Sunday, July 26, 2009

Chocolate Chunk Almond Butter Cookies

This is for you G!!! This is my own creation entirely.

I bought the freshly ground almond butter at the Fresh Market. I tasted it first on toast and found it needed salt. So with that, my son and I set out to make a new nut butter cookie recipe. The batter was awesome and the cookies are baking while I type.


Using a chef's knife, rough chop 8 oz (2-4oz) Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Bars.
Sift 2 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour onto waxed paper. Set both aside. Preheat oven to 375.

Cream together 3/4 Cup freshly ground Almond Butter with 1 stick room temperature Unsalted Butter until just combined. Add 3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar and 3/4 Cup Sugar and mix at medium speed until just combined. Add 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt, 1 tsp Baking Soda and 2 tsp Vanilla and mix at medium speed until just combined. Add 2 Eggs and mix at medium speed until just combined. Add sifted Flour (listed above) and mix at medium speed until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in Chocolate (listed above). On un-greased cookie sheet, scoop dough for desired cookie size. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

I use a clean cookie sheet each time. Once scooped, do not place on stove before cooking or cookie dough will begin to melt and flatten out. If reusing cookie sheet, cool completely. Serve warm with ice cold milk!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Coming Next...

When I visited my brother recently, he discovered the freshly ground nut butters in Whole Foods. Of course they are available in other gourmet grocery stores. He thought it would be cool to make nut-butter cookies as opposed to peanut butter cookies. So this weekend that's what's cooking at my house. Will post the results!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Mango Salsa (with Black Beans)

This is a great all year round recipe and it's healthy, flavorful and has little, if any, fat. The key is to dice all of the vegetables so they are the same size as the black beans. In a bowl mix together the following ingredients and let marinade together for a few hours before serving. Serve at room temperature with a sturdy chip.
1 ripe Mango diced, 1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed, 1 finely diced Red Bell Pepper, 1/3 Cup finely diced Red onion, 1 1/4 Cups Fresh Corn off the Cobb, 1/4 Cup Fresh minced Cilantro, 1/3 Cup Fresh Lime Juice, 1 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix.

Can also be served with fajitas, tacos, or used in quesadillas.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009