Tasty Nut Butter Recipes

Everyone loves nuts accept those who are allergic right? For nut lovers, there are a variety of nut butters. A few nut butters are; almond, peanut, macadamia, pecan, cashew, pistachio, hazelnut, and walnut. There are also butters made of seeds such as; tahini, pumpkin, hemp seed, and sunflower seeds. In the botany world almonds, cashews, macadamia's, peanuts, and pistachios are not true nuts. In the culinary world however they are, which is lucky for us. These all can be crushed to create butters which are rich in protein, fiber, and essential fatty acids our bodies know how to process and digest.

Nut butters can be spread on anything from waffles to pancakes. Use them on a sandwich or create a smoothie. You can create granola bars, cookies, nut clusters covered in chocolate or even dog biscuits! I'm sure your four legged friends will love the ideas you come up with for their yummy treats. Here are a few recipes for you to try out and modify as you wish to fit your needs.

Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups spelt flour, if you don't have spelt flour you can use 4 cups whole wheat flour.

2 cups quick cooking rolled oats

1/4 cup flax seeds

2 1/2 cups warm water

1/2 cup any natural or organic nut butter of your choice

Preheat the oven to 350, combine the flours, oats, and flax seeds in a large bowl. Stir in water and nut butter. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and not sticky. Use more flour to mix into the dough to get this consistency if needed. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Using any cookie cutter shape you desire, cut out dough and place 3/4 inches apart on non greased cookie sheets. Bake for 40 minutes, turn off the oven and let biscuits sit in the oven until completely cooled off. Then your dog can enjoy some homemade treats made with love.

Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup of any desired nut butter

3/4 cup sucanat, a fairly unprocessed sugar. You can use whichever sweetener you desire as well to fit your needs

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 oz dark chocolate 70% or greater broken into small chunks

3 oz chopped nuts, whichever you like

3 oz chopped dried fruit, again whichever you like

The chunks of chocolate, nuts and dried fruit will give the cookies a lovely texture.

Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium to large bowl stir together the first five ingredients until well blended. Stir in the chocolate, chopped nuts, and chopped dried fruit. Roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls and set on a parchment lined ungreased cookie sheet. The parchment is necessary so the cookies don't burn and stick to the cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the cookies and let them cool on the baking sheet for about five minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool for another 15 minutes. When you're done, you should have about 2 dozen cookies. A nice thing to know is, if you're going to enjoy these cookies with something to drink, dairy milk interferes with the bodies absorption of the antioxidant properties of the dark chocolate. If you want the benefits of the dark chocolate, try almond, soy, or coconut milk. If you just want the taste, then dairy milk it is!

Nut Butter Smoothies

1 cup coconut, almond, or soy milk. You can use dairy if you like that

1 Tbsp of any three nut butters of your choice

2 frozen bananas

1/2 cup frozen blueberries or any frozen fruit of your liking

Mix all ingredients in the blender and enjoy!!!

Nut Butter Shake

1 cup frozen yogurt or ice cream if you want to be naughty, vanilla or chocolate

1/4 cup chopped nuts

1 cup of coconut, soy, or almond milk

1/2 cup of any nut butter you enjoy

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor and enjoy!