Sun Cups Sunflower Butter Milk Chocolate

The posting of Sherry’s suggestion brought thousands of others to our site in hopes of finding out more about that peanut-free spread. In fact, “sunflower butter” is the 16th most searched for keyword that brings people to Bite of the Best. Until now, we hadn’t found another product worthy of sharing with all those looking for products made without peanuts.

Sun Cups are organic chocolate cups that are nut free (gluten free, too). Think Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups without peanut butter! Think good tasting, too.

The Sun Cups come in both milk and dark chocolate and are filled with roasted organic sunflower-seed butter. The company tells me they use only Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa, and that the film used to wrap the chocolate cups is made from sustainably grown eucalyptus cellulose and actually certified as “home compostable.”

But best of all, these peanut-free chocolate cups are delicious enough to be featured here.

Bryan: I’m a bit ashamed to admit it, but my knowledge of the expanded world of nut butters was not really up to par until recently. I’m even more ashamed to admit that my world was changed by a cheesy Hollywood action movie, “Gamer,” in which the main character, a video game-playing, spoiled teenager, sits at home playing interactive shooter games and scarfing down the futuristic equivalent of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches: pistachio butter and jelly. I was beyond intrigued. I had never really heard of other nut butters — that is, beyond the ever-widening variety of peanut butters — but the green creamy spread from the movie had me Googling it.

It was not too shortly thereafter that I came across Sun Cups Sunflower Butter Cups at Bonnie’s apartment, apparently a sweet pick-up from the Fancy Food Show. They’re to die for, an elegant (and peanut-allergy free) substitute for the almighty Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, the reigning heir apparent of the “cup” world. Peanut butter cups have long been a favorite of mine, often occupying the rotating top spot in my candy hierarchy. Sun Cups now joins this elevated echelon, a truly worthy alternative to their brand-name brothers in arms.

So, now I await the next great, next generation, nut butter cups. The gauntlet has been thrown down. Sun Cups Sunflower Butter Cups are here. So, where are the almond butter cups? The cashew butter cups? The hazelnut butter cups? The macadamia nut butter cups? The pecan butter cups? And the pistachio butter cups? I wait with bated breath.

By the way, sunflower, like the almond, cashew, macadamia, peanut and pistachio isn’t a true nut in the botanical sense. They all are, however, considered nuts in a culinary sense, and their crushed spreads are called nut butters.

Eric: The world of food allergies takes a horrible toll on many food aficionados – and by many, I refer to anyone who actually eats food. To be limited, against your will, to what you can eat is a difficult way to live, but luckily, there is a growing number of products designed to cater to the needs of those with food allergies.

Can’t eat gluten? There are now hundreds of products available, ranging from crackers to pasta. Lactose intolerant? From lactose-free milk to soy ice cream, the options for non-dairy dairy are becoming countless. And now, for everyone with a nut allergy, the chance to indulge in Sun Cups. Think of them as the non-peanut approach to a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The difference? Sun Cups, as their name suggests, are a combination of sunflower butter and chocolate.

An educational side note: A peanut is actually not a nut; rather it is part of the legume (bean) family.

Sun Cups are made in a nut-free facility, and every part of the production, from the wrapper (home-compostable) to the chocolate (equitably traded cacao), coincides with an organic and sustainable motto. Produced in both milk and dark chocolate varieties, as well as mint and caramel, the real question is, “How do you eat your Sun Cup?”