Maple, Vanilla Bean, Flax-Almond Butter

Growing up, I was one of very few children who despised peanut butter (what the heck, right?). When I hit middle school, I went from hating the stuff, to being full-blown obsessed. And I seriously mean obsessed. To the point that my best friend, Alana, and I would have competitions to see who could build the largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich, using as little jelly as possible, and as much peanut butter as possible. I'll say that things got a bit out of hand with quadruple deckers and the such with just a minute smear of jam and probably about 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Good thing we were growing kids or I could have easily weighed 800lbs!

Years later, I discovered that peanut butter wasn't the only nut butter out there, and almond butter was introduced to my life. Since then I have tried all of the nut butters that I can find, and have recently been trying my hand at making my own!

You won't believe how easy making your own nut butters is (and, most of the time, cheaper), and it allows for worlds more customization! This almond butter comes from Ashley at Edible Perspective, and my oh my, of the dozens of nut butters I have tried, I think this one holds top spot. It is positively AMAZING! It's ultra creamy, slightly sweet, and satisfyingly salty.
It is hard to get away from eating it by the finger-full, but if you can manage, it makes KILLER PB&Js (technically AB&Js) :). I cannot recommend this recipe any higher; really guys, try this one ASAP!

Maple, Vanilla Bean, Flax-Almond Butter

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1/3 cup whole flax seeds
• 3 tbsp maple syrup, divided
• 1/2 whole vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 1tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a sheet pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, toss together the almonds, flax, and 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Spread out on the sheet tray and bake for 30 minutes, stirring after 15.
3. Pour the baked nuts into your food processor and process for around 10 minutes, until nice and creamy, scraping the sides about a dozen times.
4. Add in the salt, vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and remaining maple syrup. Process for about 5 minutes longer, drizzling in the oil at the end.
5. Store in an airtight jar.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Caramel Sauce and Creme Fraiche Whipped Cream

As I've said before, I absolutely despise Pumpkin Pie. This is terribly odd as I LOVE everything else pumpkin. Anyways, because of this hatred, every year for Thanksgiving I make a dessert that includes pumpkin, but is not a pumpkin pie. Last year I made a Pumpkin Banana Cream Pie that was positively scrumptious, but this year's pumpkin pie substitute was, dare I say, TWICE as good!

This cheesecake filling was luxuriously creamy with hints of spice throughout. I've left the whipped cream topping unsweetned as I think you will agree that the cheesecake and caramel are plenty sweet enough and the slight tang that the creme fraiche adds is a delightful compliment.

My two absolute favorite parts of this cheesecake were the crust, which was totally awesome with the mixture of the nutty pecans and gingersnap cookies, and the maple caramel sauce which I have to refrain from drinking straight out of the squeeze-bottle, and which I can say from experience is AWESOME when heated up and drizzled over ice cream (by the way, homemade vanilla ice cream post is coming in the near future!).

I would have loved to get some pictures of slices of this cheesecake but unfortunately Mikey and I were not given much time to take pictures as everyone was ready to dig in!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

crust:

• 1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans, toasted
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

filling:

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups canned pure pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1-1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 large eggs

for crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, fine grind the ground cookies, toasted pecans, and brown sugar. Add in the melted butter and whir to combine.
3. Press the crust onto the bottom and sides of a 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2-3 inch sides.
4. Bake for 8 minutes.

for filling:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and creamy. Remove 3/4 cup of the mixture and do with it what you will. (The original recipe uses this as a topping but instead I used the creme fraiche whipped cream.)
2. Add in the pumpkin, whipping cream, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Beat until well combined. Add in the eggs 1 at a time, beating until just incorporated after each addition.
3. Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan with 2 layers of aluminum foil. Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan and fill with cheesecake filling. Place the roasting pan in the oven and fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan (it's much easier to fill it with water when it's already in the oven).
4. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes, until the top is set but the cheesecake still jiggles when lightly shaken. Refrigerate overnight.
5. To serve, spread the Creme Fraiche Whipped Cream (recipe below) over the top of the cheesecake and top with drizzles of the Maple Caramel Sauce (recipe below). Serve with extra caramel on the side.

Creme Fraiche Whipped Cream

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Chill the bowl and whisk attachment of an electric mixer for at least 15 minutes before making whipped cream.
2. In the cold bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the creme fraiche and whipping cream until stiff peaks form.

Maple Caramel Sauce

recipe from here

ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp maple flavoring

1. Combine the cream, sugar, and syrup in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce is caramel-colored and reduced to 1 3/4 cups, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. (Don't be alarmed in the mixture bubbles up. Stir it and it will subside. If it gets too high you can turn down the heat until it subsides.)
3. Stir in the maple flavoring. Cool slightly, cover, and chill.

Maple Dijon Roasted Brussel Sprouts

In my quest to be healthy despite my love of all food, I have decided to start including calorie counts of my recipes.

I saw this recipe over at Closet Cooking a couple of weeks ago and could not wait to try it out. I adore savory/sweet combinations and I new this one would be right up my alley.
The brussels sprouts were out-of-this world good! The tang of the apple cider vinegar with the sweetness of the maple syrup was utterly divine.
I like my roasted veggies ultra crispy so I let them go in the oven for quite a while. The little leaves that fell off of the spouts got nice and crunchy and reminded me a lot of kale chips- Yum!

Maple Dijon Roasted Brussels Sprouts

recipe from here

As you can see I used a pound of brussels sprouts (as apposed to Kevin's two) with the same amount of dressing; I really enjoyed the concentrated flavor and though it was accidental on my part, I will now make them like this every time!

ingredients:

• 1lb brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed, and halved
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss the brussels sprouts in 1 tablespoon olive oil and spread out on a baking sheet.
3. Whisk together the remaining ingredients minus the almonds. Set aside.
4. Bake the sprouts for around 30 minutes, being sure to stir them around half way through.
5. Toss the roasted sprouts and toasted almonds in the vinaigrette and serve!

4 side servings at about 170 calories each, or two big servings at 340 calories each :)

Good to the last sprout!