These Chocolate Sunflower Butter Bars are a great treat for school lunch boxes! Made with allergy-friendly sunflower butter layered onto a chocolate granola bar and coated with a layer of chocolate — these are sure to be a hit with everyone!
Looking for more delicious, nut free and gluten free cookies? Try my favorite Vegan Oatmeal Cookies or these Raspberry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.
*This post is sponsored by SunButter, a sunflower seed spread perfect for allergy-safe baking and cooking! Thanks for supporting the brands that keep Sunkissed Kitchen running.
Contents
A Delicious Dark Chocolate and SunButter Layered Cookie Bar
There is nothing I love more than nut butter and dark chocolate. It’s my favorite snack (and let’s be honest – sometimes, breakfast!). And if it’s SunButter sunflower seed butter, even better!
These SunButter cookie bars were dreamt up years ago when I spread a layer of SunButter on a homemade granola bar. I knew that a layer of dark chocolate on top would make it even more heavenly.
Chewy chocolate granola bar + thick SunButter layer + a rich dark chocolate later = HEAVEN!
Seriously, these bars are a must try. They are lightly maple syrup sweetened and pack a serious healthy fat and protein punch from the SunButter.
You’ll need:
- The NEW Chocolate SunButter & No Sugar Added SunButter
- Rolled oats (both whole and some ground into a flour)
- Brown rice crisp cereal (any rice crisp cereal works, but check out this link if you need it to be certified gluten free).
- Maple Syrup (honey and date syrup work as subs)
- Coconut oil
- Coconut milk powder (not flour) – (this is optional. It thickens the SunButter layer without needing to add powdered sugar).
- Dark chocolate (the darker the better! We love these 88% bars from Equal Exchange)
Note: The Chocolate SunButter is a brand new product, and not available everywhere yet. You can order it directly from SunButter on their website! It’s so delicious, off a spoon, spread on fruit, or in recipes like these SunButter Cookie Bars!
How to Make Chocolate SunButter Cookie Bars
Step 1: First, in a small mixing bowl, add the chocolate SunButter, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Whisk until the ingredients form a smooth mixture.
Step 2: Next, mix your dry granola bar base ingredients together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Then, pour the chocolate SunButter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
Step 3: Press the chocolate granola bar layer into an 8×8 baking pan. I line my baking pan with parchment paper so these pop out to slice really easily. I also use a pastry roller to compress the layer and make it even (super hand kitchen tool to have around!).
Bake the granola bar layer for 10 minutes, then allow it to fully cool before topping it.
Step 4: In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the No Sugar Added SunButter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and coconut milk powder.
You can omit the coconut milk powder, but the SunButter layer will be a little softer (the bars won’t cut as cleanly). They will still be delicious!
Step 5: Spread the SunButter layer over the chocolate granola bar layer. Cover the baking dish and freeze for at least an hour. This is so the chocolate layer sets quickly and you can cut the bars after adding the chocolate layer.
Step 6: Melt the dark chocolate, and drizzle it over the frozen SunButter layer. Because the SunButter layer is cold, the chocolate will set in about 5 minutes. After the chocolate is set (but before it’s also frozen), cut the bars. If you freeze the chocolate layer, it will crack while cutting the bars.
Tips for Chocolate Sunflower Butter Bars
- These bars are best kept at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator (to keep the chocolate from melting!). The SunButter layer stays chewy when refrigerated.
- Freeze these bars by wrapping them in plastic or putting them in an air tight container, and storing them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Make it Gluten Free: All of my oatmeal baked goods recipes can be made gluten free by using Certified Gluten Free Oats. Brown rice cereal is always gluten free (that I have seen, at least!). Rice crispies do have gluten, so avoid using that as a sub if you need these bars to be strictly gluten free.
- Use other Nut Butter: I adore SunButter, so it’s my go-to when making nut/seed butter treats. You can sub almond butter or peanut butter if you’d like in the SunButter layer.
Other Delicious SunButter Cookie Recipes:
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Chocolate Sunflower Butter Bars
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie Layer
- 3/4 cup oats
- 3/4 cup brown rice crisp
- 1/4 cup oat flour home milled or store bought
- 1/4 cup Chocolate SunButter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Sunflower Butter Layer
- 3/4 cup SunButter No Sugar Added
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub honey)
- 1/3 cup coconut milk powder *not coconut flour
Chocolate Fudge Layer
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or 3 ounces of 88% dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment or baking paper.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the Chocolate SunButter, coconut oil, and maple syrup, and stir to form a smooth chocolate mixture.
- In a bowl, mix together the oats, brown rice crisp, and oat flour (this can be processed from whole oats in a blender, or store bought oat flour). Pour the chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
- Add the cookie mixture into the prepared pan, and either press down evenly with wet hands or by using a pastry roller (see link below recipe for details).
- Bake cookie layer for 12-14 minutes, then allow to cool.
- To make the SunButter layer, mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Layer the SunButter mixture over the cooled cookie layer. Place the baking dish in the freezer for at least an hour to chill the cookie bars.
- Melt the dark chocolate, and pour on top of the frozen SunButter layer. This will allow the chocolate to set in about 5 minutes. Cut the bars as the chocolate layer sets, before it freezes, to prevent the chocolate from cracking when slicing the bars.
- Store bars wrapped tightly (or in an air tight container) in the refrigerator or at a cool room temperature for up to a week, or longer in the freezer.
Video
Notes
- These bars are best kept at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator (to keep the chocolate from melting!). The SunButter layer stays chewy when refrigerated.
- Freeze these bars by wrapping them in plastic or putting them in an air tight container, and storing them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Make it Gluten Free: All of my oatmeal baked goods recipes can be made gluten free by using Certified Gluten Free Oats. Brown rice cereal is always gluten free (that I have seen, at least!). Rice crispies do have gluten, so avoid using that as a sub if you need these bars to be strictly gluten free.
- Use other Nut Butter: I adore SunButter, so it’s my go-to when making nut/seed butter treats. You can sub almond butter or peanut butter if you’d like in the SunButter layer.
Nutrition
Recommended for this Recipe
This handy pastry roller is less than $5, and is used weekly in my kitchen. It’s great for smoothing the tops of cookie bars, granola bars, and gluten free crusts.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small percentage of any purchases made.
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Hi , I don’t have chocolate sun butter, so can I add something to regular sun butter ? Thx
These Look yummy. Can’t wait to try.
I am pretty sure you’ve tried one or two!
Yummy! I’ve never used sunflower butter before but I’m definitely going to try now!
Sunflower butter is my fav 🙂 I’m allergic to peanuts, but people tell me sunflower butter is the closest nut butter to peanut.
These look so so tempting!! My 5 yr old would love to enjoy these after school too.. I can see her face!! Thanks for sharing this delightful recipe Michelle
They are delicious! I have to take a break from making them because I eat more of them than my son 🙂
Wow! Those sounds so healthy and look so delicious. Pinning and thanks!
Thanks Ginny– and vegan, too!
They sound delicious, I love dates and I bet the syrup tastes amazing.
They are Brian 🙂 I use date syrup in place of honey and maple syrup now– it’s a bit less sweet (which I like), and has that wonderful caramel flavor of dates.
If Xander approves, there is no way I wouldn’t. These look delicious!
Well, I hate to break it to you, but Xander approves of everything coated in chocolate! At least he will eat the really dark stuff 🙂 I don’t mind if he has a bit every day.
I don’t even have children but I STILL want these bars as their afternoon snack. OK, that didn’t make a lot of sense. The point is, I want those dang bars, HA!
I hear you, Christina! These are delicious. I am pretty sure I ate more of them myself than gave to my son 🙂
I love these! We have peanut contact allergies in the family. Can’t wait to make these for my niece and her family 🙂
That’s so nice to think about her Deanne! Peanut allergies are tough for kids 🙁 They get excluded from a lot of treats at events.
These bars are just the perfect kind of treat, Michelle! Can I use some other kind of butter instead of sunflower?
Absolutely Agness. Any kind of nut butter will work here– depending on the consistency of the butter, you might need to use more/less coconut flour. I would add half, let it sit for 5 minutes, and then decide if you want to add the rest or even a little more. You just want to thicken it enough that it will be more of a paste so it cuts well and is easier to bite into 🙂
I made this today and it is AMAZING!!
Thanks for letting me know, Josefine! We adore these.
Hi, could I sub milk powder for coconut milk powder? Because I can’t get coconut milk powder where I live (Bulgaria! ) Thank you