Sea Salt and Honey Almond Butter

This was my first attempt at a homemade nut butter, and I'm hooked. This Sea Salt and Honey Almond Butter is much cheaper than a jar from the store. It's fun to make (if you're me or my son) and delicious. A hint of salt, a touch of sweet and delicious roasted almonds. The original recipe came from Naturally Ella.

Sea Salt and Honey Almond Butter
2 cups roasted almonds
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. sea salt

If using non pre-roasted almonds, place almonds on a baking tray. Roast at 275˚ for 45 minutes. Almonds should have a nice roasted flavor to them. (I taste tested a few to make sure they were perfect ... I had a hard time stopping myself from eating them. I foresee roasted almonds in my future.) If using roasted almonds, skip this step.

Place almonds in a food processor and turn on. Almonds will go through different stages, but let the food processor run until the oil has released and almond butter has smoothed out (it will ball up right before this happens.) Turn off food processor, and transfer to a mason jar.

Stir in salt and honey. Cover with an airtight lid, and keep in the refrigerator.

Chocolate-Amaretto Cupcakes

I wasn't overly impressed by last week's cupcake, so I wanted something special to make up for the lackluster showing for my coworkers. I also wanted something appropriately festive for the week of my birthday. These Chocolate-Amaretto Cupcakes from Betty Crocker The Big Book of Cupcakes seemed to fit the bill.

The frosting is quite unique for these cupcakes because you actually make a roux (a thickened paste of flour and milk) that is mixed into the frosting. Odd, eh? However, it yields a smooth frosting that is still spreadable after some time chilling in the refrigerator. Although delicious, the frosting oozes after any time standing at room temperature, so keep it chilled until devouring.

The original recipe calls to top the cupcakes with chocolate syrup and coarsely chopped chocolate chips. I thought it would be more fun to make my own chocolate sauce. And you know what? It was. And more delicious because I got to lick the spoon.

 Here's the recipe with my minor adaptations.

Chocolate-Amaretto Cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup milk
Frosting
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. amaretto
Garnish
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chocolate sauce

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 23 cupcake tins, and set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

Beat together oil and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour and milk, starting and ending with flour.

Fill cupcake liners approximately 2/3 full. Bake 14 to 18 minutes or until cupcakes are done. Cool in pans 5 minutes, and then cool completely on a wire rack.

While cupcakes are cooling, whisk together the milk and flour for the frosting over medium heat. Heat, stirring often, until mixture is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool completely (about 1 hour).

To finish frosting, beat together butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in flour mixture until smooth. Beat in amaretto, and thicken with additional powdered sugar if needed to reach desired consistency. I found the frosting to be rather soft still, better suited to slathering than piping.

Slather (see?) frosting onto cupcakes. Top cupcakes with chocolate chips and chocolate sauce. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated prior to serving. Makes 23 cupcakes.

Yeasted Rye Bread

St. Patrick's Day wouldn't be complete without corned beef and cabbage ... or at least Reuben sandwiches. My contribution to the Reubens for the planned festivities for St. Patty's Day is this Yeasted Rye Bread from Crust and Crumb.

Yeasted Rye Bread
Sponge
1 cup bread flour
1 cup rye flour
1 tsp. yeast
1 cup room temperature water
Dough
2 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp. malt powder or brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1/4 cup buttermilk

Combine all sponge ingredients together until well mixed. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature 4 hours. Ideally the sponge will rise and fall during this time, but it is OK to proceed even if the sponge does not fall.

In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients with the sponge. Using a dough hook, mix on low one minute to incorporate the ingredients and on medium speed for approximately 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy, neutral in temperature when you touch it and not sticky.

Place the dough in a clean greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until doubled, about 90 minutes.

Punch down dough, and shape into a loaf. Place in a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until nearly doubled, about 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake the bread for 45 to 55 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack prior to slicing. Makes 1 loaf.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

This is the first homemade bread I remember making, and the note I wrote back in 2007 reads "Best Bread Ever!" Although I've made many tasty breads since that time, this bread holds a special place in my culinary memory. I baked it again this week, and it is just as good as I remember. It's wonderful lightly toasted and spread with a touch of butter. This definitely is one of my favorite breads ever and one I'll knead by hand for memory's sake! The recipe comes from Breaking Bread with Father Dominic.

Honey Oatmeal Bread 
1 cup oats, uncooked
2 cups hot water
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. salt
5 1/2 cups white flour
Additional oats for coating

Pour the oats into a large bowl. Bring 2 cups water to a boil, and pour over the oats. Let stand at least 15 minutes until mixture is lukewarm.

Sprinkle yeast over 1/4 cup warm water, and stir to mix. Let stand 5 minutes to dissolve. Add yeast mixture to oats, and add honey, butter and salt. Mix well. Work in enough flour to handle the dough, but remember the dough will be very sticky. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 1 to 2 minutes. Cover, and let rest 10 minutes. Knead again until dough is elastic, adding flour as needed.

Place dough into a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough, and divide into two equal pieces. Knead each piece gently to remove any air bubbles. Do not use any flour on the kneading surface, as you want the loaves to remain sticky. Form each piece into a round loaf, and roll in additional oats until completely covered. Place loaves on Silipat-lined baking sheets. Cover, and let rise 30 minutes or until doubled.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake loaves about 45 minutes or until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from baking sheets, and let cool on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves.

Blueberry Pancakes

I switched up our weekend pancake routine with these Cooking Light Blueberry Pancakes. They were uniquely delicious with the addition of the nutmeg. Lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar, no syrup is needed. These will be on my list to repeat.

Blueberry Pancakes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup blueberries (recipe calls for fresh, but frozen worked just fine)

Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together. In separate bowl, whisk together butter, lemon juice, vanilla and egg. Add to the flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Stir in blueberries.

Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto a hot griddle sprayed with nonstick spray. Cook until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully flip pancakes, and cook about 2 more minutes until done. Makes 4 servings.