peanut butter over the top. I use regular peanut butter warmed up a few seconds in the microwave. When it cools, it will firm up just like melted chocolate does.

Here is another easy sunflower seed butter recipe to make with no oven required: Sunflower Energy Balls.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Sunflower Cocoa Mounds

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 30 minute recipe, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, gluten-free cookies, SunButter, sunflower seed butter

Author: Mary Krick

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Sunflower seed butter ~ or use any nut or seed butter
• 3 Spotted bananas ~ barely ripe for Low FODMAP
• 1/4 cup Honey or pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup Unsweetened cinnamon applesauce ~ or add 1/4 tsp of cinnamon to regular flavored applesauce
• 1/4 cup Cocoa powder
• 2 cups Old-fashioned oatmeal ~ gluten-free if needed
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips ~ I used Enjoy Life allergy-friendly brand
• 2 tbsp Unsweetened coconut
• *1/4 tsp instant coffee ~ optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner
• Mash bananas and add everything in a large mixing bowl.
• Mix to thoroughly combine.
• Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.
• Drop 2 tablespoons of dough onto the prepared cookie sheet.
• Add 3-4 mini chocolate chips on top before baking if desired.
• Bake for 11 minutes.
• Let cookies rest for a few minutes before transferring them to a cookie sheet.

Notes

**When I make the peanut butter version of these cookies, I like to drizzle warm peanut butter over the top. I use regular peanut butter warmed up a few seconds in the microwave. When it cools, it will firm up just like melted chocolate does.