Joyful Almond Bites

Serves 12

Recipe Level: Easy

I went back and forth on putting the word vegan in the title of this recipe. I didn't want to scare anyone off thinking these little bites are anything but chocolately coconutty goodness. VEGAN CAN BE YUMMY TOO!!! These are also gluten-free and paleo friendly so everyone can enjoy these little treasures.

Coconut Oil - 1/3rd cup
Creamy Almond Butter - 1/3rd cup
Truvia Baking Blend - 2 tbsp. or 1/4 cup Agave Nectar (for paleo)
Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp.
Cocoa Powder - 1/3rd cup
Shredded Coconut - 4 tbsp.
Slivered Almonds - 4 tbsp.
Kosher or Sea Salt - sprinkle

1. Mix coconut oil, almond butter, Truvia or Agave, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder in a blender. Mix for a couple minute or until the mixture comes together and is very smooth. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes so the air bubbles will rise to the surface.

2. While your mixture is setting, take a little over half your almonds and coconut and add to the bottom of a silicon mini-muffin tin or a regular mini-muffin tin lined with cupcake wrappers.

3. Pour your chocolate mixture over the coconut and almonds trying to get even amounts in each cup.

4. Take a toothpick or small knife and run it through the mixture in each cup to make sure it coats the coconut and almonds on the bottom and to ensure all the air bubbles are out.

5. Take the reserved almonds and coconut and sprinkle a little on the top of each chocolate cup. Then add a little sprinkle of salt to the top of each too. A little dab will do you here, you don't want too much salt, but a little brings out the cocoa flavor.

6. You can place in the fridge or freezer depending on how patient you are to let them set. They are usually good to go after 10 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the fridge. You will need to keep them refrigerated or frozen because the coconut butter melts just above room temperate. I usually just leave them in the freezer because I love when they are nice and frosty.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Information per serving from Myfitnesspal.com

Joyful Almond Bites - 132 Calories, 12g. fat, 5g. carbs, 2g. protein

Vanilla Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream Frosting

Serves 12

Recipe Level: Medium

This recipe came out of trying to replicate the best cupcake I've ever had. There is a little bakery here in Oklahoma City that had an amazing vanilla cupcake with almond frosting. And let's be honest, it's really about the frosting. For Josh's birthday I tried to replicate that flavor but lighten it up again. It is still a splurge but maybe not a through the whole day off kind of calorie splurge.

The you can find the original recipe for vanilla cupcakes here. I lightened them up first by cutting the recipe in half. I definitely don't need two dozen cup cakes around no matter whose birthday it is. I also swapped out the sugar for Truvia Baking blend (this is half regular sugar and half stevia). I really like the baking blend because since it still includes some sugar it doesn't affect the texture too much. I also swapped out the whole milk for skim milk to cut out some of the fat. In the frosting, I made several changes since I was going for almond buttercream anyway. I cut down on the sugar since I find many frostings overly sweet anyway and I swapped out some of the butter for reduced-fat cream cheese and whipped topping. All in all I shaved over 100 calories, 20 grams of sugar and 4 grams of fat from each cupcake.

Vanilla Cupcakes:

Butter - 1 stick unsalted at room temperature
Truvia Baking Blend - 1/2 cup
Eggs - Two whole large at room temperature
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp.
Skim Milk - 1/2 cup at room temperature
Flour - 1 1/3 cup all purpose
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp.
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp.
Kosher Salt - 1/4 tsp.

1. Get butter, eggs, cream cheese and milk out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes ahead so they can come up to room temperature before you mix them.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. And line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.

3. In a small bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder and add salt. Set aside.

4. With a stand mixer or handheld mixer, cream together one stick of butter and 1/2 cup Truvia baking blend. Then add in eggs one at a time, then vanilla and milk.

5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients mixing about a third of the dry in at a time.

6. Once the batter has come together, spoon into lined muffin tins. I like to use an icecream scoop for this. You want to fill them about 3/4 full. You can make 12 standard cupcakes or 6 jumbo depending on what pans you have on hand.

7. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Almond Buttercream Frosting:

Butter - 2/3 stick unsalted at room temperature
Powdered Sugar - 1 cup
Light Cream Cheese - 4 oz. 1/3rd less fat at room temperature
Almond Extract - 2 tsp.
Light Whipped Topping - 6 tbsp.

I don't usually start my frosting until the cupcakes our out of the oven because the cupcakes need time to cool before you frost them. If you want to start the frosting while the cupcakes are baking, you can just place it in the fridge while you are waiting for the cupcakes to cool.

1. With your hand mixer cream together the butter, powdered sugar and light cream cheese. Once it starts to come together add the almond extract and mix a little more. You don't want to over mix though.

2. Fold in the light whipped cream topping into the frosting mix. This will give the frosting a light and airy quality. If you wanted to use real whipping cream and make your own you could as well. But this is the quick, easy and light version.

3. Transfer the frosting into a piping bag if you have one. If not, a quart size ziplock bag will work just fine. I put the bag in a large cup and fold the edges over (like in the photo above) to make it easier to transfer the frosting. Once the frosting is in the bag, snip about a 1/2 inch off one corner.

4. Frost the cupcakes from the outside in, making smaller and smaller circles as you pipe around the cupcake. I topped mine with some slivered almonds for a little crunch and a fresh cherry for some color.

Nutrition Information per serving from Myfitnesspal.com
Vanilla Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream Frosting - 261 Calories, 16g. fat, 26g. carbs, 4g. protein