Paleo Chocolate Chip and Fig Sunbutter Muffins

Last week, after climbing, we sat in the car debating where to eat, when this place came up on Yelp: mmm...Coffee Paleo Bistro. Decision made! It's rare enough to find a paleo-friendly restaurant, let alone something with a strictly paleo menu.

Mmm...Coffee Paleo Bistro is a small cafe that serves only paleo goodies. It's disguised as a coffee shop, but dishes up grain-free everything, from muffins to brownies and granola. My eyes grew three sizes when I saw the muffins in their pastry case. Those are paleo too?! I asked, already knowing the answer. They were tall, golden muffins that overflowed from their muffins cups the way muffins do in any coffee shop. The owner of the bistro confirmed: paleo. 

After splitting a muffin for dessert, I knew that it was game time: go home and recreate these muffins. Puffy and oversized. Soft, sturdy, and a bit nutty. I began searching for recipes for sunflower seed butter muffins as soon as I had a decent internet connection. I knew that mmm...Coffee's version used flax, but I prefer to bake with eggs and figured I'd give it a shot. Want a close up of what had me so excited? The texture of these muffins is just so... muffin-y, in a way that most paleo muffs fall short. See:

Since these muffins are made of primarily sunflower butter, they're high in protein--sunflower seeds are higher in protein than most other common nuts and seeds. Sunflower butter has an addicting peanut butter-like taste to it, so it pairs well with fruit flavors (like figs!) and chocolate. I've been day dreaming about a PB&J version of these muffins, too! 

Paleo Chocolate Chip and Fig Sunbutter Muffins

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegan   |       

Yields: 6   |    Total Time:



Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sunflower seed butter AKA "sunbutter" (NOTE: if you use homemade sunflower seed butter, your muffins may turn a slight green color as they cool. This is due to a naturally occurring and edible nutrient in plants called chlorogenic acid.
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt (skip this if you are using salted sunbutter)
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped dried figs (roughly 7 figs)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
  2. In a food processor or blender, combine the sunbutter, bananas, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Puree until smooth.
  3. Fold in the chocolate chips and figs until evenly distributed. Spoon the batter into the muffin liners until they are about 3/4 of the way full.
  4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

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