Roasted Almond Nut Butter

I recently made 'Coconut & Almond Nut Butter' and fell in complete love, but I decided I wanted and make another batch and really enhance the essence and taste of the almonds. So I ditched the coconut and went with straight roasted almonds, and I'm oh so happy I did. This is defiantly my preferred way to eat almond butter. It's smoother, creamier and richer without the coconut. But both are still equally amazing.

Coconut & Almond Nut Butter

The other day I was on the blog Delighted Momma and came across her recipe for Almond Coconut Butter. I have to be quite honest; this recipe hasn't helped my nut addiction. I have been eating spoonfuls of this straight from the jar, its also amazing on toast and on my oats for breakfast.

But the real reason I wanted to make this was to try it out in baking, like swirled in cookies and as an ingredient in raw desserts; but unfortunately I'm going to have to make another batch in order to be capable of making such a recipe I ate it all. Good thing almonds were on sale.

Dark Chocolate Fudgsicle Ice Cream

I am not a huge fan of ice cream, and have never found myself with the need of buying a churner. But in saying that I had never made ice cream from scratch and I was determined to give it ago. After browsing through a couple of recipes pages on foodgawker I came across a cute little blog called Scientifically Sweet, run buy Christina Marsigliese, with a recipe for Dark Chocolate Fudgsicle Ice Cream without an ice cream machine. I was so ecstatic I was willing to make an ice cream recipe in Australia's winter season, but hello.... no ice cream churner needed.

I actually didn't mind this ice cream, the method with having to stir the mixture every now and then while it was freezing was a tad temper mental; but it tasted ok. And ok, coming from someone who doesn't like ice cream is pretty damn good. My family loved it and want me to make it again, but I think I might make a healthier recipe next time, and find a recipe you just have to pour and freeze... no stirring needed. 

This ice cream was really smooth and creamy, which surprised me because I didn't use a churner. The chocolate flavour really hit the spot and I swear when it melts on your tongue the flavour gets even for intense. I defiantly think you could sub in some nuts, chocolate chips or even peppermint extract, if you wanted to take this chocolate ice cream even further.

Roasted Sweet & Salty Cashews

I have been in such a crazy rut the past... well, year. I seriously have to confess to the fact I have an addiction. But it seems ridiculous saying you’re obsessed with nuts. Cashews, brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts. I seriously can’t help myself, they are honestly all I eat, I never crave chips, chocolate, ice cream, lollies; nothing except nuts. Not to mention the fact it took me a couple of weeks to actually get around to taking the photos for this post because every time I would grab my camera, I would find my cashew jar half empty.

Now while there’s obviously a down side of eating too many nuts, there’s also a positive side. Nuts are rich in energy, protein, packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids. Just as much as a handful a day will be doing more than good for your body and health. They are also very high in fiber which mean even just a small amount will keep you fuller for longer, most people don’t know this but nuts are defiantly recommended to anyone trying to lose a few kilos, they are quite high in calories and fat, but they are natural fats that are doing your body good and keeping you feeling satisfied.

Roasted Sweet & Salty Cashews, just hearing the name makes my mouth drool. This is a recipe I have fiddled around with and made myself, I have tried a few recipes with melting honey and sugar and found them to be sloppy and overpoweringly sweet. Like the saying goes “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”. The flavours on these cashews don’t over power the nut but simply add a hint of sweet and saltiness. I also love buying raw cashews and roasting them myself, purely for the fact you can control the amount of salt and oil being slathered on your healthy snack.

 Now I know I’m addicted to nuts but I will never eat this ^^ cashew, it’s enormous, that has to be a world record.

Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

There's a few things I can think of that would ruin a good Chocolate Chip Cookie, but there are a million things that would only enhance the flavour and texture of one. Exhibit A, Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies; caramel is one of my favourite flavours, ice cream, milkshakes, slice, cupcake, its all good. So I will do anything I have to get it to work in a recipe, but that’s whats so great about cookies. Nearly everything does work. You can use this recipe as a base and leave out to caramel if you really want to, or add in one of your favourite flavours. The great thing about baking is you can make the recipe your own, so you not only get to enjoy the process of baking it but eating it as well.

Moist Blueberry Muffin Cakes

As a child I would never go near a blueberry, even if it was encased in a moist delicious muffin, sure I enjoyed a good muffin but chocolate always sounded better than fruit. Since than I have grown up and developed a broader food pallet and now I cant get enough blueberries. After experimenting with a wide range of blueberry muffin recipes I've come to realise something. I actually don't like muffins very much, well let me rephrase that in a way that actually makes sense. All the recipes I had been making turned out dry and dense and in a way claggy, they just weren't very nice. One day I decided to use my absolute favourite sponge cake recipe and add in blueberries, I've been hooked ever since. When you bite into this muffin the juicy blueberries burst in your mouth surrounded by a moist decadent sponge. I feel obliged to warn you however, these muffins are highly addictive and I take no responsibility for any addiction that may occur.

Wholemeal Peanut Butter Carrot Pupcakes

2012 was quite a special year for my dog Trixie, she was turning double digits and I knew it called for a celebration, we've had her for ten whole years, and yet she still shows no signs of ageing. The celebration was nothing special, just a make believe party with cake. Since peanut butter is Trixie's favourite I new I had to make these Wholemeal Peanut Butter Carrot Pupcakes, and I'm glad she did because she is in love with these, too bad this is defiantly a sometimes treat for animals. Although I made 1 large cupcake and 4 small, I defiantly didn’t feed all of these to her. Dogs and other animals have very different diets to humans; so don't go overboard when baking for pets, as they can get quite ill. And yes, in theory people can eat these as well, there's nothing strange in them, however I can’t vouch for the taste, as I was too squeamish to try one.

My New Home

I'm Kristina, a 15-year old teenager who lives in QLD Australia. I started tickles my tastebuds to express my passion for baking and share my recipes and baking stories with the online blogging community. I adore the classic desserts filled with butter, flour and sugar but also enjoy experimenting with healthier raw options, so I assure you, there will be a variety of recipes for you to chose from and who knows you may even decide to bake something out of your comfort zone and fall in complete love with it. Food is after all about bringing people together and enjoying the company around the dining table.
In the past I did create a blog named Vanilla Nougat and as it was my first I never realised how quickly traffic could head my way, I had received a number of followers in a short amount of time but wasn't happy with the appearance and name of the blog, I hadn't yet been able to remove the kinks and didn't believe it reflected my personality to the extent I wanted it to. I will however repost some of the recipes from my old blog and wanted to ensure my readers understood I was not in any way trying to take credit for someone else's recipes or photography. So welcome to my new and improved blog, I can now gladly call tickles my tastebuds home.