sunflower butter DIY : how to make your own sunflower butter! :

hey everybody!
did you see my post yesterday about making your own naan bread?
[we have been eating it everyday and its way good!]

today, i have another food DIY for you!
how to make your own sun[flower] butter.

why sun butter?
because its SO good for you! full of vitamin e and less fat than peanut & almond butter.
also, since you are grinding your own and in control of what goes in ; there is NO nasty stuff. no preservatives or unnecessary [hydrogenated] oils!

my dad grows a huge garden & this year, he planted TONS of sunflowers.
he gave us 4 of them & blake and i hand-shelled THOUSANDS [!] of sunflower seeds.

all you have to do is buy a bag at the grocery store [shoot for organic & in the bulk bins!] & buy a bag of seeds.

so far, i have made 3 batches of this butter & each is turning out better than the last.
they also keep disappearing ;)

how to make sunflower butter : 
[this makes a little more than a 1/2 pint ; depending on how often you taste-test ;)]
the directions are from this recipe // modifications are my own

what you need :
*a food processor! i have a high-powered blender & it didnt cut it. i went out and bought a 3-cup food processor that did the trick!*
*3 cups of sunflower seeds
*oil [to taste] [i added a couple of tablespoons]
*sugar [to taste]
*salt [to taste]
*raw [local, unprocessed] honey [to taste]
*coconut oil [i used a couple of tablespoons ; but YOU decide what you love]

how to do it : 
1) take 3 cups of sunflower seeds and toss them in a frying pan. lightly toast them on medium heat for 3-5 minutes [keep the seeds moving!] once you see a 'toasted' color ; you are good.
DO NOT BURN YOUR SEEDS!
2) add seeds to food processor with 1 teaspoon of salt + 1 teaspoon of sugar
3) grind. grind. grind. grind. you want a fine, powder-y consistency.
DO NOT ADD OIL YET! [seriously] continue to grind for another 8-12 minutes.
after 5-6 minutes, your powder will look a little more 'butter-y' ; but still in a powder.
after another 5-6 minutes, it should look a little less crumbly & more butter-y.
[my terms are totally scientific!]
4) add 1-2 teaspoons of raw honey and continue to process.
*dont like honey? no need to add it [but it tastes SO good]*
5) now its time to taste-test & experiment with flavors.
add in 1 tablespoon of oil & continue to blend. at this point, i also added 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
too bitter? add some sugar or honey.  too sweet? add a few pinches of salt.
keep playing around until you love it.
[you could even melt some dark chocolate & mix it in for more of a 'nutella-y' flavor]

we keep ours in a glass canning jar. butter should last a few weeks ; but we have never tried to keep it that long ;)

this was my first time making my own butters ; now i want to make almond & peanut butter. cashew butter, too.
have you done this before?
see you tomorrow!