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I make Homemade Almond Milk at least a couple of times a week. I love the smooth richness of the milk and knowing that there are only 2 ingredients involved, almonds and water. Making homemade milk leaves me with a lot of ground almond meal left over. While I usually toast it in the oven and store it in zip lock bags for later use, lately I’ve been using the almond meal raw in several different ways. The first use is for Frugal Almond Meal Cookies and later this week I’ll have another recipe using almond meal. These cookies are reminiscent of Pecan Sandies but I’ve also included an option to make them into a chocolate almond cookie because what’s better than chocolate and almonds? It’s a win/win/win as far as I’m concerned. I get to use up the almond meal and I get 2 different and delicious cookies.

Kristy

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups raw almond meal left over from making Homemade Almond Milk (If you don’t have almond meal you can soak 1 1/4 cups almonds in water overnight, drain the water and then grind the almonds in a food processor. See notes.)
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 3/4 cup maple syrup (use honey for chocolate cookies)
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (for chocolate cookies only)

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix the ground flax seed with the water in a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix together the almond meal, whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the remaining ingredients including the flax seed mixture to the bowl and stir until completely combined.
5. Roll approximately 2 tbsp each of the dough into a balls and place on the baking sheets. Press down gently to flatten slightly.
6. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on cooling racks. Cool and enjoy!

Nutritional Info:

Makes approximately 36 cookies.

Serving size 1 cookie.

Nutritional information not available.  We don’t have accurate nutritional info for the leftover almond meal to be able to calculate the nutritional facts correctly.

Notes:

Store cookies in an airtight container for 4-5 days or freeze in ziplock bags for longer storage.

Raw almond meal will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

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How do you like your brownies? Soft and cake-like or gooey and fudgey? I love a good ooey-gooey fudgey brownie. No cake like brownies for me. I have tried so many variations of brownie recipes recently that I have lost count. While they all taste good they end up dry as desert sand or crumble into a million pieces before even reaching my mouth. I had given up trying when I was browsing through my recipe file and came across chocolate pumpkin muffins. The muffins were moist and held together perfectly so maybe if I used pumpkin in my brownie recipe I could get the same results? But, while I love pumpkin it didn’t seem right for brownies and then I thought of sweet potatoes. Oh sweet chocolate success! They turned out perfect and don’t worry if you have vegetables objectors in your family who think they don’t like sweet potatoes, they will never know unless you tell them. Otherwise, it’s just between you, me and the mixing bowl.

Kristy

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1/3 cup non-dairy milk of your choice
• 1/2 cup raw coconut oil, plus a little to grease a baking dish
• 1 cup chocolate chips of your choice, divided
• 1 cup cooked sweet potato, mashed (about 1 large potato)
• 1/2 cup raw coconut crystals
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 glass baking dish. If using a dark non-stick metal pan reduce heat to 325F.
2. In a small bowl mix the flax and milk. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl (or double boiler if you prefer) add the coconut oil and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips. Melt in the microwave (or on the stove), about 30 seconds or until completely melted. Stir to combine.
4. Add the mashed sweet potato and the coconut crystals. Stir until well mixed and then add the flax mixture and the vanilla. Stir until combined.
5. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until all the flour is incorporated.
6. Stir in the walnuts and remaining chocolate chips.
7. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
8. Bake 20-22 minutes or until the edges are firm. The center will still look shiny and be slightly soft. Don’t over bake. Remove from the oven and cool completely before cutting.

Nutritional Info:

Makes 16 servings

Nutritional information not available as it would depend on the milk and chocolate chips used.

Notes:

Store leftovers wrapped tightly or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days if they last that long! I actually like the brownies best out of the refrigerator the next day because they are almost like fudge but if you prefer you can leave them at room temperature for 10-15 minutes or microwave for a few seconds before serving.

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Once a week, for just a couple of hours, my kids meet up with other homeschoolers for what we call ‘workshop’.  They do fun projects, have lunch and recess and finish up the day with some computer work.  Last week after workshop my daughter, Keegan, was telling me about her friend Eden who had peanut butter cookies in her lunch and why didn’t I ever make peanut butter cookies?  Being a big fan of peanut butter I figured making peanut butter cookies sounded like a pretty good idea.  I used my Almond Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies for inspiration and while I would have added chocolate chips to this recipe, Keegan wanted peanut butter cookies “just like Eden’s” so we went without…this time!

~Sarah

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups natural no salt added creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• sea salt

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick mat.
2. In a large bowl mix together the peanut butter, honey, vanilla and milk.
3. Add the flour and baking soda and stir until just combined.  (If the dough is too sticky to work with, chill in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.)
4. Form the dough into round balls (about tablespoon sized) and place on the baking sheet.  Gently flatten with a fork and sprinkle the tops with sea salt.
   

   Gently flatten with a fork and sprinkle the tops with sea salt

5. Bake for approximately 11 minutes or until set.  Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Nutritional Info:

Makes 24 cookies.

Serving size 1 cookie.

Nutrients per serving:  Calories: 145, Cal. from Fat: 75, Total Fat: 8g, Sat. Fat: 1g, Carbs: 13g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 4.5g, Protein: 4g, Sodium: 27mg, Chol: 0mg

Notes:

Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.  For storage longer than 2 days you can store in the fridge for an additional 5 days.