Almond Butter Cookies
February 16th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I love almonds. Roasted, raw, covered in toffee – you name it! Being a runner, I heard that using almond butter on toast or bagels is a great way to fuel up before long runs, so I decided to give it a try and wow! I have been missing out all these years. It kind of tastes like peanut butter, but it’s smoother, less salty and the nutty flavor isn’t as in-your-face. Plus, it contains more fiber, calcium, potassium, iron and manganese than peanut butter, and about half the saturated fat!
I buy MaraNatha almond butter. I’ve seen it sold at Costco, Walmart, Target and Sprouts Farmers Market, so it’s easy to come by. They have a variety of types to choose from: smooth, crunchy, organic, sea salt and maple. Lots of great choices, but for these cookies, I went with the smooth no-stir almond butter. (NOTE: It says no stir, but I still find it best to take a butter knife and mix it a little before using it.) The maple or sea salt version might be tasty, as well.
Almond Butter Cookies
Makes 2 dozen
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy almond butter
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, almond butter and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Beat in both sugars. Scrape down the sides of bowl and stir in half of the dry ingredients. Add the egg and stir well. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
For each cookie, roll 1 heaping tablespoonful of dough into a ball and arrange on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart to allow room for spreading. Using the back of a fork, flatten the balls and form crosshatch design on the tops. Bake cookies until dry on top and golden brown on bottom, about 14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to racks and cool completely.
Recipe adapted from epicurious.com
Lemon Blueberry Bread
January 31st, 2011 § 1 Comment
I recently got a bunch of lemons in my CSA basket and was looking for something to use them in (other than lemonade). I love blueberries and marrying them with the tartness of the fresh lemons made for a wonderful bread that’s great for breakfast with a warm cup of coffee. That said, I don’t limit myself to breakfast to enjoy this bread! It also makes a delish afternoon snack or a dessert.
Ingredients
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup white sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan.In a mixing bowl, beat together melted butter, 1 cup sugar, lemon juice and eggs.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in lemon zest and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack.
Like this:
I can bake, too!
July 18th, 2010 § 2 Comments
So, I really like to snack on dried cranberries and almonds. I like it so much that I thought it would be a good idea to buy the gargantuan bag of Craisins from Costco. When I realized that I’m not going through them very quickly, I decided to look for some different ways to use them. That’s when I came across this recipe for Cranberry Orange Bread. I love it; my husband loves it. If you have some extra cranberries on your hands, I highly recommend this recipe. (Oh, and by the way, it’s actually not that bad for you either. Bonus!)
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons hot water
1/2 cup orange juice (I used the juice of two large oranges)
1/4 cup grated orange rind (from the two large oranges)
1 cup fresh or dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans.
Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add sugar, egg, butter, hot water, orange juice and grated orange rind; mix until moistened.
Fold in berries and nuts.
Spoon into pan and bake 50 minutes (or 35 minutes for mini loaves).
Cool; wrap and refrigerate or freeze.
Optional: I made a glaze of simple syrup and Triple Sec and topped the bread with it. If you prefer a non-alcoholic version of this glaze, you can use some OJ instead.
