I hesitate to say that I have “mastered the art of French macarons”, but I have certainly found a method that works well for me.  I have enough confidence in my basic recipe and technique for making the shells that I felt brave enought to mix it up a little.  Generally, I use all almond flour for my shells, but for these Peanut Macarons with Honey Cinnamon Buttercream, I used half almond flour and half peanut flour.

The peanut flour did not make any difference in the form or texture of the macaron shells but just lended a subtle peanut flavor.  This peanut flavor paired delightfully well with the honey cinnamon buttercream that was sandwiched between the shells.  The flavor is reminiscent of a peanut butter and honey sandwich.

When making these Peanut Macarons with Honey Cinnamon Buttercream, or any macaron shells for that matter, I have a few tips that should help you learn how to make macarons easily.

• Plan ahead.  Aged egg whites whip into stiff peaks more reliably for me.  All that means is that you should separate your egg whites at least 2 days before you plan to make the macaron shells.  Store the egg whites in a covered container in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.  This step seems to dry out the egg whites slightly which makes them perform better upon whipping.  I love to use my OXO egg separator to make sure I don’t get any yolks in my whites.
• DO NOT use egg whites from a carton.  They don’t seem to hold stiff peaks as well.
• Be organized.  Before you begin whipping your egg whites, have all of your other ingredients measured out in bowls and ready to go.  Then when you are ready to incorporate them into the egg whites, they are all ready.
• Parchment paper is a must when making macarons.  Your macarons will be very easy to peel off the paper if cooked properly.

mix egg whites on medium speed until frothy and mixer begins to leave marks, then slowly add granulated sugar

increase mixer speed to high and mix until stiff peaks form (you can turn the bowl upside down and the mixture does not move)

fold in dry ingredients in three increments

mix until no flour streaks remain

pipe onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake

bake

DID YOU KNOW?  Peanuts are a great snack because they can help keep you full and feeling satisfied.  Protein and fiber provide you with a feeling of being full longer and they also provide long-lasting energy because they have a low glycemic index which helps to maintain a stable blood sugar.

I hope you have enjoyed the peanut recipes that I have brought to you this week and that you have learned something new about how peanuts and peanut butter can contribute to a healthy, balanced diet.

*The Peanut Institute sponsored my trip to California, but all opinions expressed are, as always, my own.

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It’s Day 2 of Peanut Week, who’s excited??  Hopefully these Honey Roasted Peanut Marshmallow Bars will make you even more excited!

Salted nut rolls have always been a favorite candy of mine.  After all, isn’t a salted nut roll the original sweet and salty snack??  Since my husband was diagnosed with Type I diabetes, we have gone through more honey roasted peanuts in my house than I have had in my entire lifetime!  I buy giant jars of them at Costco and he will have a small dish of them for dessert or as a pre-dinner snack.  Even the honey roasted peanuts are a great low-carb snack option.  Since I began bringing massive loads of these perfectly addicting sweet and salty peanuts into my home, I have been dying to find a recipe to use them in.  Enter Honey Roasted Peanut Marshmallow Bars!

The flavors of these bars will remind you of eating a salted nut roll but you don’t even have to mess with a candy thermometer or making a nougat for this recipe.  Marshmallows lend that same gooey sweetness to these bars.  Also, these Honey Roasted Marshmallow Bars satisfy my texture craving for a perfect crunchy yet chewy snack.

These bars are quire sweet and rich so I recommend cutting the 8-inch square pan that you make them in into 20 pieces.  It would also be super cute presentation to wrap these Honey Roasted Peanut Marshmallow Bars individually in wax paper like you might find at a candy store.

A few tips for this recipe:

• Spray your parchment paper very liberally with nonstick cooking spray.  Melted marshmallows may be one of the stickiest substances on the planet!
• Spray the measuring cups that you use to measure the peanut butter and corn syrup with nonstick cooking spray to make cleanup easier.
• You could certainly use plain roasted peanuts or any other nut that you enjoy in this recipe.

DID YOU KNOW?  Peanuts and peanut butter can help control blood sugar.  If you peanuts or peanut butter as part of a high carbohydrate meal, the healthy oils and proteins in peanuts can decrease blood sugar spikes and help to keep blood sugars stable throughout the entire day.

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Last weekend I was fortunate to travel to Napa, California courtesy of The Peanut Institute.  The Peanut Institute “is a non-profit organization that supports nutrition research and develops educational programs to encourage healthful lifestyles that include peanuts and peanut products.”  The trip was incredible and I learned wonderful facts about the nutritional benefits of peanuts, got to spend time with one of my great friends Emily,

and we even got to cook at the Culinary Institute of America!  Check that one off my bucket list!

The trip inspired me in so many ways.  When I returned home, I was excited to share some fantastic peanutty recipes with you.  So sweet teeth, I am declaring it Peanut Week!  I will be sharing one fact that I learned about peanuts with each of these satisfying recipes.

What better way to kick of Peanut Week than with these Flourless Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies?

These Flourless Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies are so light and soft, you would never guess that a key ingredient like flour is missing!  With only six ingredients, these cookies are a great gluten-free treat option and you will be shocked how only SIX ingredients can create a cookie that tastes so delicious.

I was so happy when I calculated the nutrition facts for these Flourless Peanut Butter Snickers Cookies and found out that each cookie only has 13 grams of carbs!  That is pretty remarkable for a cookie that has chopped up candy bars in it!

DID YOU KNOW??  Eating 1 ounce of peanuts daily can cut your risk of heart disease in half.  The oil in peanuts is mostly monounsaturated which offers the same health benefits as other healthy fats such as olive oil.

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There is a restaurant within walking distance of my house that has the most fantastic crispy cornmeal pancakes with plump, juicy blueberries that I die for.  There is something so special about pancakes made with cornmeal because it prevents the pancakes from being too overly sweet and you barely need any syrup because they are so flavorful on their own.  And the sweet blueberries bursting with each bite of corn-bread-like pancakes, I’m telling you, is to-die-for.

Spring to me means berries and I was so excited to try to replicate my favorite pancakes in a dessert.  The flavors of the crispy cornmeal blueberry pancakes that are such a treat are replicated so nicely in this Cornmeal Blackberry Cobbler.

This recipe is simple enough to throw together any weeknight but tasty and pretty enough to serve to dinner guests for dessert.  I happen to love blackberries because they are so large and extra juicy, but you could use any berry or fruit that you prefer for this cobbler.  The baked fruit creates it’s own gorgeous syrup that is the perfect sweetness to complement the cornmeal biscuits that top the cobbler.  To make this Cornmeal Blackberry Cobbler extra special, serve it warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

combine berries, cornstarch and sugar, set aside

in a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cornmeal and salt

add buttermilk and melted butter to flour mixture and mix to combine

drop mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheets and partially bake

bake berry mixture

top berry mixture with biscuits and return to oven

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I’m back!  It has been a crazy couple of weeks adjusting to our new lifestyle change, traveling to Hawaii for a week,

 and getting used to having a full-time job!  Thank you for being patient with me as I took a small hiatus from baking and blogging.

I will say, I have missed it and you so much!  I baked today and it was like visiting with an old friend!  I felt so good and complete!  And I cannot believe that I almost did not share these Toffee Brownie Cookies with you because I thought they weren’t pretty enough!

My brother tasted one of these Toffee Brownie Cookies and said that it was the best thing he had ever put in his mouth!  And he is my regular taste tester, so that means a lot coming from him!  These cookies are like a gooey, slightly under-baked brownie and they stay that way for days!  The soft and melty chocolate cookie center is contrasted perfectly with the crunchy and slightly salty toffee that is inside and that I sprinkled over the top of the cookies.

When you bake these Toffee Brownie Cookies, you may be tempted to bake them longer than you should.  You will know they are done when the tops are cracked, the edges feel slightly firm, but the middle still feels very soft.  If you can resist baking them longer, and let them cool completely before removing them from the pan, your patience will be rewarded with an incredibly rich, tender and ooey gooey brownie-like cookie!

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