Just Almonds Review and Giveaway!

Recently, I was sent an awesome set of Just Almonds almond flour and whole almonds to review. Never having baked with almond flour before, I started browsing Pinterest for inspiration. It's pretty amazing the things you can bake with almond flour!

  Almond flour is simply ground almonds that have the outer, dark skin removed. {You can also opt to bake with natural almond flour, which includes the skins.} It's also a great option if you are on a gluten-free or paleo diet, or wish to incorporate more protein into your baked goods.

  For my first recipe, I had to go with these Almond Flour Brownies, since brownies are quite possibly the best thing ever. I've never made a brownie recipe without conventional flour before, so I was shocked to find that the texture and taste were very similar to a normal brownie. I even found that, once cooled, these almond flour brownies were practically indistinguishable from your typical brownie recipe. They were so delicious, in fact, that I forgot to snap a picture, so I'll have to borrow the one from the recipe:

{photo credit}

  Next, we made some Almond Flour and Whole Wheat waffles, which the kiddos devoured. I wasn't the biggest fan of the texture at first, but I think that is because I'm used to the basic waffle. I decided that after making this recipe, I really enjoy substituting almond flour for about half of the flour a recipe calls for. So, I set off to make my absolutely favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, using half oat flour and half almond flour.

 We have a winner here, friends! The only problem (and I use that term loosely) is that you cannot eat just one. In fact, your may eat the entire pan in less than 24 hours. They are that good; a little more crumbly than normal, and I'm guessing that's due to the nature of almond flour. I will add in a little more butter or peanut butter next time. I love that I can eat a cookie bar that uses only oat and almond flour! {You'll find the recipe at the end of this post.}

{Before}

  For the whole almonds, I wanted to make a honey-roasted batch, since that's my favorite combination. I mostly followed the recipe here, except I decided just to melt all of the ingredients together and toss in the almonds after roasting them. I love the sweet and salty combination, and these almonds make for a great snack. Yum! The husband is a big fan, and I'm going to try adding a little Chipotle chili powder into the mix for him. Sweet, salty and spicy-his favorite!

{After!}

  Now, onto the giveaway! Just Almonds has kindly offered to give one lucky winner a 5 lb. bag of their choice of almonds or almond flour! It's easy to enter the giveaway, so just fill out the form below for your chance to win! Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Ever)

{Adapted from this recipe by Healthy Food For Living}

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I prefer dark or bittersweet chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Coat an 8 x 8 inch square pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper so the ends hang over the edges of the pan. Coat parchment paper with cooking spray.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, salt, and baking powder.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter using an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in both sugars until well-mixed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in vanilla extract.
5. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture until well-incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 28-30 minutes, or until the top is light golden brown. Let cookie bars cool for 10 minutes in pan.
7. Remove the cookie bars from the pan by picking up parchment paper ends and transferring to a cutting board. Allow to cool completely
8. Cut into 16 bars. 
9. Devour as soon as possible!

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