The Best 4-Ingredient SunButter Cookies

By Debra Mitchell January 24, 2022 5 mins read 419 Views

These soft, chewy sunbutter cookies are made with just four simple ingredients and ready in 20 minutes!

You know those times when you want homemade cookies and you want them NOW?

You don’t want to mess around with softening butter or digging out the hand mixer.

You want simple and fast: one bowl, one spoon, and preferably soft, warm cookies in 20 minutes.

This is the perfect cookie for you! And even better, because they’re made with sunflower seed butter, they’re a safe sweet treat if you or someone in your house has a peanut allergy.

There are only four simple ingredients in this sunbutter cookie recipe:

SunButter: You can use either regular or no-sugar-added (they will obviously be slightly less sweet)
Brown Sugar: This gives the cookies a caramel-y flavor. But you can swap in white sugar or coconut sugar instead.
Oats: Instant oats work best for this, but you can also use old-fashioned.
Egg: Use a large egg for this recipe. You can swap in a flax egg. See the recipe card for instructions.

How to Make Easy SunButter Cookies

In a medium bowl, stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula (the cookie dough mixes easily, so no need for a hand mixer or food processor).

To get even, 1-inch balls of dough, I use a one-tablespoon cookie scoop. This is similar to the one I have and here is another scoop (affiliate links). The dough will be a little sticky, that’s okay! If it’s too sticky to handle, add an additional tablespoon or two of oats, stir well, and try again.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. These cookies don’t spread while baking, so there’s no need to space them very far apart.

Using a fork dipped in white sugar, make a criss-cross pattern on the top of the cookie, pressing down gently. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

The cookies will seem underdone when you take them out of the oven, but they’ll firm up as they cool. This is a soft cookie!

If you’d like, while they’re still warm on the cookie sheet, gently press a Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie.

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Once cooled, store these sunflower seed butter cookies in an airtight container and eat within a week days for best quality.

What is SunButter?

SunButter is a spread made from sunflower seeds. It’s free from the top allergens, including peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, and soy. Like nut butters, it’s a nutritious spread. In fact, it contains even more Vitamin E than peanut butter.

Where can I find SunButter?

You can find it in grocery stores alongside other nut butters. It’s available in a few different varieties, including creamy, crunchy, no added sugar, and chocolate.

Can I use nut butter instead?

Yes! You can swap in nut butters such as peanut butter or almond butter for the SunButter in this recipe if peanut allergies or tree nut allergies aren’t an issue. Here is my recipe for 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies.

Can I make these SunButter cookies vegan?

Yes, you can make these cookies without using the egg. As a substitute, use a flax egg. How to make a flax egg: Combine one tablespoon of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water, stir, and let it sit for at least five minutes to thicken. Use the mixture in place of the egg in this recipe.

Can I use maple syrup instead of brown sugar?

No, the batter will be too runny and won’t form well into balls. You can swap in white sugar or coconut sugar, if you’d like.

I’ve heard SunButter produces green cookies. True?

Sometimes–but not in this recipe! According to SunButter, a compound called chlorogenic acid in sunflower seeds can react with baking soda and baking powder and cause the baked goods to turn green when cooled (it’s harmless!). Because this recipe doesn’t call for baking soda or baking powder, it’s not an issue.

Are these SunButter cookies gluten free?

These sunflower butter cookies are gluten-free as long as you buy oats labeled “gluten free”. Oats do not naturally contain gluten but may have cross-contact with gluten if they’re processed in a facility or on equipment that also makes gluten-containing products. If you need to avoid gluten, look for oats labeled “gluten-free” such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Old-Fashioned Oats or Quaker Gluten-Free Quick Oats (affiliate links). SunButter is gluten-free.

Can you add chocolate chips to these cookies?

Sure! Instead of adding the Hershey’s Kiss, mix in a handful of chocolate chips to the batter.

The Best 4-Ingredient SunButter Cookies

Yield: 20 cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup SunButter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup instant oats
1 large egg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

2. In a medium bowl, stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon or spatula (the cookie dough mixes easily, so no need for a hand mixer).

3. Roll into 1-inch balls (I use a cookie scoop). Place on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. These cookies don’t spread while baking, so there’s no need to space them very far apart.

4. Using a fork dipped in white sugar, make a criss-cross pattern on the top of the cookie, pressing down gently. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone when you take them out of the oven, but they’ll firm up as they cool but remain soft).

5. If you’d like, while they’re still warm on the cookie sheet, gently press a Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Once cooled, store in an airtight container and eat within a week for best quality.

Notes

To make these cookies without using the egg: Combine one tablespoon of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water, stir, and let it sit for at least five minutes to thicken. Use the mixture in place of the egg in this recipe.

The Best 4-Ingredient SunButter Cookies