Do you need an allergy-friendly dessert that the entire family can enjoy?
It’s always fun in our house when we discover new recipes that are delicious and allergy-friendly. This particular one has been adapted to be completely Egg-, Gluten-, and Nut-Free.
My daughter and I enjoy baking together. I love her smile and cheer when she takes that first bite. This recipe is a winner, and she has already asked me to make it again.
One thing I love about these bars is that the longer they sat and cooled, the better they tasted–even days later! The banana helps keep them moist. In other words, make them ahead of time, and enjoy all week!
Here at MOMables™, we try not to endorse certain brands of food, and when we do, we feel it’s important to disclose this to you.
However, we realize when it comes to food allergies, it can be difficult to find products that are safe for all our needs. For this recipe, we used King Arthur Flour Gluten Free yellow cake mix. It is made in a Top-8 allergy-free facility. The same goes for the chocolate chips and sunflower seed spread: EnjoyLife brand is free of the Top-8 allergens, and SunButter is the preferred Peanut Butter alternative for my family. It’s gluten-, nut-, dairy-, and egg-free as well as being vegan and kosher.
PrintAllergy-Friendly Monkey Bars
SunButter Banana Chocolate Bars – Egg-, Gluten-, & Nut-Free
- Yield: 16
- Cuisine: Baking
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow GF cake mix (or regular if you can tolerate)
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup creamy Sunflower Seed Spread (or other PB alternative spread)
- 1 medium-large ripe banana, mashed
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- 1 14–ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F, and coat an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, melted butter, sunflower seed spread, and banana. Mix.
- Spread evenly into your baking dish, reserving 1 cup of the mix for the topping.
- On your stovetop, in a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate chips (reserving a few chips for the topping), condensed milk, and butter. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the chocolate mix over your cake mix already in the bottom of your baking dish.
- Taking tablespoons of the remaining cake mix, evenly drop spoonfuls over the chocolate mix, creating a nice topping.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, and sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips evenly on the top. Cool completely before cutting.
Julie
Sunbutter is really easy to make! I make my own all the time in my Vitamix using about 2 cups roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds from Trader Joes, a couple TBSP of coconut or avocado oil (olive oil is pretty strong) and about one and a half tsp salt. I don’t sweeten mine because I like it more salty than sweet. It’s delicious and so much cheaper than the store brands! You could use a food processor or a ninja blender too. These monkey bars look so yummy, I’ll be making them this weekend!
MOMables
so glad you are making these with your own sunflower seed butter!
Karen
So if we have no but allergies, then I can use peanut butter in the same amount listed for the sunflower butter? Thank you!
Karen
Sorry that meant to say “nut” allergies. I have chubby thumbs :)
MOMables
absolutely. You might want to try these bars instead.
T
Which sunflower seed spread did you y use? The only one I know if processes soy, si thats not free from top 8 allergens.
KeeleyMcGuire
Hi T, I use SunButter. You can read their soy statement here: http://www.sunbutter.com/docs/SoyStatement.pdf
It actually is soy free – I knew which one you were eluding. :) They have to put it on the jars for legal purposes, but you can read their full statement on the link above. That’s the reason their product is used by Enjoy Life Foods in their Top 8 Free products, like the Chocolate SunButter bars. Thanks and good question!
Nicci
First thanks for the recipes they have been so helpful as we try to find treats my son can eat.
Can I freeze these? I like to keep something in the freezer for when he has been told he can’t have it out in the big world.
Mary Anne
Laura, we are dealing with both milk and coconut allergies here. These bars look so yummy I can taste them already. Is there anything else we could substitute for the two condensed milks? PLEASE!
MOMables
The only thing I would think of substituting is coconut condensed milk…. so that would be out. can you do equal parts non dairy milk and equal parts peanut butter?
Karissa
What can be substituted for sweetened condensed milk for a dairy allergy? I’m afraid normal milk substitutes (i.e. almond milk, soy milk, etc.) wouldn’t have the same viscosity or sweetness.
MOMables
If you use coconut milk to make coconut condensed milk first, it will come out the same.
Fran cunningham
WHAT is sunflower seed spread?
Laura
Fran, sunflower seed spread is the “nut” free version of peanut butter. it’s a “butter” made from sunflower seeds. if your child has no nut allergies, feel free to substitute for any nut butter you like. :)
Michelle | Creative Food
OOOHHH YUMMY! Must make!