Tag Archive: Almond Butter

Almond Butter Granola Snackers

Almond Butter Granola Snackers

The best part about being gluten-free in this decade is the endless supply of new products available(not to mention whole restaurant menus and online websites). Chex just came out with two new products to add to that list: Honey Nut Granola and Mixed Berry Granola, made with gluten-free oats and clusters of Chex cereal.

I got to try both and the honey nut was definitely my favorite–just the right amount of sweetness to go with any flavored yogurt and chunks of almonds and real Chex baked together. After eating half the bag, I made these cookies with the rest to make the granola more portable. These snackers are the perfect fix for an afternoon snack or along with breakfast.

Almond Butter Granola Snackers

I used almond butter for these because it goes perfectly with the almond slivers in the granola but you could also use peanut butter or even sunflower seed butter.

Almond Butter Granola Snackers

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 18 Snackers):

  • 3/4 cup almond butter
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 cup Honey Nut Chex granola
Method:
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the almond butter, honey, sugar, egg, salt, and baking powder until well mixed.
  3. Add in the granola and fold it in completely.
  4. Roll the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and flatten slightly between the palms of your hands. Put each round of dough on a non-stick baking surface.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven when the outside starts to turn brown and is slightly firm to the touch.
  6. Let cool slightly before moving. Store in an air-tight container.

Breakfast Paleo Mug Cake

Paleo Chocolate Mug Cake

I’m a boring breakfast person. I like to eat the same thing every day until I get tired of it and find something new. For the past couple of months these have been my breakfasts. It’s fast, easy, and chocolate-flavored so it’s easy to love.

This has been one of my most popular recipes. I still have people commenting on the original post who’ve made it and loved it, and that’s a good feeling. The ingredients are fairly common and cheap, so even if you’re skeptical I’d say give it a try. It always tastes better with peanut butter or Nutella slathered on top so if you’re still not convinced I’d say try that.  

Paleo Chocolate Mug Cake

I’ve never tried any variations but I’ve had readers mention this recipe works just as well with sweet potato puree, butternut squash, and applesauce. You can also mix in other ingredients like chopped walnuts, chocolate chips, or raisins(well, maybe not raisins).

Paleo Mug Cake

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 3 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 cake):

  • 1 small ripe banana
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons almond butter(or any nut butter)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 heaping Tablespoons cocoa powder

Method:

  1. With a fork, mash the banana into a smooth puree.
  2. Mix the almond butter, egg, cocoa powder into the banana puree until it forms an even batter.
  3. Fold in any mix-ins into the batter that you’d like. Otherwise, pour the batter into a mug or other microwave safe container. Be sure to only fill the container up to 2/3rds the way because it will expand in the microwave.
  4. Microwave on high for 2 and 1/2 minutes until the center is set. Carefully remove the mug from the microwave and enjoy hot, cold, or at room temperature.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

I’m a snacker. I can’t imagine how somebody could go from lunch all the way to dinner time without snacking on something. Seriously, how do they do it? I’m usually reaching for a candy bar or bag of popcorn at 3pm and more often than not know I should be eating something healthier.

I first made these bars last Summer and they disappeared as quickly as they set. They’re unbelievably delicious for something that takes 10 minutes to make with simple ingredients. This time around I used homemade chocolate cashew butter in place of the almond butter because it’s what I had on-hand and they tasted just as good if not better.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars Drizzled

Just like the first time I made these, I used candied ginger instead of dried fruit. I love a little bit of spice with my chocolate. I’d highly recommend chopping your almonds and fruit before adding them to the batter because the larger portions will make your granola bars harder to cut in the final step.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 8 to 10 bars):

  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup honey**
  • 1 cup oats*
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate rice crisps cereal*
  • 1/2 cup almonds, crushed or sliced
  • 1/2 cup dried fruit
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

*To make these granola bars gluten-free, make sure these two ingredients are certified gluten-free.

**Use 3 Tablespoons of agave to make these vegan.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars Uncut

Method:

  1. In a microwave or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips.
  2. Stir in the almond butter and honey until smooth.
  3. Add in the oats, cereal, almonds, dried fruit, and salt and mix until everything is completely covered.
  4. Line an 8 x 8 baking tray with wax paper. Dump the batter into the pan and press down into an even layer.
  5. Refrigerate the bars until they’ve hardened—about 20-30 minutes.
  6. With a sharp knife, cut the bars in half horizontally and into quarters vertically into 8 2 x 4 bars.
  7. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars Uncut Stacked

White Chocolate Almond Blondies

White Chocolate Almond Blondies

*National Almond Day may have been two days ago but there’s still time to enter to win an almond prize pack.*

I get asked a lot whether almond flour can be used in a recipe in place of almond meal and vice versa. I’ve never found much of a difference when baking with either one. Almond flour is lighter and finer than almond meal and generally better for light and airy baked goods.

I used a very fine almond flour for these and couldn’t believe how much they melted in your mouth for something that’s grain-free. The almond butter and almond flour together make a great flavor that’s more than your average blondie has.

White Chocolate Almond Blondies Butter

These are definitely on the cakier side of blondies. I would love to figure out how to make them more fudgy, but still had no complaints with this recipe. Next time I would consider making a buttercream frosting to put on top of them.

White Chocolate Almond Blondies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup almond flour or almond meal
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup natural almond butter
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

White Chocolate Almond Blondies Stack

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
  3. Beat in the eggs and almond butter until fully incorporated.
  4. Slowly mix in the melted butter and vanilla extract until evenly mixed.
  5. Pour the batter into a greased 8 x 8 baking pan.
  6. Sprinkle the white chocolate chips over the batter and gently press them in.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center of the blondies has set.
  8. Let them cool before cutting.

Almond Butter Fudge + Giveaway

Almond Butter Fudge Yield

It’s no surprise that I’m a fan of almonds in all form on this blog, whether its almond butter, almond flour or just almonds. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around where the milk comes from though.

The Almond Board of California alerted me that tomorrow, February 16th, is National Almond Day and what better way to celebrate than with a recipe and a giveaway?

I came across this crazy delicious recipe for coconut fudge on the Whole Foods recipe blog and had to try it out with almonds. I knew if the finished result tasted anything like chocolate covered almonds it would be right up my alley.

Almond Butter Fudge Almond Butter

Salt and almonds are the perfect way to dress up a simple fudge recipe. You could add a little sugar into the melted chocolate but the simple flavor and crunch of the almonds shine through without anything added.

Almond Butter Fudge

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 20 servings):

  • 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
  • 3 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoons natural almond butter
  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 cup shaved almonds

Almond Butter Fudge

Method:

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, melt together the chocolate chips and butter until they are runny and smooth.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat the almond butter, water, vanilla extract and salt together until evenly mixed.
  3. Stir the wet mixture into the melted chocolate and mix until smooth.
  4. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch loaf pan or other small Tupperware.
  5. Pour the fudge into the load pan and lightly shake until it has set in an even layer.
  6. Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the fudge and press them in gently.
  7. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until the fudge has set before cutting into 1-inch squares.

Almond Day Giveaway

Now for the exciting part. The Almond Board of California is giving away an almond prize pack to one random US reader. You’ll get the same package I received including almond butter, almonds, slivered almonds, almond flour, and flavored almonds. To enter, leave a comment for each entry below.

The giveaway is open until Wednesday, February 20th. Good luck!

Iced Vanilla-Almond Butter Cookies

Vanilla-Almond Butter Cookies

I never understood why Christmas cookies are a thing, why cookies take priority over cake or mousse or any other number of desserts. But in reality who ever has time to sit down for desserts around Christmastime? Between cooking, opening presents, and talking everyone is usually standing or in the other room, and cookies are the perfect grab-and-go dessert for that.

When I think of iced cookies, I usually think of the stale ones from the grocery store with neon pink frosting that taste like pure sugar. I would always eat the frosting(because who doesn’t love pure sugar?) but the cookie usually got left behind. These are far from those iced cookies. There’s nothing quite like a fresh cookie with a smooth and soft icing on top to step up the game for the rest of the desserts.

Vanilla-Almond Butter Cookies Naked

The almond extract is the special ingredient that makes these cookies irresistible. If you don’t have any it’s worth running out to the store to find. Making an icing that’s part butter adds a touch of richness to the balance out the sweet.

Iced Vanilla-Almond Butter Cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 18 cookies):

  • 1 cup almond butter
  • 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the icing:

  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons milk
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Vanilla-Almond Butter Cookies Icing

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the almond butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and put them on a non-stick baking tray. Press down on the balls lightly to flatten them to about 1/2-inch.
  4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edges of the cookies begin to brown.
  5. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool.
  6. Combine the butter and milk in a medium-sized bowl.
  7. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl.
  8. Beat together the sugar, butter, and milk until smooth. Add in the vanilla and almond extract and continue mixing until smooth.
  9. Spread a Tablespoon of frosting on top of each cookie. Let the cookies sit at room temperature uncovered until the frosting sets.

Vanilla-Almond Butter Cookies Yield

You can decorate these with green and red or white sprinkles to make them a little more festive.

 

Maple Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies

Maple Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies

Sandwich Cookies are so much fun. They’re much better than any old cookie; you get two cookies plus a filling. What’s not to love?

My favorite sandwich cookies were always the ones shaped like a maple leaf with a maple crème filling. Sure, they probably were loaded with trans fat and gave people heart attacks but it was the 90s and no one knew about any of that yet. These remind me of those but very much grown up. The cinnamon and spice and salt enhance the sweetness of the maple syrup and the nuttiness of the almond butter and knock it out of the park.

Maple Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies Cinnamon

If you want to skip making your own cookies, use a store-bought gingersnap cookie for the base to compliment the filling best.

Maple Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 6 sandwich cookies):

  • 12 spiced almond butter cookies
  • 6 Tablespoons almond butter
  • 3 1/2 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • Scant 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Maple Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies Filling

Method:

  1. Lay half of the cookies out bottom-side-up.
  2. In a large bowl, beat together the almond butter, butter, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt until it’s smooth and homogenous.
  3. Put about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of filling on top of each cookie.
  4. Take another cookie and place it bottom-side-down on top of the filling.
  5. Store at room temperature until ready to eat.

Maple Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies Wide

See? Much better than a cookie.

Spiced Almond Butter Cookies

spiced almond butter cookies

I love almond butter. I like it even more than peanut butter most of the time. But I don’t buy it nearly as often because it’s over twice the price. That just isn’t fair, is it? These cookies were worth the splurge.

The nice thing about almond butter is that the flavor is simple and delicious. It’s easy to dress up and make fancier with extracts and spices. These taste incredibly like a gingersnap and have a very similar texture, too. It’s hard to believe the ingredients are so simple and naturally gluten-free. 

spiced almond butter cookies spieces

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice handy, just use about a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg.

Spiced Almond Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12-14 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12 cookies):

  • 1 cup almond butter
  • 3/4 cup cane sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

spiced almond butter cookies serving

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until it forms a dough.
  3. Line a baking tray with a non-stick surface. Make the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on the tray, flattening them with a fork in a criss-cross pattern.
  4. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges begin to brown.
  5. Remove from the oven and let them cool before transferring them to a serving plate.

spiced almond butter cookies yield

I promise you these taste way too good to be made with 4 ingredients.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

I’ve never had much luck making granola bars until now. They usually turn out caky or crumbly and never hold together; I was just about ready to give up on making granola bars. This recipe has completely changed that around for me.

Not only are these delicious and gluten-free, they’re also no-bake and come together in about 10 minutes. I couldn’t think of anything more to ask for. The ingredients are simple, organic, and whole grain. It could easily be made vegan by swapping out the honey.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars Collage

For the “dried fruit” we were out of the standard raisins or craisins, so I improvised and used chopped candied ginger. The flavor could not have been more spectacular. I generally love ginger and chocolate and the added bite held its own to the nuttiness of the bars.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 8 bars):

  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup honey**
  • 1 cup oats*
  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate rice crisps cereal(I used Erewhon Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice Cereal)*
  • 1/2 cup almonds, whole or crushed
  • 1/2 cup dried fruit
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

*To make these granola bars gluten-free, make sure these two ingredients are certified gluten-free.

**Use 3 Tablespoons of agave to make these vegan.

Method:

  1. In a microwave or over a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips.
  2. Stir in the almond butter and honey until smooth.
  3. Add in the oats, cereal, almonds, dried fruit, and salt and mix until everything is completely covered.
  4. Line an 8 x 8 baking tray with wax paper. Dump the batter into the pan and press down into an even layer.
  5. Refrigerate the bars until they’ve hardened—about 20-30 minutes.
  6. With a sharp knife, cut the bars in half horizontally and into quarters vertically into 8 2 x 4 bars.
  7. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Chocolate Almond Granola Bars Serving

I don’t see myself ever paying for granola bars again.

Honey Almond Macaroons

honey-almond-macaroons

Cookie recipes can be hard sometimes. You need to preheat the oven, mix the ingredients in a certain order, chill and slice the dough sometimes—it’s usually more work than I want to do for a quick sweet fix.

I love macaroons since they’re about as easy a cookie as you can make and still have a satisfying dessert to bite into. As a bonus, they’re naturally gluten-free and have a healthy dose of fats and fiber. It’s even more fun when you make them extra big like they just came from a bakery and eat them warm.

You could try to make these with an egg substitute, but definitely use some sort of binder since the almond butter alone isn’t really enough to hold them together.

Honey Almond Macaroons

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/2 dozen):

  • 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup almond butter
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

honey-almond-macaroons-bite

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
  3. Either fill an ice cream scoop with dough and release as mounds on a lined baking tray OR roll balls of dough in your hands, flattening one side and placing it on the baking tray.
  4. Bake for 15-17 minutes until the outside has browned slightly.
  5. Remove from the oven and let cool.

 honey-almond-macaroons-vertical

These aren’t too sweet, so I like a little extra honey drizzled on top. They’d be perfect for dessert with some tea or coffee.