Sunflower Seed Butter

 



Are you on a Paleo diet?  Want to control what goes into your food?  Are your kids not allowed to take peanut products to school but won't eat anything but peanut butter for lunch?  If any of these sound like you then this recipe is for you.  Good for you butter that has no allergens and taste remarkably like natural peanut butter.  This is a very simple recipe that uses only 3 or 4 ingredient and that you can tailor to your own liking. 

There are so many things you can do with the final product.  Spread it on bread (nonpaleo).  Make crackers from almond powder and sesame seeds and use it on those.  Use it for a dip on veggies.  Add it to shakes for more good for you fats and some great flavor.  You can even be like the tribal chief and mix it with avocado for a really nice creamy dip or spread.  The uses are endless..

Ingredients

500 grams           Sunflower Seeds without the hull

1-2 Tbsp             Olive oil
1-2 tsp                Honey
salt to taste

Directions

• Heat a large frying pan over medium heat 
• Add sunflower seeds and toast lightly 
• Place toasted seeds into a food processor
• Process seeds until they have formed a thick paste
• Add honey and process a little more until it forms a big sticky ball 
• At this point start adding your oil a little at a time making sure to process a bit after each addition 
• Add oil until the butter has reached the desired consistency 

Once finished place in an air tight container and enjoy!! 
Now, there are two schools of thought on how to store this.  Some say keep it in the refrigerator, others say you don't have to.  I will leave it up to you to decide how you want to store it.  I'm sure it will last longer in the fridge.  Personally, I didn't put it in the fridge this time, but probably will next time as we aren't eating our as quickly as I thought we would.

Just a note...  This process is all about patience.  With my processor it takes about 10-15 minutes to reach the stage where I add the honey. Then another minute or two until I start adding oil.  Do NOT add oil to soon or you won't get a creamy consistency as the final product.  Also, do not buy already toasted seeds, they won't work right because they don't have enough oil in them after the commercial toasting process.  Also, if you buys seeds that are already salted, omit salt from recipe.  You can add as much honey as you desire but if you are Paleo or watching your weight try to keep it to a minimum.

When processing, you may have to stop and scrape the side of the bowl occasionally.  Personally, I just hold the processor tight and shake it..  However, I don't recommend this as it probably is not safe  =). 

(As a side note, I have pictures of the process that I will post in the near future..  Just haven't gotten there yet.)