'nut'ter butter series

growing up

Even though I'm no longer five, I still enjoy my classic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or, even more nostalgic ants on a log as a snack. I'm sure you do it as well, but wouldn't it be nice to jazz it up a bit? After all, food is fun, meant to be enjoyed by you and more importantly, your taste buds. 

(Some of you may remember my 2017 experiments with peanut sauce here: Peanut Sauce)

I've put together a list of my favorite recipes that use nut butter spreads made with atypical ingredients (i.e. not only peanuts). Feel free to mix and match: There are endless nut and seed spreads available for purchase now in local grocery stores, and my hope is that these recipes will expand the way you view the application of them. You can, and should, play around and swap out the 'vehicles' as well, i.e. instead of endive leaves as the base, try apple or cucumber slices. 

​Let's get nutty:

nut butter series

Peanut Butter Bites
Ingredients:
½ cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon five spice powder
½ cup apple, small dice
4 celery stalks cut into 4” ‘logs’
1 tablespoon celery leaves minced
Directions: 
1. In a small bowl, mix peanut butter and five spice. If it’s too thick to stir, you can add water to thin it out, adding drop by drop.
2. Assembly: on each celery, spread peanut butter leaving enough room to top with apple and optional minced celery leaves.

Sunflower Butter Bites
Ingredients:
½ cup sunflower butter
1 pear, cut thinly into matchsticks
4 radish, pickled or fresh, cut thinly into matchsticks
1 tsp black sesame
25 rice crackers
Directions:
1. In a bowl, mix pear and radish with black sesame.
2. Assembly: on each rice cracker, apply sunflower butter, then the pear/radish mix.

Almond Butter Bites
Ingredients:
½ cup almond butter
½ cup shredded carrot
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 tablespoons raisins
20 endive leaves
Directions:
1. Mix almond butter in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of water if too thick and add cinnamon.
2. Assembly: On each endive leaf, spread almond butter and top with shredded carrot and few raisins.

What do you make with nut butter? I'd love to hear your ideas! Leave a comment below with your favorite nut butter variations, and don't forget to share this with your friends so they can add their voice to the conversation as well.