Sunflower Seed Butter & Jam Bars

I know I promised you a post dedicated to cherries when they are in season, and I will stay true to my word, but a sudden urge for homemade jam got me thinking I can't wait until summer, so I made an executive decision and recruited those sweet little gems a few months ahead of time. And I'm sure glad I did. They bring these seed butter bars to life, enhancing them with vibrant colors and rich flavors. This cherry jam is out of this world! As I took my first spine-tinging bite, I immediately imagined all sorts of ways this stuff can be used. Spread it on your sandwich the way raspberry jam is haphazardly positioned onto a Monte Cristo, or add it to your pizza with some goat cheese and garlic cloves. The possibilities are endless. Make extra (double or triple the recipe) and keep it in your fridge for a few days. 

Before I begin rambling on about how very similar these Sunflower Seed Butter Bars are to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, let me first say that licking the bowl before cleaning the dishes is an essential step in this process. While waiting for the jam to finish cooking, I decided to test the seed butter batter for sweetness. That stuff is potent and addictive and too good to be true. Part of me wanted to put the bars on hold for another day and turn the dough into dinner. After several taste tests, I opted to stay focused and finish the task at hand, which produced a seed butter bar that gives the traditional PB&J a run for its money. For this recipe, I have used sunflower seed butter, which is a great substitute for peanut butter. You won't even notice the difference. You can also use almond or hazelnut butter. 

Sunflower Seed Butter and Jam Bars

Homemade Cherry Jam

2 cups cherries, fresh or frozen (thawed), pitless

1/4 cup raw honey

juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Place fresh or thawed cherries into a medium size saucepan and mash with a fork until flattened and slightly chopped. Turn heat onto low and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

2. After 10 minutes of simmering and stirring, add honey and lemon juice.

3. Cook at a simmer for 5-10 more minutes, stirring often. I cooked mine about 20 minutes total. You want your jam to slightly thicken while cooking. I tested mine by dipping a spoon into the jam and letting it sit out at room temperature for a couple of minutes. If you feel it has thickened to a near jelly-like texture, it is ready. It will thicken a bit more once you remove it from stovetop and it cools.

Seed Butter Bars

1 tbs. chia seed meal (ground chia seeds)

3 tbs. warm water

1 3/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup coconut sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup sunflower seed butter

1/2 cup coconut spread or coconut oil, softened to room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix chia seed meal into a small bowl with warm water and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix together almond flour, coconut sugar, salt, and baking soda.

4. In separate bowl, combine sunflower seed butter, coconut spread, vanilla, and chia seed mixture. Pour this delicious (go ahead and try it out for yourself) batter into the flour mixture and stir until well combined.

5. Press about 3/4 of the batter onto bottom of 8x8 baking dish. Spread jam evenly on top of dough. Use the rest of the dough as topping by crumbling it into tiny pieces and sprinkling it over jam. Bake for 15-20 minutes in oven.

6. Let cool. I sat mine out for about an hour before I cut into it.

Comments

[Nancy]

Wow, these bars look fantastic! I feel a kindred baking spirit here -- coconut sugar and almond flour go into nearly everything I bake. (I'm also giggling right now because I just noticed your grocery list, and mine is practically identical. Love!)

[a farmer in the dell]

These bars and screaming my name!!! Love the homemade cherry jam recipe. I am craving summertime, but these bars will have to tide me over!!

[sherry]

Looks and sounds yummy! Gonna make tonight!

[Sherry]

OMG!! These are soooo good. My 11 yr old son LOVES them! Thank you so much!!

[Pure and Simple]

Sherry, I am SO happy to hear it! I'm even happier knowing that your 11-year old liked them. I think that is usually the most challenging test to pass. Those bars lasted only 24 hours around here...thanks to the help of a 5 year old. Thank you so much for giving me feedback. I really appreciate it.

[Miche]

These look amazing! One of my favorite recipes to make before I began eating vegan was Ina Garten's PB & J bars. This looks like it will need to step in to replace those! I'll have to experiment with swapping the honey out with something else -- maybe brown rice syrup or maple. I love you photos also, they are always so beautiful :)

[Pure and Simple]

Thank you, Miche. I think either syrup you mentioned would be a great substitute in this recipe. These bars are my FAVORITE up to this point. So satisfying.

[Vicky]

I LOVE your recipes! I'm pinning away!

[Pure and Simple]

Yay! Thanks, Vicky.