Almond Butter Cookies

Last week’s batch of peanut butter cookies left me wanting more! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough peanut butter left for a whole batch and so I went for Barney Butter instead…it did not disappoint!

Even though my roommates and I ate every last cookie in last week’s batch, I wasn’t totally satisfied. I changed the recipe a bit for the almond butter cookies but I think it would totally rock for the peanut butter cookies: round 2.

Almond Butter Cookies

makes 18 teaspoon-size cookies

Wet Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup crunchy almond butter
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk (nondairy is fine)
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed

Dry Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

*Note: Barney Butter has added sweetener and salt so I held back on the maple syrup. If you use unsweetened/unsalted nut butter, you may have to adjust accordingly.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350*
• Cream together the wet ingredients (I used my stand mixer)
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
• Add the dry to the wet and mix until fully incorporated.
• Make teaspoon size balls of dough and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
• Gently press down on the balls to flatten a bit. Sprinkle with raw sugar.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies begin to crack a bit.

These were much more moist than the peanut butter cookies, I think due to the large quantity of almond butter, the lesser amount of flour, and the addition of flax. Flax may seem like a “dry” ingredient but it adds fat to the recipe and moisture.

These aren’t very sweet and are exactly the hearty cookie I crave when I’m still a bit hungry after dinner or when I’m searching for an afternoon snack.

Just a Monday afternoon.

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Broomcycles

Perfect day for a little running.

I met up with my roommate and the 2-year old she cares for. We staked out our spots mad early only to be overrun by Lasell College kids. 7000 cowbells ringing out of unison? Eh, no thanks.

Once we moved down the road a bit we had a prime viewing spot (even if the wind threatened to take all of us down).

I was too distracted with the little guy and searching for people I knew to snap many runner photos buuttt…Hey, Kara!

The little boy could not get enough of the wheelchairs, hand cycles, and millions of official vehicles. “BIG truck! BIG motorcycle!”. My favorite exclamation came when he called the hand cycles “broomcycles”. Something about witches and bikes in the sky…It’s a story time thang, I guess =) (And a wayyy better name if you ask me!).

I have to give a shout out to my longtime buddy who, as I mentioned earlier today, ran the Annecy marathon in FRANCE yesterday and ran Boston today! 2 marathons, 2 continents, 2 days. How wild is that?! Congrats, PMR!

After running some late afternoon errands, I headed to my parents’ for the first BBQ of the season. On the menu? BISON BURGERS!

I rarely eat ground beef (or any beef, for that matter) and find turkey burgers to be a bit slimy – bison saves the day! Low in fat like turkey but with the meatiness of beef. And raised conscientiously!

We mixed about 3/4 of a lb of meat with a 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and some garlic powder. Dad took care of the expert grilling =)

A slice of provolone on top with spicy mustard and ketchup and served on a whole wheat bun from Whofie. Great way to kick off spring =) And grilled veggies? I could eat grilled veggies for dessert. Charred onions, caramalized carrots and peps? So. So. Good. We got my dad a grilling basket a few years back and he makes veggies in it all summer long.

He and I also split a UFO white – it is a schoolnight, after all 😉

See those little charred bits? And how soft and wrinkly the peppers get? Okay, I realize soft and wrinkly don’t generally characterize delicious food but take my word for it. You want your grilled peppers that way.

I was famished and even though this dinner totally hit the spot, dessert was calling il mio nome…

Incredibly fresh fruit salad and a vegan ginger cookie to get my sweet fix. My parents and I are hooked on this cookie; we might just wither up and die if Whofie ever stops making them.

Back to the real world tomorrow but it’s a bit more doable after such a fabulous day in the sunshine.

Check out this neat video if you’re a bike nerd (or just a nerd).

Balancing Bikes