Homemade Almond Butter

Hello there, today I want you to meet one of my favorite foods. Yes, almond butter. Almond butter is a relatively new favorite. Having been allergic to peanut butter my whole life I grew up deprived of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, reese's and just a good ole spoonful of peanut butter. Deprived no more, once almond butter became popular.

The first time I had AB was my freshman year of college. I hated it. I love every kind of nut, especially almonds, but almond butter...yuck! I gave it a couple more tries and somehow I fell in love. Now you can find flavors like vanilla, honey + flax, espresso, and chocolate. It was the fancy flavors that warmed me up to AB, but now I'm just a simple girl. 

I've made almond butter before, but this recipe is a winner. It's really more about the technique this time. My past almond butters have always come out thick and grainy.  When you roast your own almonds then process them while they are still hot, the oils release much quicker and create a super smooth butter.

Almond butter takes a while. After a few minutes it will just look like ground almonds, but just keep letting the food processor do the work. After a few more minutes the natural oils from the almonds will release and start to form the butter. Once it comes together you can then add in extra flavors! Adding coffee grounds or vanilla extract is one of my favorites! This time I added one tablespoon of coconut oil and it really helped with the smoothness of the butter!

Homemade Almond Butter
makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients: 
3 cups raw almonds
Optional add ins: coconut oil, cinnamon, coffee grounds, vanilla extract, sea salt, honey

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roast your almonds for 10 to 12 minutes making sure they don't burn. While they are still warm, move directly into your food processor. Process for 7 to 10 minutes. Stop half way through to scrape down the sides. Add in desired additions. I kept it simple with just a tablespoon of coconut oil this time! It made it extra smooth and glossy!

Almond butter enjoyed best with granny smith apples, in my perfect green smoothie, spread on rice cakes, stirred into oatmeal, on birthday toast, and sandwiched between pretzel crisps! 

I'm just a girl living in a peanut free world!

Annie

Snack Attack

Here goes a quick little random recipe post. 

Pretzel Crisps, Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter and white chocolate chips. Out of those three ingredients, you can tell this is going to be good. I get bored and my boredness leads to getting creative in the kitchen. The other day I was wanting a little sweet treat and this is what I came up with. 

Using Pretzel Crisps and Vanilla Justin's Almond Butter, I created little sandwich. I then dipped them in white chocolate to amp them up a bit. 

After you make your desired amount of sandwiches, put them on a plate and stick in the freezer for a bit so the almond butter can harden slightly. While they are firming up melt your white chocolate. I placed about a 1/4 cup of chips in a microwavable bowl and melted them in two :20 second intervals. Make sure you stir between because white chocolate can burn very easily. 

Dip your AB sandwiches in the white chocolate half way using a knife to assist. Put them back in the freezer for the white chocolate to harden. After a few minutes your little salty sweet treat is ready!

I love a good snack!

Annie

Few of My Favorite Things: What's Your Flavor?

"What's your flavor? Tell me what's your flavor?"  Time for the second installment of my "Favorite Things" series. (Here is the first post about my favorite movies). Today I'm talking about my favorite flavors. I have very specific flavors that I love and you can guarantee I will order if one of them is included on a menu. I'm also posting a link for a recipe including each flavor!

1. Almond: Almond extract, almond butter, almond milk, actual almonds, I love it all. A few local coffee shops have almond syrup and almond milk for coffee drinks and it makes for the best latte. I'm just waiting for Starbucks to jump on board. I was first introduced to almond extract when I started making my sugar cookies. You use the extract in the icing and I promise it's the flavor that sends them over the edge. I add almond extract in addition to vanilla to almost everything. (It's really good in granola, especially when almonds are in the mix)

Recipe: I just discovered the food blog The View from Great Island.  I spent about an hour going through her archives and now these white chocolate almond butter bars are high on my baking list. I'm also a lover of white chocolate.

2. Coffee/Espresso: Coffee is magical by itself, but I love coffee flavored things. I used to be able to finish a pint of coffee Haagen Dazs ice cream as an after school snack. Coffee or mocha flavored cupcakes are usually my go to and I love adding coffee to any chocolate recipe.

Recipe: These coffee bacon sandwiches, I can't even. My sister and I made them a few years ago and I can't believe we haven't made them since. They are the most interesting amazing thing in the world. Such a good way to incorporate coffee.

3. Vanilla: A skinny vanilla latte is always a go to order if I can't decide what to get. And when using vanilla extract I always double or triple the amount the recipe calls for. Vanilla scented candles, vanilla body lotion, mmmm I love it! 

Recipe: Been dying to try chia seed pudding and this one uses almond milk and almond extract.

4. Ginger: This is a new favorite, but I feel like it hasn't been used much until recently. I love putting fresh ginger in my smoothies and ginger cookies have always been wonderful. I recently had a peach and ginger scone that was insanely good.

Recipe: Shameless plug for my ginger cookies!

5. Lemon: Lemon squares, lemon cupcakes, lemon chicken etc. Once the weather gets warm I like lemon in all forms! I've recently been having the largest craving for lemon squares.

Recipe: My good friend pinned this recipe for skinny lemon bars that seem just perfect enough to feed my craving!

So what's your favorite flavor? This post inspired me to make a board dedicated to my 5 favorite flavors. Maybe one of them is yours too!

p.s. Pumpkin is also a favorite flavor, I'm just trying to stay seasonal! Pumpkin has it's own Pinterest board dedicated all to itself.

xo annie

Almond Butter Addiction Continues

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Being allergic to peanuts has me obsessed with almond butter. I first made these cookies this summer. The day after I made them my sister ironically sent me the recipe the next day thinking I would love them!

I blogged about Ambitious Kitchen earlier this week. It is my favorite food blog right now. When my friend first introduced me to the site this summer we quickly made these cookies after perusing Monica's blog! 

We whipped these up in under 15 minutes! The dough is pretty greasy when you first mix it but they bake up great! I also love the little sprinkle of sea salt on top to get that salty/sweet combo! 

The second time I made these I used honey instead of maple syrup, I recommend maple syrup. The flavor just worked better than the honey. I also love the use of almond extract paired with the almond butter!

Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
makes 15-18 cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup almond butter (your favorite brand)
1/3 cup honey or pure maple syrup
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or almond extract! it pairs perfectly with the almond butter)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunked
sea salt, for sprinkling
almonds (optional), for garnishing

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a medium mixing bowl, beat together almond butter, honey (or maple syrup), egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt until smooth and creamy; about 2 minutes. Fold in 1/3 cup of chocolate chunks. 

Drop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, top each cookies with extra chocolate chunks and an almond if desired. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies turn a slight golden brown underneath; they will be puffy! Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes 15-18 cookies.

 Pairs perfectly with a glass of almond milk!

Annie