tahini – Oven Love https://www.ovenloveblog.com from scratch, with love...and a little sass Tue, 21 Apr 2015 20:19:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.28 Spiced Nut Butter Balls https://www.ovenloveblog.com/spiced-nut-butter-balls/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/spiced-nut-butter-balls/#comments Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:05:57 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/?p=2532 nutballs2

I am a fool for this snack ball trend.

They are so good! So easy to pull together! So much better to snack on then junk food!

The one thing they don’t have going for them is a good name- Nut Balls is just awful. So is Snack Balls. Energy Balls? Nut Butter Balls? A little bit better, but not by much. I think I’ll quit before this becomes an entire post about naming snack balls. (Ugh, I even hate typing that!)

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Let’s call them snack bites instead, shall we?

I feel a lot better about snack bites. My mood is changing already!

I found this lovely recipe at The Gracious Pantry and of course I junked it up with more nut butters and extra seeds and things. I couldn’t resist! They just needed to be rolled in something.

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I have to admit, though, that I actually like the plain ones better. The sesame seeds get stuck in my teeth (awesome mental picture of me happening right now, you’re welcome). Don’t let that stop you now, both taste great- you could roll them in shredded coconut, too, if you’re more into that.

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I think these will keep in the fridge or freezer for quite a while, but I can’t tell you from experience. They go fast in this house. Last night, I pulled some out for the family to taste test and the kids full-on grabbed them from my hands and devoured them, then looked at me like rabid dogs until I brought out a few more. My one-year-old daughter literally shoved a whole one into her mouth without a second thought. It was like watching a snake swallow an egg or something, I couldn’t look away. My advice is to make these after your kids go to bed and hide them in the back of your freezer if you ever want to taste them. Just sayin’.

(Disclaimer- She didn’t actually swallow it whole, she did chew.. I would not stand idly by and watch her choke, I promise.)

Oh, and they’re called spiced nut butter balls because there are spices in there! Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, the whole gang. Even orange zest joins the party. As usual, you can take them or leave them, whatever your preference. I think it’s fun to eat these so-called cold-weather spices all year long, but if it’s not your thing, that’s cool, too. Just don’t wait until fall to make these- they taste great right now. (Just ask my kids.)

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Spiced Nut Butter Balls
 

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adapted from The Gracious Pantry. http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-spiced-almond-butter-balls/
Author:
Recipe type: Snack
Serves: 30

Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups almond meal
  • ¾ cup nut butter (I use ¼ cup almond butter, ¼ cup sunflower seed butter and ¼ cup tahini/sesame paste)
  • ¼ cup chia seeds or sesame seeds (or a mix of both)
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Zest of ½ large orange
  • ½ cup dried cranberries (sweetened with fruit juice if you can find them that way)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon allspice
  • ¼ cup shredded coconut or almond meal (optional)
  • sesame seeds or shredded coconut, for rolling

Instructions
  1. Combine almond meal, nut butter, chia or sesame seeds, maple syrup, vanilla, orange zest, dried cranberries and spices in large bowl and mix well. If the mixture seems too wet, add the additional shredded coconut or almond meal until you have a firm dough to roll.
  2. Form into balls. Roll them in sesame seeds if you like.
  3. Place balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
  4. Store in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container.

]]> https://www.ovenloveblog.com/spiced-nut-butter-balls/feed/ 3 Sunflower Sesame Granola Bars https://www.ovenloveblog.com/sunflower-sesame-granola-bars/ https://www.ovenloveblog.com/sunflower-sesame-granola-bars/#comments Fri, 17 Aug 2012 18:35:00 +0000 http://www.ovenloveblog.com/sunflower-sesame-granola-bars/
That old Quaker and his granola bars got nothin’ on these.
For. Reals!
Sunflower and sesame might sound like a crazy combination of flavors, but I swear.. these bars are addicting! I came across a very forgiving formula for chewy granola bars and proceeded to raid my fridge and cabinets for ingredients straight away. (I had no plan, as usual.)
I’m glad to say these are a huge improvement on my last granola bar effort. They only have natural sweeteners (honey and barley malt syrup) and they actually stay together, instead of crumbling the minute you remove them from the fridge.
I wasn’t sure the miniature food critic in the house would like the flavor combo, but he gobbled them up every day of the week. I cut them up into tiny squares for him so he could grab and go and he was all over that- kid doesn’t slow down for anything (but the iPad.. umm, quit it with all the new kid-luring technology, Apple!).
These would be a solid post-workout snack, too- when cut up, they actually remind me of those little marathon squares they sell in the bulk food section at Whole Foods.
These bars have a kind of roasty/toasty taste to them and aren’t sickly sweet. If you’re into that, just use chocolate instead of dried fruit- that’ll give you a proper sugar rush. I prefer the little pops of sweetness from the dates and figs. (Who knew about dried figs and didn’t tell me?? They are so good! My childhood self would be stunned at the thought- remind me to tell you my Fig Newton story another time.)
Blogging has turned me into a crazy, dried fig-loving, granola bar mastermind.
Who knows what will come out of the oven next.
Homemade Fig Newtons, I’m coming for you!
Sunflower Sesame Granola Bars
 

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based on a basic granola bar formula from Good Life Eats (by way of Brown Eyed Baker)
Author:

Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • ¼ cup barley malt syrup (gives it a ‘toastier’ flavor, but more honey is a fine substitute)
  • ¾ cup sunflower seed butter
  • ¼ cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅔ cup almonds, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 2½ cups old-fashioned or thick-cut rolled oats
  • ⅓ cup dried pitted dates, diced
  • ⅓ cup dried figs, diced with stems removed
  • ⅓ cup raisins

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together honey, barley malt syrup, sunflower seed butter, tahini paste, cinnamon and sea salt until combined. Fold in chopped nuts and oats, followed by the dried fruit until all is well combined.
  3. Spread the mixture into the pan with a spatula or your fingers. Make sure it press it firmly into the pan so the bars don’t crumble after they are baked.
  4. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove from the oven and let cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes. When the pan is cool to the touch, move to the freezer or refrigerator for 1 hour, or until firm. Cut into bars with a very sharp knife (I cut 16 bars). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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