Nuts

ALMOND MONSTER COOKIES

August 7, 2021 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

My Dietary Changes

I’ve been making some changes in my day-to-day eating habits… again. I promise the end result in this post is a recipe for my incredible Almond Monster Cookies but hear me out on the journey. If you’ve been following me for very long, you might know that I was vegetarian for a while. There is so much that I love about a vegetarian diet but right now, it just isn’t realistic for me. If you’re curious, about the details, you can read more here. Family members of mine recently changed their diet to include gluten-free, dairy-free, and intermittent fasting. I know that intermittent fasting is not something I want to follow but their changes got me thinking and exploring. I’ve been curious about anti-inflammatory foods for a long time and have been reading up on some beginner level information. I certainly don’t claim to have a background in nutrition or medicine. Please don’t look to my choices as any type of advice or expert recommendation. I am simply sharing what is currently working for myself. Right now, I am significantly reducing gluten, dairy, and caffeine in my diet. As I do not have a true allergy to any of these items, I am not holding a strict elimination of these items.

Four rows of cookie dough balls on a tray with a scooper of dough above it.

What I’m Noticing

That Almond Monster Cookie recipe is still coming. First, let’s talk about what I am noticing most by reducing gluten, dairy, and caffeine. An INCREASE in energy. That’s right, more energy with less caffeine! It seems almost counterintuitive but it is a remarkable change. I have an easier time waking up in the morning. My energy maintains throughout the day rather than crashing once the coffee wears off. The other big difference I’m noticing is reduced puffiness under my eyes. I’m not talking slight puffiness from not sleeping well, I’m talking significant puffiness for which I’ve seen multiple doctors for. My docs have happily offered me lots of allergy meds and even botox type of injections. Not one of them ever mentioned diet change to me. I am so thankful to say the puffiness under my eyes has reduced significantly. No it isn’t completely gone, but I’m not self-conscience about it like I have been for a few years now.

Tray of monster cookies with three small plates, each with a cookie on it.

Challenge Accepted

Alright, let’s get down to the Almond Monster Cookies – that’s really why you’re all here, right?! I’m sure many of you have at least tried a gluten free and/or dairy free dessert at some point. You know how bad that experience can be. Listen, I love baked goods and I am not willing to completely give them up. You know what? I’m also not willing to give up quality flavor or texture in those baked goods. In other words, I’m up for the challenge of creating fantastic gluten-free, dairy-free dessert options. These Almond Monster Cookies are definitely monster sized and absolutely delicious. They have a lighter flavor and texture compared to the traditional peanut version but still include the candies and oats you expect in a monster cookie. Give these a try and tell me, do you miss the gluten? I think you’ll be too busy reaching for a second cookie to even reply here.

Almond Monster Cookies

Sarah Baade

These almond monster cookies are definitely monster sized and absolutely delicious. They have a lighter flavor and texture compared to the traditional peanut version but still include the candies and oats you expect in a monster cookie.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

2 ½ cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening (butter flavored)
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup sugar
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup creamy almond butter
1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup plain m&m candies
½ cup almond slivers

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together shortening, brown sugar, and sugar.
Beat eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture.
Mix in almond butter.
Gradually mix in dry ingredients.
Stir in oats, chocolate chips, m&m's, and almond slivers.
Cover and chill dough for a minimum of 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll dough tightly into golf ball sized balls and space out six on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake 18-20 minutes or until cookies are golden in color.

Notes

If you are baking these for someone who has a gluten allergy, please be sure to use gluten-free certified products.
I used an ice cream scoop to make it easier to get the dough into such a large ball.
I have made this dough up to 2 days ahead of when I planned to bake the cookies. Just be sure the bowl is covered with a lid or plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out.

Keyword Almond Cookies, Almond Monster Cookies, GF Cookies, Gluten Free, Homemade Cookies, Monster Cookies

CLASSIC PESTO

September 1, 2020 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

Since moving to Texas nearly a decade ago, I have tried growing some sort of produce nearly every summer. I’ve been semi-successful with tomatoes and peppers here and there but nothing really worth bragging about. This summer we had some local teenagers build a raised garden bed for us and I am really looking forward to how this will expand my gardening efforts. This is also the first summer I’ve ventured into growing herbs. I’m proud to say that my basil plant has been thriving! This plant has more than doubled in size in the short couple of months its been living in my backyard. The best way I could think of to honor this beautiful plant is to make pesto out of it. This recipe puts the basil front and center.

You can actually make pesto from a variety of ingredients. You essentially choose your greens, choose your nuts, and combine with the remaining typical ingredients. I love that this enables you to use what you have on hand. This past weekend, I even made a version that used the green leaves from my sweet potato plants. But let’s be honest, most people don’t have those readily available. As I continue to play around with different combinations, I may post some of my favorite pesto recipes. There is a lot to be said, though, for starting with the basics though.

Here, I’ve decided to keep things traditional – basil and pine nuts. Once you put it all together, there are lots of options for using your pesto. I love eating it on toast with hummus and a thick tomato slice. You can use pesto instead of a red sauce as your base on pizza or on pasta. I’m also a huge fan of pesto on fried eggs. I’d love to hear how you end up using this recipe so feel free to leave a comment below with the details.

Classic Pesto

Sarah Baade

Classic pesto is easy to make and a fantastic way to use up fresh basil.

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Course Condiments, Sauces

Cuisine Italian

Equipment

Food Processor

Ingredients

1/3 cup pine nuts
2 cups fresh basil, packed
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Place pine nuts in a dry sauté pan and cook over medium low heat. Stir frequently until pine nuts are lightly browned. Once toasted, immediately remove pine nuts from heat and place on a separate plate to cool. ***Watch pine nuts closely during this process as they can quickly pass from lightly toasted to burned.
Place cooled pine nuts, basil, parmesan cheese, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.
Add olive oil, lemon juice and salt into the food processor and pulse until smooth.

Keyword Basil, Pesto, Pine Nuts

HONEY SRIRACHA SNACK MIX

November 26, 2019 by Sarah Baade Leave a Comment

There are certain foods that we tend to eat only for special occasions. Holidays, birthdays, Super Bowl, etc. I love that it makes those dishes seem extra special. When you eat them, you instantly have memories of those special gatherings – the people you were with or the event you were celebrating. One of those dishes for me is homemade snack mix. Don’t get me wrong, store bought is great and I routinely buy it for road trips. But homemade snack mix? That’s extra special to me. I can recall the smell wafting through the house as it cooked in the oven. The wait for it to cool enough to eat was excruciating but so worth it.

One of the things I love about cooking and blogging is putting a twist on a classic dish. The flavor options are almost endless with something like snack mix. Salty, sweet, spicy… or a combination like I did for this version. The heat of the sriracha isn’t overwhelming. It’s that type of heat that adds flavor and the presence gradually increases as you eat more and more. Similarly, the honey doesn’t cause excessive sweetness; it adds a balance to the heat and the saltiness. The result? A snack you’ll struggle to put down. You might want to just double the batch so you’ll have enough for friends. 😉

Honey Sriracha Snack Mix

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Course Snack

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup sriracha sauce
2 Tablespoons Honey
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups Crispix cereal
3 cups wheat Chex cereal
2 cups mini twist pretzels
2 cups Cheez-It crackers
1 cup whole, raw cashews, unsalted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250°F.
In a large pot over low heat, stir together butter, sriracha, honey, garlic powder, onion powder and salt until butter is melted and all ingredients are incorporated.
Remove butter mixture from heat and stir in all remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Transfer mixture into a roasting pan and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Keyword Honey, Honey Sriracha Snack Mix, Snack, Snack Mix, Sriracha

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like Chili Lime Roasted Cashews.

Rhubarb Bread

August 20, 2018 by Sarah Baade 6 Comments

Rhubarb. I feel like I need to admit that prior to this recipe, I had never eaten rhubarb. I’m not a big fan of celery and it just looks like giant pink celery so why would I want to eat it? What is particularly astonishing about this situation is that strawberry rhubarb pie is one of my dad’s favorite desserts. I grew up with this pie being made in my household somewhat regularly. Still, I never tried it. As I sifted through my grandma’s recipe box I knew I needed to get over myself and give this a go.

I feel like you need to know your fruits and vegetables in raw form before cooking with them. So, I did it. I took a bite of raw rhubarb – BITTER!!! Clearly sugar is needed to balance this out, no wonder I’ve only ever seen it in desserts. I also tasted the batter before pouring it into the loaf pans (I know, I was risking salmonella with the raw egg). I was expecting it to be sweet like a muffin or pumpkin bread but it was actually quite mild. My second confession for this recipe is that I was starting to think this might be my first fail of Grandma’s recipe box. I. Was. Wrong! The brown sugar crumbles on top added just the right amount of sweetness to make this bread completely delightful and the bitterness of the rhubarb subsided as it baked. Alright, rhubarb lovers of the world, I get it and I’m now a member of your club!

Tips:

Sometimes your hands are better tools than anything you can buy. I found it easiest to mix the topping ingredients together by hand.
You can grease your loaf pans if you don’t have parchment paper.

Rhubarb Bread

Bread:

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ cups diced rhubarb

½ cup walnut pieces

Topping:

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, slightly softened

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two loaf pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together all bread ingredients in order listed. Pour equal amounts of batter into each loaf pan.

In a small bowl, mix together topping ingredients. Sprinkle equal amounts of topping over each pan of batter.

Bake 50-60 minutes or until test until a test stick can be inserted and removed clean. Once loaves are baked, let cool 20 minutes before removing from pans. Slice and serve slightly warm or let loaves finish cooling on a wire rack.

Original recipe source unknown. Recipe has been modified from this version for the purpose of this blog.

Honey Date Nut Bars

April 8, 2018 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

Last week we had family in town for Easter. I had every intention of cooking a couple of vegetarian dinners but ultimately did not cook one single meal at home. I have no regrets though! Ultimately, the time I would have spent cutting vegetables or creating a sauce was spent having amazing conversations. I love cooking but I love quality time with family even more.

A couple of days before our guests arrived, I made these nut bars. I am definitely a grab and go breakfast kind of person. Even as a child, I did not eat a big breakfast. I’m so glad I had these on hand because they provided all of us with a quick, light breakfast or snack when we needed it. You’ll notice that there isn’t any fruit or chocolate in this recipe. It is so hard to find a granola or nut bar without these ingredients which is why I decided to create one of my own. If I really want chocolate, I’ll go grab a cookie. For a light, grab-and-go breakfast, I’ll stick with these nut bars.

Tips:

A candy thermometer is recommended for getting the honey to temperature. However, you can also let it get to a rolling boil and then drop a small amount of the hot liquid into a cold cup of water. The honey should become firm and when you pinch it with your fingers it should have very little give.
If you aren’t a fan of almonds or macadamia nuts, feel free to sub out for your favorite combination, just keep the measurement ratios the same as what is given in the recipe.

Honey Date Nut Bars

Makes 12 bars

2 cups roasted, unsalted almonds

1 cup roasted, unsalted macadamia nuts, broken into large pieces

3 pitted medjool dates, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup pepitas

2/3 cup crispy rice cereal

Directions:

Put almonds, macadamia nuts, pepitas, dates, rice cereal and salt into large bowl and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, bring honey and vanilla to a rolling boil, stirring constantly until you reach 300°F.

Pour hot honey mixture over nut mixture, stirring to quickly mix the two.

Spread nut mixture evenly over parchment paper lined 9×9 pan. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

PUMPKIN PECAN PIE

November 21, 2017 by Sarah Baade 2 Comments

Thanksgiving is all about sharing a meal with those you are thankful for. I’ve lived all over the place so spending time with family by blood is not alway an option for this holiday. However, I have been incredibly blessed to make friends who are dear enough to be called family. Some I had known for years before being invited, others I had only known for a few months. Regardless of the age of friendship, it is incredible to gather around a table and express gratitude. Even in years that life has brought challenges, ESPECIALLY when life has brought challenges, there is plenty to be thankful for. A roof over my head, friends/family to lean on or celebrate with, food on the table (even if not in abundance). I hope that this year, you will be spending time with loved ones and celebrating the wins and/or overcoming the losses of the year together.

While I haven’t been a life long pumpkin lover, I knew I needed to try this recipe from my grandmother’s recipe box. What a joy to have her with me in spirit as I made this pie for friends. This pie is the perfect balance of both pumpkin and pecan. For those of you who can’t decide between the two flavors, this is your solution!!! Grandma also gets bonus points for this recipe because it is so amazingly easy. The hardest part is getting it into the oven without spilling the filling. Check out the tips below for help with that.

Tips

If you are using pre-made pie crust that is in an aluminum tin, place it on a baking sheet before pouring the filling in and keep it on the baking sheet even while baking it. The tin is flimsy enough that it is easy to spill the filling while transferring it to the oven if you don’t have the support of the baking sheet.
If you are using a roll-out pre-made pie crust and placing it in your own glass/metal pie dish, go ahead and put a baking sheet in the oven on the bottom shelf. If you happen to have any filling bubble over the edge of the crust the baking sheet will catch it and save you from a mess in your oven.

For those wanting to be more decorative with the pie, you can customize your crust by imprinting the edges with items you can find in your own kitchen. For this one, I used the handle of a measuring spoon so get those cute little dots. You can absolutely sprinkle the pecan pieces all over the top. I chose to make a circle out of the nuts near the crust edge before sprinkling the rest.

PUMPKIN PECAN PIE

Sarah Baade

Why choose between pumpkin and pecan when you can have both? This pie is the perfect marriage of both flavors and is incredibly easy to make.

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 45 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 slices

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9" pie crust
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
15 oz canned pumpkin
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 Tablespoons butter melted and cooled
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line pie dish with pre-made pie crust.
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, pumpkin, corn syrup and butter. Pour mixture into pie crust.
Top with chopped pecans. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until filling does not jiggle.
Once cooled, serve topped with whipped cream.

Keyword Dessert, Pecan, Pie, Pumpkin

*Original source of this recipe is unknown. Directions are slightly modified from my grandmother’s recipe card.

Double Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

April 9, 2017 by Sarah Baade 5 Comments

I learned two things while creating this recipe. First, this dough was NOT meant to be biscotti. Second, it doesn’t matter because apparently, my family doesn’t care for biscotti anyway. When I tried making this dough into biscotti it was a huge fail. The edges were burning and the center was puffing up. However, one bite into the middle puffy area and I knew I needed to find a way to use this dough for something else.

Double Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies - Slice of Honey Blog

Take two and I discovered success in cookies! I have served a lot of different cookies to family, friends and co-workers over the years. I have never received more complements than I have with these cookies. The rustic appearance gives the impression that these might be a crispy cookie but they are actually quite soft inside. The bonus is that they still taste great dipped in coffee so feel free to indulge for breakfast.

Tips:

This dough is thick. Be sure to use a stand mixer so you don’t burn out your electric hand mixer.
If you need to approach this recipe in steps, combine your dry ingredients and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap until you’re ready to finish the recipe.

Double Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

5 tablespoons butter (room temperature)

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup raw macadamia nut pieces

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat brown sugar with granulated sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients 1 cup at a time. Stir in macadamia nuts and chocolate chips.

Scoop tablespoon-sized mounds of cookie dough and place on the parchment paper. Leave 2-inches between the cookies. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and transfer the cookies from the parchment to cooling racks.