Almond Butter Truffles

Almond butter is expensive. I buy mine from Costco (Kirklland brand) because it’s much cheaper and comes in a 27oz jar. You could substitute peanut butter too, the “all-natural” kind with the oil on top. Smuckers is a good brand. I’m betting you could also use sunflower nut butter here as well. Whatever you like. For the coconut flour, I used Bob’s Redmill. Shop around because you can find good prices on that. You also don’t have to use expensive chocolate for the topping either. This is a small, delicious treat. It satisfied my Justin’s almond butter cup craving.

Ingredients:

  • 1 C. almond butter
  • 1/2 C agave syrup
  • 5-6 TB coconut flour (more if your nut butter is smooth/oily
  • 1/2C melted dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Add almond butter, agave and coconut flour into a bowl and stir with a fork until all combined. Pop the bowl in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until the dough is more firm. (Firm enough to roll into 2TB balls of dough). You’re going to have to eyeball the coconut flour. If you think you need more because the dough isn’t quite firm enough, then add more a tablespoon at a time. (That’s what I did). It all depends on how runny your almond butter is.

Put chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl and cover with a paper towel. Nuke for 30 seconds take out bowl and stir, pop it back in for 20 seconds. (Mine took almost 2 cycles. Around 45 seconds.) You want to keep an eye on the chocolate because you don’t want it to burn!

When the dough is firm to the touch, roll it into about 2TB balls, and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. If, at this point the dough isn’t firm enough, pop it back into the freezer.

Use two forks and roll each ball of dough in the chocolate until covered. Or, if you would rather drizzle the chocolate that’s cool too. Place the truffles back onto the baking sheet. You’ll have 13, depending on how much dough you used for each truffle. Maybe I made mine too large. Hmm. I also sprinkled some Maldon sea salt on top. You can definitely make them smaller too. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for several hours until the truffles are firm. Store in airtight container. They’ll keep for a week. Probably less because you’ll eat them all.

Buttermilk Brown Sugar Walnut Pecan Scones

I had made some buttermilk dried cherry scones a few weeks ago. I’d never used buttermilk in a scone recipe, so I wasn’t sure how they’d turn out. They turned out great! Honestly, I didn’t notice a difference between using heavy cream and buttermilk. One thing that you still need to remember is to not overwork the dough. If it gets too warm, pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes. I have a TON of pecans and walnuts (giant bags in my freezer that my parent’s bought for me) and toasted them in a bit of butter for these scones. Oh, and extra cold butter is key. Freeze a stick of unsalted butter for 20 min or so. These scones are not overly sweet either. I like the addition of the toasted nuts with the hint of brown sugar. I had one with my coffee this morning and it was delicious. (Okay, who am I kidding? I had a scone yesterday, shortly after I took them out of the oven).

buttermilk brown sugar walnut pecan scone dough

This is the first time I’ve ever rolled a perfect circle. Amazing!


Buttermilk brown sugar walnut pecan scones fresh from the oven

Scones fresh from the oven.

  • 2 C AP flour
  • 1/3 C brown sugar
  • 1 TB baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 C unsalted butter
  • 3/4 C buttermilk
  • 1/2 C toasted pecans and walnuts
  • 2 TB buttermilk for brushing on top of scones before baking
  • Demerera sugar for sprinkling on top of the scones before baking (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Cut ice cold butter into cubes and use a pastry blender or your hands to combine. Get to the point where the butter is about the size of peas. Add the buttermilk and the toasted nuts. Use a spatula to mix everything together. There might be some craggly bits, and if so, add a tiny splash of buttermilk. If the dough is too warm from all the mixing, pop it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop or cutting board. Flatten the dough into about a 7-8 inch round circle. Cut dough into 8 wedges and put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush scones with that two tablespoons of buttermilk and sprinkle some sugar on top (I didn’t put sugar on them, but, I might next time). Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or, until ever-so-slightly golden. You don’t want to over-bake them because they’ll be dry. No one wants dried out scones.

Quick, Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

warm cookies=the best!

warm cookies=the best!

This recipe is similar to my almond butter chocolate chip cookies, but, I mixed up the nut butters and eggs.
These cookies come together very quickly and only require one bowl. Hooray! (Because who wants to do a lot of dishes? Not me!). I make these cookies when I’m craving peanut butter. (Try not to eat the dough, ahem).

  • 1 C. smooth peanut butter (I like to use the natural stuff with oil on top)*
  • 1/2 C. brown sugar
  • 1/4 C. white sugar**
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 C. dark chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips)
  • Maldon Sea salt for sprinkling on top (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In a large bowl mix first 6 ingredients well, until combined. Add chocolate chips and stir until they’re fully incorporated. Drop 2TB of dough, or, use a small cookie scoop (2tsp) onto the lined baking sheets (the cookies don’t spread, so, I was able to fit 15 on one sheet) Now, you’ll want to gently flatten the cookie dough balls with the palm of your hand and then use a fork to make the “crisscross” on top of the cookies. Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on top too, if you like. Bake for 11-13 minutes. Keep an eye on them though. Remove cookies from oven and let them rest for 5 minutes. Cool on baking rack or plates. Store in airtight container. I put mine in the fridge, but, they’d be ok sitting on the counter in an airtight container for a couple days. Makes 2 dozen cookies when I used a 2tsp cookie scoop.

*Notes:

  1. You could reduce the sugar by only using 1/2 cup brown sugar, or 1/2 cup white. I like the flavors of dark or light brown sugar, so I used mostly that in the recipe.
  2. I prefer to use natural peanut butter because it has little to no sugar in it. Here, I used Smucker’s, but, any brand will do.
  3. I also used a tiny bit of Maldon Sea Salt to sprinkle on the top. Since you only use it sparingly in recipes, I think it’s worth the cost and I found it pretty cheap on Amazon
  4. .

Browned Butter Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

browned butter pumpkin bread w/chocolate chips

browned butter pumpkin bread w/chocolate chips

This recipe is different in that, I used browned butter, rather than vegetable or canola oil. The nuttiness of the browned butter lends another layer to the pumpkin and spices and has a more complex flavor than my normal pumpkin bread. Plus, I am on “team browned butter makes everything better,” because, well, it most certainly does.

  • 3 1/2 C AP flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice*
  • 1 C unsalted butter, browned and cooled
  • 1 C canned pumpkin
  • 1 1/2 C dark brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2/3 C milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 C mini semi sweet chocolate chips or, 1 C dark chocolate chips

Spray two 8″x4″ loaf pans and set aside. Heat oven to 350 degrees

To brown butter: add two sticks to saucepan, on low to medium heat. Let butter melt, then froth/bubble up, stir it with spatula in order to prevent burning. The bubbles will die down and the butter will start to crackle. The proteins of the butter are sinking to the bottom and after a second bubbling, the bits on the bottom will start to turn a little brown and the butter will change to a more amber color. This whole process will take about 4-5 minutes. Don’t burn the butter, we want it browned. Remove from heat and transfer melted butter and brown bits to a bowl to cool. (We don’t want to add hot butter to the eggs because we don’t want scrambled eggs).

*Note: As always, you can adjust the spices to your taste. I didn’t have enough pumpkin pie spice, so, I had to add a little ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and freshly grated nutmeg.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. When the butter has cooled, add to beaten eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin vanilla and milk. Stir until well combined. Add wet ingredients to dry and add chocolate chips. If you find that the mixture is too dry, add a little bit more milk. Divide dough between the loaf pans, bake at 350 for 45-50 min. Check the bread with a toothpick in the center to see if the bread is done. Cool on baking racks. Or, have a warm slice…like I just did.

Salted Pecan Shortbread Bars

Originally I was thinking of lemon-lavender shortbread, but then I remembered I had pecans, so, I made these instead. Next up, I’ll use lemon zest and a tiny amount of dried lavender. These shortbread are pretty easily adaptable. Enjoy your Sunday….whatever you do.

  • 1/2 C. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
  • 1/4 C. sugar
  • 1/4 C. cornstarch
  • 1 C. flour
  • 1 tsp of fleur de sel
  • 1-2 tsp water
  • 1/4 C. chopped, toasted pecans

Note: I toasted my pecans in a tablespoon of unsalted butter and then let them cool slightly before adding them to the dough.

With mixer, stand or handheld, cream butter and sugar together, add flour and cornstarch and mix well. You may find that the dough is quite crumbly and not hold together…at this point add a tiny amount of water until the dough starts to come together more and is well-formed. Careful, don’t add too much water! Add toasted pecans until thoroughly mixed together. Spread dough into 8″ square baking dish and, if you like, top with another sprinkle of fleur de sel. Bake at 350 for 22 minutes, or, until golden brown. Let rest in the pan and then cut into whatever size you wish and serve. I like to cut the bars on the small-ish size. Or, wrap up in wax paper and aluminum foil and seal tightly in a plastic bag to store in the freezer. These bars should last a few months in the freezer.

Variations: other nuts: swap out pecans for almonds or hazelnuts. Lemon: add 1tsp lemon zest and 1/2 tsp of crushed, dried lavender. Lime-basil: 1 tsp lime zest, 1/2 tsp fresh, chopped basil.

Recipe adapted from Land O Lakes recipe, found online