Raw Sunflower Seed Protein Balls
Sometimes you need a cookie. Well for me, I kind of need a stash of cookies. That said, I would rather have my cookies be full of nutrients, not empty calories. Almonds, sunflower seeds and cacao nibs are full of nutrients! And these little guys are great travelers so if you need something for your lunch, or car trip, pick them!
The cookies start with a base of sunflower almond butter (recipe to follow) and with the quick addition of oats, coconut sugar and cacao nibs, rolled into little spheres of delight. And did you know that there are studies that say that people who eat nuts every day tend to live longer? Check out Nuts May Extend Your Life over at one of my favorite sites, NutritionFacts.org.
These protein balls are high calorie and as you know, I am not one of those raw food people that promote pigging out on the desserts. As always, eat in moderation as a wonderful treat to your healthy diet. These do have a little coconut oil in them but a very small amount if you figure there is less than 1/12th of a tablespoon in each cookie.
Click the link in the recipe for our favorites. Don’t be afraid, they taste great and bring just the right amount of chocolate without all the other undesirable ingredients of chocolate chips.
Sunflower Almond Butter Cookies with Cacao Nibs
makes 20-24 cookies
- 2 cups almonds
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup raw oat flakes
- 1/2 + 1/4 cup coconut sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup cacao nibs
- small pinch Himalayan salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut butter (can omit and just 2 tablespoons water)
- Place almonds and sunflower seed in high-speed blender and blend until very smooth. Alternatively, make the nut-butter following the instructions here: Almond Butter
- Mix all ingredients together using 1/2 cup coconut sugar.
- Roll into balls and roll in remaining coconut sugar.
- Refrigerate to set.
Sonia wrote on February 17, 2016
Hi Susan,
I just made these and found the process both pleasurable and therapeutic. Thank you for the recipe! My coconut sugar melted swiftly after I rolled the balls in it, but yours seemed to stay on the surface beautifully like a golden coating. If you could share some tips on how to achieve this, I would be so happy! 🙂
Lyman Schley wrote on June 9, 2015
These look wonderful, I cannot wait to try this recipe. Your pictures are just gorgeous throughout your entire site too 🙂
Donetta Leinhart wrote on June 9, 2015
I just wanted to know how many balls this makes and how many calories per ball??
Susan wrote on June 9, 2015
Hi, Donetta, The recipe makes about 24 balls. I don’t publish nutritional information because unless you are having your food tested at a lab, the calorie and nutritional counts can be very off. If you want a guideline, there are many calorie counters on the web where you can put in the ingredients and they will give you an approximation. Cheers!
Shaun Altamirano wrote on June 2, 2015
Hi, I would love to make these but not sure what I can use to replace raw protein. I dont usually buy this kind of powder. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you so much.
Susan wrote on June 2, 2015
Hi, Shaun, There isn’t any protein powder in these so you don’t have to worry about replacing it! Cheers!
NinaHiss wrote on May 22, 2015
When a recipe such as this one calls for the almonds to be blended in a food processor, is this the same as almond meal? If this is the case, am I able to use almond meal, and what is the equivalent of almond meal that would be required to equal one cup of almonds in this recipe? Also, how many balls does this recipe make?
Susan wrote on May 24, 2015
Almond meal is a bit finer. 1 cup of almonds makes about 3/4 cup of ground almonds. Cheers!
Anna wrote on May 16, 2015
absolutely need to try this 🙂 yummy
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Marissa wrote on May 15, 2015
These looks so good! I always love having some healthy treats on hand, too.