Starting the year off with something slightly more healthy than cookies, I’ve made granola bars. This is an all purpose recipe that lets you swap out the type of nut (almonds or pecans or cashews or peanuts) and the type of fruit (I’ve made these with dried apricots, cranberries, cherries and raisins). If you can’t find pecan butter, or if it is too expensive (because wow, it can be very expensive!), stick with almond butter as it is the most neutral of the nut butters. I’ve not tried it will sunflower seed butter, but I will eventually and will report back on that too.
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Sweet Snacks
Here we are at the end of 2018, and I am baking again. The change of one year to the next always makes me think of “Lucky Foods” to ring in the new year. The US South has black eyed peas, Eastern Europeans have pickled herring. In Italy and I believe Spain, you eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. In Germany, there are lots of traditions as well, but I am going with something that implies luck, though not necessarily New Year’s. You see, in English, we have the expression “Lucky Devil” (as in, “You’re such a luck devil for winning the lottery!”). In German, a similar expression is to be a “Glücksschwein” (lucky pig) or “Glückspilz” (lucky mushroom). I had found these cute little cookie cutters at the Christmas Markets in Munich a few weeks ago, so decided to make Glückspilz Spitzbuben (Lucky Mushroom Linzer Cookies) — mainly because I thought that words Glückspilz and Spitzbuben would be funny to say (can’t you tell that I am a linguist by profession?). Filled with apricot and raspberry jam, and sure to bring luck in 2019!
Aaaand here is another stocking stuffer idea: Buckeyes! Yes, just another excuse to make sweets really. And these are sweets with a kick. If you’ve never heard of Eliot’s Adult Nut Butters, you should definitely seek them out. Peanut butter, Almond butter and Sunflower seed butter with a kick — they make honey sriacha, garam marsala and the type I used here, chocolate chili. Very yummy. I added a little bit of additional chili powder and sprinkled on some sea salt to round out the sweet and salty combo. Very yummy!
It’s getting close to Christmas so here is a great idea for a stocking stuffer: Absolutely fabulously delicious roasted nuts. They are to die for yummy! Sweet from the honey, flavorful but not really spicy from the cinnamon and smoked paprika. They are both sweet and savory. You can use any type of nuts, but I went with cashews, almonds and pecans, but walnuts and even macademias would be lovey too. They’ll stay fresh for a couple of weeks, if they last that long!