Bake up a batch of our chewy Sunflower Seed Cookies. They’re perfect as an afternoon snack and great for breakfast, too.
Cookies are truly a feel-good food. For many, they bring back fond childhood memories, whether they were a staple in your lunchbox or the after-school treat your mom had ready for you with a big glass of milk when you walked in. That’s why nothing brings back that sense of nostalgia as much as baking up a batch of chewy and delicious homemade cookies. As the house fills with the irresistible aroma of butter and sugar, you might just find yourself thinking back to the good ol’ days.
While we all love the classics, such as chocolate chip, oatmeal, or peanut butter cookies, chances are we’ve experimented with other recipes. Around the holidays, for example, cookies with cranberries and white chocolate have become a favorite at my house, and when Valentine’s Day rolls around, we love making heart-shaped shortbread cookies sandwiched with raspberry buttercream. Of course, we also enjoy making healthier cookies with whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Made with fiber-rich oats and sunflower seeds, these delightful cookies fall somewhere in the middle between indulgent and wholesome. They make the perfect snack with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee, but I also wouldn’t hesitate to serve a few alongside a nutritious smoothie for breakfast. Like all great cookie recipes, this one also lends itself to myriad delicious variations.
Sunflower seed cookies your way
If you want to make these cookies a little more wholesome, go ahead and use whole-wheat flour instead of the all-purpose flour. You can also make them vegan-friendly by using plant-based butter and replacing the eggs with two flax “eggs.” For each egg, you’ll need to mix one tablespoon of ground flaxseed with three tablespoons of water. Let this stand for 10 minutes until it takes on a gel-like consistency, and use it instead of the eggs.
If desired, you can add a half cup of dried fruit along with the sunflower seeds. Cranberries, raisins, and dried cherries will all work well in this recipe. For extra flavor, stir in some warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger, or nutmeg.
How do I store leftovers?
Transfer the cookies to an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. For longer storage, flash-freeze them on a baking tray for 1 hour before transferring them to a Ziploc bag and freezing them for up to 3 months.
Serving suggestions
These cookies make a lovely afternoon treat with a glass of Oat Milk or a Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Spice Latte. On a snowy day, they’ll go down a treat with our Rich And Creamy Hot Chocolate. If serving them for breakfast, try them with a refreshing Mixed Berry Smoothie or one of our three Almond Milk Smoothies.
Sunflower Seed Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, mix the butter and brown sugar well.
- Add the eggs one at a time while the machine continues to run. Add the vanilla.
- Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Mix until fully combined.
- Stir in the sunflower seeds.
- Using an ice cream scoop, transfer mounds of the dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them out a little. Flatten them down a bit with your hand or the back of a spoon.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely, approximately 30 minutes.
They are good but both to make mixing easier and to make the sunflower seed oil taste less dominant, I’d only put a cup of seeds in
Thanks for the tip Richard and glad you like it!
My husband and I both like them. I cut back on the sunflower seeds as suggested in another comment and also cut back a bit on salt since I used salted sunflower seeds. I didn’t have quite enough brown sugar so I supplemented with white sugar. I’d make them again, and might substitute flax seeds for the eggs to make it a vegan recipe.
I would probably use a smaller sized scoop since they were really big.
Sounds like you made some great tweaks! Using flax seeds instead of eggs should work well for a vegan version, and a smaller scoop will definitely help with portion size. Let me know how the next batch turns out! 😊