Paleo Chocolate Chunk Blondies

...hi again. Erm...didja know moving sort of is a big time commitment and thusly I am terribly sorry for how scarcely I've been seen 'round these parts? Cuz yeah...it's all true.

I'm kinda sorta super into paleo desserts. Like...I like 'em. I love coconut sugar and coconut oil and nutty flours and...yeah. I'm a fan. I feel like I'm eating something delicious and decadent, but I know it's not like....terrible for me. And that makes me a happy Kayle :)

I will admit that Michael wasn't huge on these blondies. But I think he's dumb and smells funny, so there!

...ok he actually smells good, but still, I think he's crazy for not liking these. But I guess that means more for me!

I mean...what's not to like? They're soft and chewy, with just a little but of crunch, and so much depth of flavor and gooey dark chocolate and...yeah. I'm a fan. ESPECIALLY when warm. Full support of eating these warm. Which...I mean...that's nothing new.

Michael and I are in the midst of attempting to be healthier, but I still need dessert sometimes. And honestly these blondies are the perfect thing. All I need is one and I'm happy. 

...I mean...I really want more than one. But, one will do :P

{Vegan & Gluten-free} Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are pretty miraculous. They're really delicious, and chewy, and awesome. They also happen to be gluten-free and (if you use vegan chocolate chips) vegan. 

WHAAAAA??! 

I know. Like I said-miraculous.

BTW--HOW adorable is that little glass bottle thing in the background?? Michael's mom has a few of those on display in her dining room and I've been eyeing them for awhile. Since she's moving, she's trying to get rid of a lot of stuff, so she happily gave me one! (She offered to give me a bunch more stuff but...I don't have the space lol) I knew they'd be perfect to include in a cookie shoot and i was right!

Honestly, these cookies just taste like a delicious almond butter (or peanut butter) oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. I would never have guessed that they're vegan and gluten-free. They're really really delicious. And, I felt like they were healthy enough to eat for breakfast....

But you know. You do you.

Oatmeal Almond Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Sometimes I make cookies. And sometimes I gift 95% of those cookies away. This is the fate that befell these cookies--they were like beautiful little ambassadors, endearing me to my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law and Michael's best friends and his coworkers. 

Also, I'm super sorry because I meant to share these cookies with all of you last week buuut then I got sick and didn't do anything so I'm sharing them with you today. They're totally worth the wait though! Swearsies realsies.

Now I will confess-even though oatmeal almond butter cookies SOUND kinda healthyish...I mean..there's still a lot of butter and sugar. So they're not really. BUT they are super chewy and delicious and kind of comforting and, as I've said, the perfect gift-giving cookies. They're tasty even when room temp (and you know I love warm cookies), they're sturdy enough to travel or ship (these will be included in my brother's birthday care package), this recipe makes A BUNCH, and...yeah. Tasty tastiness you guys. Give 'em a go!

3 Ingredient Almond Butter Cookies

So, as you may know, I had my first bridal shower this past Saturday. One really cute aspect was that every place setting had a little recipe card holder (which was a favor) that held a recipe from THIS blog (and a photo). It was super adorable and made my heart smile to see people fight over who got which recipe and to hear my future mother-in-law tell everyone about my blog in a proud voice.

The poor thing, though. When she was putting together all the recipes she was trying to find recipes that weren't too long-so that they would fit. It was a bit challenging for her. It's a shame that I hadn't made these cookies yet, because I bet they would have been PERFECT.

These are probably one of the shortest recipes I've ever written on the blog, The ingredient list? 3. The preparation? Essentially just mix it together and bake. It's a little craaazy. But also awesome.

And oh hey-they're pretty healthy. Due to the fact that the only ingredients are almond butter, an egg, and sugar. The sugar is the sole not very healthy factor BUT...there's not much of it.

The cookies are chewy and have a perfect texture (kind of shocking, due to the ingredient list). They taste pretty fab also. One major thing to keep in mind, though--make sure you use an almond butter whose flavor you LOVE (you can also sub in any kind of nut butter). Due to the fact that these cookies are mostly almond butter...that's pretty much all they taste like. So, if you like the nut butter, you'll love the cookies!

Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Brownies

These brownies are delicious. And they're not just delicious in a, "they're delicious for a healthy dessert" kind of way, but just in a, "they're tasty yum yum" kind of way. They happen to be gluten-free, dairy free, low in sugar (they're mostly sweetened with honey), and low in fat (and that fat comes from eggs and good for you almond butter!) And-bonus-they don't even have any weird ingredients. In fact, if you don't have almond butter you can just use peanut butter or any other kind of nut butter. EASY!

I seriously almost don't even know why I would make regular brownies because these are THAT good. Like...super chocolatey and gooey and soft. They're not bitter. They're not gummy. They're not lacking in sweetness. The only real difference you can notice is that you can taste honey (although Michael said he didn't taste it, so I might just be more sensitive to it?)--but when warmed up you can barely detect the honey either!

The almond butter lends the fat (but in a healthy fat kind of way) and structure to the brownies and helps them taste rich and decadent (you barely taste it, almond butter has a subtle flavor-it just helps these be fantastic), honey and just a little bit of brown sugar sweeten them, and unsweetened cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips make them oh so chocolatey without all the sugar but with all the antioxidant goodness and tastiness!

Game changer-that's what these brownies are.

Almond Peanut Butter

I'm like a walking advertisement for making homemade nut butters. I always tell people about it and they look at me like I'm crazy (or they'll even ask "...isn't there butter in peanut butter?"....*sigh*). But seriously, I cannot emphasize this enough:

MAKING HOMEMADE NUT BUTTERS IS REALLY REALLY RIDICULOUSLY EASY. 

LIKE...I MEAN IT.

Allow me to break down the entire process:

Throw nuts in food processor (or powerful blender).

Process.

...that's it.

The only time it might get a smidge more complicated than that (which is still insanely easy) is if 1. You decide to add in other stuff like chocolate, honey, salt, etc. Which involves--throwing those things in with the nuts. Again...that's it. OR 2. If you're using a drier nut (such as almonds) you may need to pour in a little oil (olive oil, peanut oil, canola, coconut, etc.) That's all. I'm not kidding when I say ANYONE can make this.

Now, although this nut butter has almonds in it-it is paired with the very oily peanuts which means this is a super duper easy one. I just put the nuts in there, let them go, then I had tasty tassssty almond peanut butter!

Enough about how easy it is to MAKE this almond peanut butter, let's talk about how easy it is to LOOOVE to eat it! Before I moved to NYC I had never had a nut butter other than peanut butter-heck, I didn't even know they existed! One day someone mentioned how almond butter was healthier and I tried it and was like "Eh it's good but not as good as my good 'ole pb!"

As I've already mentioned, almond butter did grow on me. However, it could never replace peanut butter in my heart. But now...I DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE! I get all the best flavors of almond and peanut butters in one place, and the health benefits of the almonds get in there too.

Really....I can't think of a better thing to spread on my toast. Or waffles (speaking of which, keep an eye out for a particularly special waffle recipe next week!). Oooh or maybe bake in cookies??

Endless possibilities. :)

Healthy Oatmeal Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 I don't know about you guys but after yesterday I feel...

well...fat.

I ate a bunch.

So I figure, let's share a healthier recipe today, shall we?

I mean...they're still cookies. 

It's not like I'm all like "Oh hey guys here's a recipe for roasted squash and kale and stuff"

Baby steps, you guys, baby steps. 

(Um...I really wish that I wanted to eat stuff like that though. Why can't I feel about veggies the way I do about cookieeees?!)

These cookies are like super simple to put together.

And they taste pretty darn delish.

Chewy, nutty, chocolatey, tastiness.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Imagine, if you will, wonderful chocolate chip cookies. 

Cookies that are pillowy and soft on the inside, chewy and delightful.

Cookies with a satisfyingly crisp edge, full of delicious dark chocolate morsels.

Chocolate chip cookies that have just a little extra oomph to them.

Cookies made with almond butter.

These are some of the best cookies, ever. I know I say that fairly often, but it's true!! The almond butter was surprisingly subtle (so much so that, when I asked Michael if he noticed anything special he made a face and asked, "Browned Butter?" I thought the flavor was more distinct than that, but then again, I made them). I felt like the almond butter flavor was more present the fresher they were, but with or without the cookies taste amazing. I really really did love what the almond butter flavor added, though. I really want them again, now. Oh boy, so yummy. You should make some homemade almond butter, then make these cookies! Yes. Yes, that is a grand idea. :D

Homemade Almond Butter

It's National Nut Day!

Would you care to celebrate with some homemade almond butter?

This may seem odd to you*, but I did not even realize other nut butter existed, outside of peanut butter.

*(or maybe not)

When I was 20, subletting a room from a friend in Jersey City, I lived with 3 dudes. 3 health conscious dudes. I was also kinda dieting so I'd look ok in my bikini for that one movie. One such boy, a model, was telling me about almond butter and how it was healthier than peanut butter. I tried it. I was like "Huh..it's OK I guess...I'd still rather have peanut butter though."

Fast forward to me having some Godiva truffles, including their roasted almond butter one-OMG. 

Fast forward to me making homemade peanut butter and realizing that I should totally make homemade nut butters all the time.

Fast forward to me making roasted almond butter. I had a smidgen bit of difficulty-the nuts weren't breaking down the way the peanuts had. I then realized I'd have to relent and add oil. So I did. Then, we had perfection. And it was deeelicious. I totally think it's amazing, now. Not better than peanut butter. But just like peanut butter's equally pretty and talented sister, ya know? And it's healthy, so, awesome.

Then I made cookies. Not necessarily so healthy. Whatever. I'll share those later. 

You know what I also did? Smeared some of this goodness on homemade graham crackers for breakfast. Yums-ville.

Discover almond butter. Discover yumminess.