I've never had the store-made stuff, but I had a huge bag of plain, shelled sunflower seeds to use up (and I'm not a huge fan of them). In 20 minutes and for under $3.00, I was able to make 2 1/2 jars and this stuff is absolutely delicious! So, I thought I'd share with you guys. This is especially interesting for those with nut allergies. It looks like a lot of work, but that's just because I've been very voluble in my explanations.
If you have a food processor, this process will be a lot easier and you can make it all in one batch. However, all I have is a picky Magic Bullet - never fear though, I have a couple tricks that work great!
Use can use whatever oil you choose. The amount will depend on whether your oil firms up when cooled (ex. coconut, olive) or not and how thick you want your spread to be. I used about 2/3 hemp oil, and 1/3 coconut oil (when unrefined it's actually good for you). All amounts are approximate.
Here's what you'll need:
- Food processor or blender (with the curved blade attachement, not the flat)
- 4 cups of sunflower seeds
- Sweetener (I used powdered stevia, 1 packet)
- Salt
- 3-5 tbsp Oil
- Cookie sheet
- An oven
- Jars or containers
- Spatula (to scrape down the sides)
Instructions:
First, you'll want to toast your sunflower seeds. Start by spreading your seeds on the cookie sheet. I used my toaster oven with I set to the highest temperature on the 'toast' setting. And roasted, 2 cups at a time, for six minutes each. If using a regular oven, you can put all your seeds at once on a larger sheet and set the oven on 'broil'. You'll want to watch the seeds closely to make sure they don't burn. They need to start browning but not completely as they with be too dry.
In my Magic Bullet, I made this in two batches, you'll want to do the same with a blender. For a food processor, it all depends on the size of your recipient. Add the seeds while they are still hot (this will keep your oils more liquid and facilitate processing), and 3-4 tbsp of oil, whatever is needed to make a nice liquid consistency. So, start the blending process. It will be a little more difficult at first, listen to your appliance, it will tell you when it needs to be stirred. When necessary, scrape the sides down. For the Magic Bullet, they recommend to not run the motor for more than 1 minute at a time, so I stopped and stirred every minute. It takes about 2-3 minutes to start blending smoothly. At this point, you'll want to continue blending another 2-3 minutes until nice and smooth. There shouldn't really be any need to hand stir at this point, though running a spoon through once in a while to remove any air bubbles can help. At this point, your sunbutter should have the consistency of pancake batter.
Transfer most of your butter to a bowl of cup, leaving a little at the bottom. Roast the remainder of your seeds and place in your blender (while hot). Pour the prepared butter over top and wiggle the recipient a little to make it go down. For this batch, your prepared sunbutter will do what the oil did in the previous batch: facilitate the processing. Proceed as before, blending and stirring. Add more oil if necessary. Season with salt and sugar to taste. Keep on blending until it is once again nice and smooth. It should now have the consistency of cake batter.
Pour into your jars and allow to cool at room temperature before placing the lid and refrigerating or freezing. Your sunbutter will firm up as it cools, how much depends on the type of oil you used (I found mine was the perfect consistency with about 3 tbsp liquid oil and 2 tbsp solid). Voilà, you're done! Spread on some toast or sandwich, use in your baking or smoothies, as a dip for fruit or veggies, or just eat by the spoonful.
I hope this has been helpful for someone. Let me know what you think if you do try this out!
