These no bake pumpkin sunflower butter bites are everything you crave in a quick, sweet, filling snack! They have just 5 ingredients and are super easy to make all in one bowl. They’re paleo with a vegan option and nut free, plus you can add raisins or dried cranberries depending on your mood.
I’m so excited to finally be sharing these tasty little bites, since I’ve been eating them pretty much every day for 2 weeks I think! Isn’t it awesome when you come across something that just works so well, tastes so good and is insanely easy to make?
Although these bites contain a good amount of pumpkin puree, the sunflower butter really wins here flavor wise, although the pumpkin contributes to a creamy dreamy texture that has a real smooth cookie dough quality to it.
They’re healthy and kid friendly, too. And by kid friendly I mean that kids will actually ask to have them as if they’re a junk food treat or a privilege. And, also, that they sort of remind me of play dough, although only by feel. Not flavor of course – these are SO much tastier than play doh. Even the fake cupcake play doh. Don’t tell me you’ve never tried it.
So, I’m in the process of looking back on old recipe posts and trying to either 1) take new, better pictures of them or 2) edit the so-so pictures to make them more presentable to do the recipe justice.
It’s sad when a really good recipe has an owner like me who couldn’t translate its dee-lish-ousness onto the screen. Plus, nobody pins food that looks like it’s already been eaten (unless it’s the perfect staged bite.) And, let’s be real – I want my food on Pinterest! I might be super slow and just realizing this, but I think I get it now.
Needless to say, this has been time consuming as heck. I’m basically in a cook, photograph, eat, edit mode lately, on top of everything else I need to do. When I set my mind on something I can be very impulsive and impatient, which is one reason I suck at photography to begin with.
I have a long ways to go to get where I want to be in this area (and every other area, but that’s like 5 other posts) but I’m happy that I’m taking steps to get there and taking my recipe creation more seriously. I used to throw things together, snap an iPhone picture and post about it.
Those were the days…when blogging was truly a hobby. Now, I want to feel good about people SEEING my blog and actually finding the food to appear appetizing.
Isn’t it interesting to look back on a blog and see your own growth, almost reliving it, with the knowledge of what comes next? It’s funny that while the parts of my life that feed the TOPICS of this blog – running and the paleo diet – have basically remained constant, I’ve watched many other things change as time has gone by.
Now don’t tell me that’s too heavy for a Pumpkin Sunflower Butter Bites recipe post! One of the beautiful parts of blogging (and writing in general) is how you never know when you’ll be hit with your own truth while writing a random post!
Pumpkin Sunflower Butter Bites {Paleo & Vegan}
No Bake Pumpkin Sunflower Butter Bites {Paleo & Vegan Option}
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree canned or homemade
- 2/3 cup sunflower seed butter*
- 3 tbsp raw honey - use pure maple syrup for vegan*
- 1/4 cup + 3-4 tbsp coconut flour
- Pinch salt
- Chopped dried cranberries or raisins
Instructions
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In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin, sunflower seed butter and honey or maple syrup and mix well until very smooth
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Add 1/4 cup of the coconut flour and mix, once combined, add a tbsp more at a time, slowly, until you get the consistency of a dough thick enough to roll into balls - do not go over 1/2 cup coconut flour total (I used 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp.)
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Stir in the chopped raisins or cranberries, roll into small balls and refrigerate to let them firm up a bit.
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Enjoy! Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Recipe Notes
* You can use any smooth nut butter of your choice, or a combination, if sunflower butter isn't your thing 🙂
* If you use maple syrup instead of honey, you will likely need that extra tbsp of coconut flour, but add slowly to get the right consistency.
If you have a blog, how do you feel looking back at old posts?
What was your biggest “ah-ha!” moment in blogging?
Do you vote dried cranberries or raisins?
I look back at old posts and realize how much I really had to say! Holy cripes I would fit so much into each of those things. I really needed to get some of that out! I definitely wish I had better pictures of my food, but then again, I don’t have the best pictures now. Which is a problem because I have a bunch of food and recipe type posts coming up. GAR
Same with me – it was like an endless diary entry with not much structure! And bad photos, half were upside down, I think!
I shutter looking back at old posts. I’ve actually deleted quite a few because they were so bad & reshot them. I’m slowly working on it. It breaks my heart that so many good recipes have been victim to it. Would like to hear some of your Pinterest tips. I need to get my pins up. You know I’m not a fan.
I’ve started replacing pictures of good recipes with terrible photos, but I still have tons of really ugly photos that will stay, I think, until I get around to doing each one! Pinterest is overwhelming but I’m finally posting to some group boards now and getting started.
These look delicious, and I love that they’re vegan!
Yup, thanks! And if you don’t do honey, pure maple syrup will work well 🙂
ugh, i’m redoing a lot of pics too and recipes. but thats okay, more to eat! and these look perfect!
I’m glad I’m not the only one doing this! Except with me I’ll likely have to do them over again once my skills improve. Your photos constantly impress me!
YUM! I have to admit that I’m not a huge pumpkin lover ( like it but don’t love it) but I love anything with nut butter. Oh and old posts? I cringe sometimes. But I respect that that’s where I was in life/blogging. If I posted recipes I might want to change photos from the beginning though.
The pumpkin creates texture here but the sunflower butter definitely flavors them 🙂 And I haven’t edited any posts but I do hope to get around to redoing pictures, so I can actually feel proud of these recipes!
I’m loving these short ingredient lists! I am with you on this whole photography deal… I’m way too impatient I just want to go eat my food. I don’t think I have yet to have my big “ah ha” blogging moment, but I am learning so much in my short experience from my many mistakes and other bloggers! Even with blogging as a hobby, I want my content to be the best it can be for my readers, but I’m sure there is even more pressure that come with doing it full-time. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll let you know when I make it!
I’ve had too many ah-ha moments I think! It’s a lot of learning, especially since I didn’t read a lot of blogs before starting so it feels new. I hope you make this – definitely let me know!
First of all, these look delicious and I’ll be trying them. And second, I am at the exact same point in my blogging “career” – it’s still a for fun thing for me, but I am trying to redo my recipe photos because now I’d like them to actually look as appealing as I know they taste good, and my photos were pretty bad at the beginning last winter…
Glad I’m not alone. It’s a lot of work though! As if I have time to cook more than I already do, plus then do “photoshoots” but I’m hoping to get there little by little.
When I look back at some of my old posts I shudder. It’s really quite scary. But it’s also kind of cool to see how much I’ve grown over the past (almost) 4 years. I really should try to go back and redo some of the food photos…But first I need to make these. YUM!
It’s a bit overwhelming to redo all the old photos! I might never get there, I’m starting with my favorite recipes and working down the list 🙂
These are my kind of bites! Yum!
They are good ones, and so easy!
Just a note to say I love your ramblings and enjoy that when you post a recipe it’s not JUST the recipe, it’s also a blog post. Insight into others’ ways of thinking that mirrors my own mania is always comforting 🙂 Thanks!
Thanks Amanda! Love that you get my thinking, makes me feel good too!