tickles my tastebuds

Roasted Almond Nut Butter

2012-08-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

I recently made 'Coconut & Almond Nut Butter' and fell in complete love, but I decided I wanted and make another batch and really enhance the essence and taste of the almonds. So I ditched the coconut and went with straight roasted almonds, and I'm oh so happy I did. This is defiantly my preferred way to eat almond butter. It's smoother, creamier and richer without the coconut. But both are still equally amazing.

Roasted Almond Nut Butter

Serves: 200g- 8 Tablespoons (24g)

Ingredients:

*2 cups dry roasted almonds

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Method:

Place the almonds and salt into a food processor and run on high for 20 minutes give or take.

At first it will form ground almonds, then almond meal, after this point it will resemble wet sand and stick to the edges of the processor bowl so you may need to scrape the sides down. After a while it will still stick to the edges but will eventually spin all together. At this point it will look done, until you try to stir it and it wont actually be runny yet, this means you should leave it to spin for another 5 minutes, keeping a close eye on it.

Once your nut butter resembles a liquid spread, place in an airtight container or jar and place in the fridge.

It should be quite liquidly before you refrigerate it, as it will harden slightly when cold.

Additional Information

* You can buy dry roasted almonds from the grocery store for convenience; like I did, or you can buy raw almonds and roast them in your oven on a lined baking pan at 180°c for 10 minutes, remembering to toss every now and then to prevent burning.

Nutritional Information [24g]

calories: 137

fat: 11.7g

carbs: 5.2g

protein: 5.0g

sugar: 0.9g

fiber: 2.9g

Coconut & Almond Nut Butter

2012-08-05T23:19:00.001-07:00

The other day I was on the blog Delighted Momma and came across her recipe for Almond Coconut Butter. I have to be quite honest; this recipe hasn't helped my nut addiction. I have been eating spoonfuls of this straight from the jar, its also amazing on toast and on my oats for breakfast.

But the real reason I wanted to make this was to try it out in baking, like swirled in cookies and as an ingredient in raw desserts; but unfortunately ~~I'm going to have to make another batch in order to be capable of making such a recipe~~ I ate it all. Good thing almonds were on sale.

Coconut & Almond Nut Butter

Serves: 200g- 8 Tablespoons (25g)

Ingredients:

*2 cups dry roasted almonds

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut desiccated/shredded/flakes

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Method:

Place all the ingredients into a food processor and run on high for 20 minutes give or take.

Once your nut butter resembles a liquid spread, place in an airtight container or jar and place in the fridge.

It should be quite liquidly before you refrigerate it as it will harden slightly when cold.

Additional Information

Nutritional Information [25g]

calories: 135

fat: 11.4g

carbs: 5.0g

protein: 4.6g

fiber: 2.9g

Dark Chocolate Fudgsicle Ice Cream

2012-07-28T00:56:00.003-07:00

I am not a huge fan of ice cream, and have never found myself with the need of buying a churner. But in saying that I had never made ice cream from scratch and I was determined to give it ago. After browsing through a couple of ~~recipes~~ pages on foodgawker I came across a cute little blog called Scientifically Sweet, run buy Christina Marsigliese, with a recipe for Dark Chocolate Fudgsicle Ice Cream without an ice cream machine. I was so ecstatic I was willing to make an ice cream recipe in Australia's winter season, but hello.... no ice cream churner needed.

I actually didn't mind this ice cream, the method with having to stir the mixture every now and then while it was freezing was a tad temper mental; but it tasted ok. And ok, coming from someone who doesn't like ice cream is pretty damn good. My family loved it and want me to make it again, but I think I might make a healthier recipe next time, and find a recipe you just have to pour and freeze... no stirring needed.

This ice cream was really smooth and creamy, which surprised me because I didn't use a churner. The chocolate flavour really hit the spot and I swear when it melts on your tongue the flavour gets even for intense. I defiantly think you could sub in some nuts, chocolate chips or even peppermint extract, if you wanted to take this chocolate ice cream even further.

Now I know you want the secret to this delicious ice cream, so you can find it here >RECIPE< on Scientifically Sweet

Roasted Sweet & Salty Cashews

2012-07-20T20:12:00.001-07:00

I have been in such a crazy rut the past... well, year. I seriously have to confess to the fact I have an addiction. But it seems ridiculous saying you’re obsessed with nuts. Cashews, brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts. I seriously can’t help myself, they are honestly all I eat, I never crave chips, chocolate, ice cream, lollies; nothing except nuts. Not to mention the fact it took me a couple of weeks to actually get around to taking the photos for this post because every time I would grab my camera, I would find my cashew jar half empty.

Now while there’s obviously a down side of eating too many nuts, there’s also a positive side. Nuts are rich in energy, protein, packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids. Just as much as a handful a day will be doing more than good for your body and health. They are also very high in fiber which mean even just a small amount will keep you fuller for longer, most people don’t know this but nuts are defiantly recommended to anyone trying to lose a few kilos, they are quite high in calories and fat, but they are natural fats that are doing your body good and keeping you feeling satisfied.

Roasted Sweet & Salty Cashews, just hearing the name makes my mouth drool. This is a recipe I have fiddled around with and made myself, I have tried a few recipes with melting honey and sugar and found them to be sloppy and overpoweringly sweet. Like the saying goes “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”. The flavours on these cashews don’t over power the nut but simply add a hint of sweet and saltiness. I also love buying raw cashews and roasting them myself, purely for the fact you can control the amount of salt and oil being slathered on your healthy snack.

Now I know I’m addicted to nuts but I will never eat this ^^ cashew, it’s enormous, that has to be a world record.

{Roasted Sweet & Salty Cashews}

Serves: 500g (recommended serving size is a 1/4 cup/ handful)

Calories: 200, 1/4 cup

Ingredients:

500g raw cashews

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

2-3 teaspoons raw sugar

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180°c and line a rectangular baking pan with baking paper.

Place your cashews in the pan and coat with oil, sugar and salt.

Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, after the first ten minutes, continue roasting for a further 10 minutes, tossing every 1-2 minutes to prevent burning.

Feel free to remove the cashews earlier for a raw texture or until lightly golden in colour.

Place the pan on a heat proof mat and leave the cashews for an hour or so to come to room temperature, or place in the freezer to chill (I have found that freezing the cashews causes some of the salt and sugar to fall of the nut)

Once cooled, place in a jar or air tight container.

Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-07-15T01:10:00.000-07:00

There's a few things I can think of that would ruin a good Chocolate Chip Cookie, but there are a million things that would only enhance the flavour and texture of one. Exhibit A, Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies; caramel is one of my favourite flavours, ice cream, milkshakes, slice, cupcake, its all good. So I will do anything I have to get it to work in a recipe, but that’s whats so great about cookies. Nearly everything does work. You can use this recipe as a base and leave out to caramel if you really want to, or add in one of your favourite flavours. The great thing about baking is you can make the recipe your own, so you not only get to enjoy the process of baking it but eating it as well.

{Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies}

Serves: 20 approx.

Calories: 218 each

Ingredients

125g butter, softened

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons, brown sugar, firmly packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, large

2/3 cup self raising flour, sifted

1 cup plain flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

250g caramel chocolate block, roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180°c and line a flat rectangular tray with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract together until pale and creamy, scraping the sides with a spatula occasionally.

Add the flour, salt and chocolate and mix until just combined.

Form even balls of dough and place on the baking paper, leaving a gap between each cookies.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown, rotating the tray half way through the baking time. Bake for a longer time for a crunchier cookie.

Leave the cookies to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes before further cooling on a wire rack or serving.

Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Moist Blueberry Muffin Cakes

2012-07-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

As a child I would never go near a blueberry, even if it was encased in a moist delicious muffin, sure I enjoyed a good muffin but chocolate always sounded better than fruit. Since than I have grown up and developed a broader food pallet and now I cant get enough blueberries. After experimenting with a wide range of blueberry muffin recipes I've come to realise something. I actually don't like muffins very much, well let me rephrase that in a way that actually makes sense. All the recipes I had been making turned out dry and dense and in a way claggy, they just weren't very nice. One day I decided to use my absolute favourite sponge cake recipe and add in blueberries, I've been hooked ever since. When you bite into this muffin the juicy blueberries burst in your mouth surrounded by a moist decadent sponge. I feel obliged to warn you however, these muffins are highly addictive and I take no responsibility for any addiction that may occur.

{Moist Blueberry Muffin Cakes}

Serves: 12 muffins

Calories: 174 each

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons plain flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup boiling water

1-2 cups frozen blueberries

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180°c and line a muffin pan with 12 muffin cases.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to aerate and remove any lumps.

Crack in the egg, spoon in the sour cream and pour in the oil and vanilla, use a whisk and stir until just combined.

Pour the boiling water in the mixture and slowly stir and combined, the batter will be extremely runny, however do not fear, this is absolutely normal.

Spoon the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cases leaving a 1cm space from the top.

Sprinkle the blueberries on top of the batter, you can fold each muffin batter gently to distribute the blueberries but don't over fold or else your muffin will become blue.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes rotating the pan half way through the baking time and removing from the oven when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean and the top in golden brown.

Serve warm or place cooled muffins in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Wholemeal Peanut Butter Carrot Pupcakes

2012-07-14T23:44:00.000-07:00

2012 was quite a special year for my dog Trixie, she was turning double digits and I knew it called for a celebration, we've had her for ten whole years, and yet she still shows no signs of ageing. The celebration was nothing special, just a make believe party with cake. Since peanut butter is Trixie's favourite I new I had to make these Wholemeal Peanut Butter Carrot Pupcakes, and I'm glad she did because she is in love with these, too bad this is defiantly a sometimes treat for animals. Although I made 1 large cupcake and 4 small, I defiantly didn’t feed all of these to her. Dogs and other animals have very different diets to humans; so don't go overboard when baking for pets, as they can get quite ill. And yes, in theory people can eat these as well, there's nothing strange in them, however I can’t vouch for the taste, as I was too squeamish to try one.

{Whole Meal Peanut Butter Carrot Pupcakes}

Serves: 2 large or 8 small cupcakes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 small egg

1 heaped tablespoon natural peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey

¼ cup carrot, shredded

¼ cup whole wheat flour, sifted

½ teaspoon bicarb soda

extra peanut butter for frosting

dog treats for garnish

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180c and line a pan with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the egg, oil, vanilla, honey and peanut butter until smooth and glossy, then add the carrot and whisk again.

Add the flour and bicarb soda and continue to whisk together until just combined.

Evenly distribute the cake batter between the cake liners, filling them right to the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown or when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Invert onto a cooling rack and leave to cool for 30 minutes before frosting with peanut butter.

My New Home

2012-07-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

I'm Kristina, a 15-year old teenager who lives in QLD Australia. I started tickles my tastebuds to express my passion for baking and share my recipes and baking stories with the online blogging community. I adore the classic desserts filled with butter, flour and sugar but also enjoy experimenting with healthier raw options, so I assure you, there will be a variety of recipes for you to chose from and who knows you may even decide to bake something out of your comfort zone and fall in complete love with it. Food is after all about bringing people together and enjoying the company around the dining table.
In the past I did create a blog named Vanilla Nougat and as it was my first I never realised how quickly traffic could head my way, I had received a number of followers in a short amount of time but wasn't happy with the appearance and name of the blog, I hadn't yet been able to remove the kinks and didn't believe it reflected my personality to the extent I wanted it to. I will however repost some of the recipes from my old blog and wanted to ensure my readers understood I was not in any way trying to take credit for someone else's recipes or photography. So welcome to my new and improved blog, I can now gladly call tickles my tastebuds home.