Booking It

I love books.  And by that, I mean I LOVE BOOKS!  James took me to the Trinity College reading room in Dublin on our way to see The Book of Kells and I thought I would come completely unglued.  All I could do was stand there, slack-jawed and probably drooling a little.  I didn't even know where to start - I think I know now how sugar-addicted kids feel when they walk into a candy store.

Given the choice and without my kids in tow I would happily spend hours in a bookstore just wandering the shelves and reading random passages.  But you ask - what on earth does all this have to do with a health blog?  Well, dear reader, COOKBOOKS are also on my list of loves.  I get a lot of ideas and inspiration from recipes online, but there's just nothing like holding a BOOK, flipping it open to the appropriate page, propping it open to follow the recipe, darting back and forth from book to cook, getting splashes and splotches on the pages with my favorite recipes.... With that said, here is my new favorite cookbook:

Not surprisingly, I have started by trying out the sweet stuff.  Although I don't have a huge sweet tooth, I do have a weakness for chocolate.  Especially reese's peanut butter cups.  Which, until recently, was not a problem because they were not available in Ireland.  Then, suddenly, there they were - mocking me.  And now they come in packs of three AS IF TWO was NOT enough!  I made myself sick a couple of times because of course I couldn't leave that third one alone after consuming its pack mates.  So imagine my joy when flipping through this book I come across a recipe for almond butter cups!  How could I not give them a try?  I was not disappointed - I think they are fan-flippin-tastic.  They are not, however, a majority hit.  The house is divided in its opinion.  Cool - more for me!  Here's how mine came out:

The recipe made 12.  There's 4 left.  I made them yesterday.  Need I say more?

Reprinted from Ryland Peters and Small "Sugar-Free Snacks & Treats: Deliciously tempting bites that are free from refined sugars"

Almond Butter Cups
makes 12 large or 24 mini cups

215 ml/1 cup coconut oil
60 g/ 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp stevia (or 2 more tbsp agave)  **** I only used the original 4 tbsp and found them sweet
dash of vanilla extract
4-5 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp nutritional yeast
pinch of sea salt if using unsalted almond butter

Put the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat and allow to melt.  Stir in the cocoa powder, agave syrup, stevia if using, and vanilla extract until you have smooth liquid chocolate.  Divide one third of the mixture between the muffin cases and put the whole muffin pan in the freezer until the mixture has solidified - about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the almond butter, nutritional yeast and salt, if needed, in a bowl.
Remove the muffin pan from the freezer and place a generous teaspoon of the almond-yeast mixture in the center of each base of frozen chocolate, then flatten it slightly with your fingers.  Pour the remaining melted chocolate over the almond-yeast mixture.  Put the whole muffin pan in the freezer again un til the mixture has solidified - about 10 minutes.
Remove the almond butter cups from the freezer just before serving to get them at their most firm and crisp.  If you store them in the freezer or refrigerator, they will keep for 3-4 weeks (unless you devour them before!).