Banana Walnut Bread

I don't buy bananas very often. I prefer apples for my everyday fruit, supplemented with berries and stone fruits in the summertime of course. When I do buy bananas, I tend to forget about them for a week and then find this:

 Which is probably the best reason to buy bananas in the first place. (I know you're all jealous of my amazing 1960s formica countertops, by the way. Oh, the joys of renting...) These bananas are way beyond eating territory for me, and the bottom ends are practically rotten. But they are perfect for baking.

I considered making banana pancakes, or perhaps some banana oat muffins. In the end, though, it was a classic recipe for banana bread, made a little healthier (and a little easier) that won my heart. The sugar is reduced from the original recipe, and I used a combo of all purpose and whole wheat pastry flour. Last month I picked up a bag of hazelnut meal/flour on a whim, and I thought it would make a great addition too. I'm not sure what else to do with the hazelnut meal though, so if you have any ideas let me know!! Also, please share any favorite recipes or ideas you have for overripe bananas! I'm sure this won't be the last time I have a few forgotten bananas laying around.

Banana Walnut Bread
Adapted from the Joy of Cooking, via The Fresh Loaf
Makes one 9x5x4" loaf

Ingredients:
3 very very ripe bananas
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts, divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x5x4" loaf pan with buttered parchment paper.
Toast the walnuts in the oven (or in a pan on the stove) for 8-10 minutes until golden. Chop the walnuts, and set aside 2 tablespoons of the smallest pieces to put on top of the loaf.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a spoon or fork (or a potato masher, if you have one). A few small lumps are okay. Stir in the softened butter, sugar, and eggs.
In a small bowl, combine the hazelnut meal, flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined (do not overmix). Fold in 1/2 cup of the toasted walnuts.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts on top, pressing slightly to make them stick. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for just a couple of minutes, then transfer the bread to a cooling rack.

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Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

No weekly lunch post this week - I've taken the week off to host some visiting family members. It's always fun to see my city through the eyes of tourists, and we're enjoying all that my (rainy and gray) city has to offer. It's always nice to have some fresh-baked cookies when guests come to town, and these lemon poppy seed cookies are great for this - they can be made a couple of days ahead of time and baked whenever you want.

One of the few sunny moments I enjoyed this week.

One flavor combination that I love is lemon and poppy seeds, the tiny nutty crunch against a fresh tart flavor. If almonds are also involved, I am almost guaranteed to like it. Here are a few lemon poppy seed recipes I've been looking at lately:

Poppy Seed and Almond Cake from Nettle and Quince - this recipe has the most poppy seeds of any I've seen (and the least lemon of the ones listed here)


Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Coconut Muffins from Healthy Exposures - coconut sounds like a tasty addition

These Mini Blueberry Tarts with Lemon Poppy Seed Crust are just adorable! From Happy Sugar Fun Time


I was inspired to make some lemon poppy seed cookies after seeing these incredibly buttery-looking Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread on Lottie and Doof. The challenge was to make them gluten free. I am far from a gluten free baking expert, so the cookies did not turn out like shortbread and instead were thin and crisp, with slightly pillowy centers. Delightful, but not shortbread at all.

I also made some lemon sugar, which was a great idea and I highly recommend it:

Lemon Sugar
In a jar or other container with a lid, combine the zest of one lemon with 1/2 to 1 cup sugar. I used 3/4 cup sugar, all of which I used in the cookie recipe below. The lemon sugar can be stored for up to 2 weeks.

 

Another nice thing about this recipe is that it makes quite a bit of dough, and you can save some or all of it in the refrigerator or freezer for future use. I rolled the dough into a log and chilled it for a few hours before cutting half of it into slices and baking. I saved the rest of the log in the refrigerator and baked more cookies a couple of days later. Very convenient when you have house guests.

So I present to you:

Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies (Not Shortbread)
Makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients:
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup lemon sugar (or 3/4 cup sugar plus the zest of one lemon)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup almond meal
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sweet white rice flour
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the almond meal, flours, poppy seeds and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, then add the lemon sugar and beat an additional minute. Add the almond extract, then stir in the dry ingredients.

Spoon the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap, then pat the dough into a log. Wrap up with the plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 3 days. The wrapped dough log can also be frozen for a couple of months.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut 1/4" slices of dough and lay them 1-2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake until the edges are golden, about 15-20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then place on a cooling rack.

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Fail: Rhubarb Custard Pie

This is far from my first kitchen fail, but it is the first that I have shared on Olalliberry. It's about time! I have learned to cook from my parents and relatives, reading cookbooks, and from watching a lot of Food Network in college (it was my favorite way of curing a hangover, believe it or not, along with drinking as much water as I could stand). But I have also learned a lot from kitchen mistakes that I've made all on my own. I love to experiment, and experiments sometimes go wrong. Fortunately, this one still turned out pretty tasty.

Rhubarb custard pie is a classic spring dessert, one I grew up eating and so I am pretty fond of it. I didn't have the family recipe handy, but I figured it was such a classic dessert that I could just search for a few recipes online and mix-and-match to my tastes. One recipe called for just 2 cups of chopped rhubarb, while another called for 3 - I chose the more fruit-heavy option. Everything looked good at first, and while it ended up tasting okay, it could have been a lot better.

There were two problems with this pie: first and foremost, the filling was watery in the middle. This is always a risk with any fruit pie, but I assumed that without a top crust, the excess liquid would evaporate in the oven. Lesson learned: when making a fruit pie it is (almost) always a good idea to add flour, cornstarch or some other starch to the filling to absorb the fruit juices. This should also help to stabilize the custard.

The second problem will take more time and practice to fix, and that is the crust. I've made pie crust at least a dozen times in my life, but it doesn't always turn out so well. This one was kind of tough, and definitely too thick. The flavor was good though.

I love rhubarb custard pie, and even a "fail" is still delicious. Next time will be even better.


P.S. You may have noticed the difference in photo quality between these pictures. The first two were taken with a DSLR (not mine, but I use it occasionally) and the last one was taken with the point-and-shoot that I've owned for six years.

Roasted Rhubarb Scones

I am a big fan of rhubarb. I grew up eating it as we always had a patch of it growing in the back yard, growing bigger every year. Roasted rhubarb is one we never tried, and I'm glad to have finally tried it. The method I followed, from The Kitchn, suggested adding cinnamon but I chose cardamom as I feel cinnamon can be a bit overpowering, especially with a fruit as mild-flavored as rhubarb.

 

After the rhubarb is roasted, you set it aside to cool while putting together a quick buttermilk scone recipe by hand. I was out of buttermilk and mixed yogurt with plain milk - a nice substitute in a pinch. I will definitely be roasting more rhubarb in the next couple of weeks, while the fresh rhubarb lasts. It is delicious by itself, and I can imagine loving it over yogurt, ice cream, french toast or waffles, etc.

The unbaked scones can be frozen for future quick treats or breakfasts, and I definitely recommend freezing at least half the recipe unless you are planning a big brunch - these scones are wonderful the day they are made, but quickly drop off into chain coffee shop scone territory the next day. But fresh out of the oven, these are some of the best scones I've ever had - light, flaky and buttery, and the sweet-tart rhubarb is a refreshing addition.

Roasted Rhubarb Scones
Roasted Rhubarb method from The Kitchn, Scones adapted from Tartine via NPR
Makes 12 scones

For the Roasted Rhubarb:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Chop 2-3 stalks of rhubarb in 1/2" pieces. You need about 1 1/2 cups for the scones (but you may want extra for a snack!).

Put the rhubarb in a baking dish, then add 2 tablespoons sugar and a scant 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, stir and set aside.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the sugar and rhubarb juices are caramelized and the rhubarb is very tender. Set aside to cool.


For the scones:
Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut 1 cup (2 sticks, 8 oz) unsalted butter in 1/2" pieces, then place in the refrigerator to chill.

In a large bowl, combine 4 3/4 cups (680 g) flour (I used 200 g whole wheat pastry flour and 480 g all purpose flour), 1 tablespoon baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir well, then cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender, a fork and a knife, or your hands. It shouldn't be completely blended, there should be some pea-sized chunks of butter.

In a 2-cup measuring cup, whisk together 1 cup milk (whatever type you prefer) and 1/2 cup yogurt until blended. Pour the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the roasted rhubarb. Do not overmix, there will still be some shaggy areas.

Dump the dough onto a mat or a floured surface and pat into a rectangle about 6" by 14" and 1 1/4" thick. Cut into 12 pieces. At this point the scones can be frozen, on a baking sheet, then individually wrapped (I used a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil) and kept frozen for up to a few weeks. Whether fresh or frozen, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden. Serve hot.

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Soft Pretzels

I took advantage of a rainy day and made something I've always wanted to make - soft pretzels. I'm a big Alton Brown fan, so I started by watching the pretzel episode of Good Eats, conveniently available on YouTube. It was really helpful to watch him go through the process, and his recipe seemed pretty simple.

 
Barley malt extract is definitely not required for soft pretzels, but it gives a certain flavor that makes them taste more like proper pretzels. (Barley malt extract is also used in bagels!)

The dough didn't take long to put together, and it rose quickly - it doubled in size in about an hour.

 

I recently got a kitchen scale recently and it really makes baking so much easier! I don't have to use as many dishes, either, which is always nice. The dough weighed about 36 oz., so I divided it into twelve 3 oz. balls.

Next, I rolled out each ball into a rope about 16" long. To form the pretzel, make a U-shape, then cross the ends over each other once or twice. Fold the ends over the base of the U, then pinch the overlapping parts together.

No pictures of this part (too quick!), but you bring some water and baking soda to a boil, dip the raw pretzels in for about 30 seconds each, and drain on a rack for a few minutes. Then brush on an egg wash, sprinkle with coarse salt, and bake for about 14 minutes.

 
Chewy, salty, exactly what I was craving! The baking soda bath gave the pretzels a great toothy crust. Now I just need some mustard...

Soft Pretzels

Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar (I used 2 teaspoons barley malt extract + 1 teaspoon sugar)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups (I used about 16 ounces of high-gluten bread flour and 6 ounces white whole wheat flour)
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Coarse salt

Directions

Combine the water, sugar (and barley malt extract, if using) and salt in a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.

Add the flour and melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with  vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pot. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 16-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.


Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula and let dry on a rack for a couple of minutes. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Gluten Free Almond Flour Brownies

I think I have a new favorite brownie recipe. Everyone has different criteria for the perfect brownie, and for me they should be fudgy, dense and chewy, with no nuts or frosting. They may have chocolate chips or chunks, but that's it. Pure chocolatey goodness.

This recipe from Bob's Red Mill fits the bill perfectly, and is really simple to make. 

Brownies are a good exercise in delayed gratification for me, since they must be refrigerated to develop the fudgy and chewy texture that I love so much.

It was hard to wait for these brownies! I managed to distract myself by taking a walk, reading some James Tiptree, Jr. and making a big, healthy vegetable soup for the week, which I'll share soon.

Yeah, they were totally worth the wait.


Gluten-Free Almond Flour Brownies
Adapted from Bob's Red Mill

Makes 1 8"x8" pan

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8"x8" pan with foil and grease with cooking spray. 
In a small bowl, whisk together the almond meal, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Melt the butter and mix with the cocoa powder. Add in the sugars, eggs, instant espresso and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix well, then stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for about thirty minutes. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours before cutting into bars.

Almond Butter Cookies

It's been a cold weekend, folks. I felt compelled to bake just because the oven kept my apartment warm. (excuses, excuses)

These are a variation of traditional peanut butter cookies. I used almond butter and added a splash of almond extract in addition to the vanilla, to play up the almond flavor. I also switched up some of the all purpose flour for almond meal (count 'em, three different almond ingredients in these cookies!) and spelt flour.

These cookies were the perfect thing to warm up a cold weekend. Crunchy edges, chewy centers, nutty and buttery.

Almond Butter Cookies
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
Makes about 40 2-inch cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup each all purpose, spelt, and almond flours)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if your almond butter contains salt)
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup almond butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour(s), baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then add the egg, extracts and almond butter. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Form 1-inch balls of dough and space about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press down on each ball with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are golden brown.

Figgy Buckwheat Scones

I went a little overboard in the bulk section of the grocery store last weekend. I picked up grains (millet, quinoa), baking supplies (buckwheat flour, brown rice flour, demerara sugar), lentils, almonds, and dried fruit. Lots of fun.

I bought the buckwheat flour in order to make a scone recipe from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain, which I saw on 101Cookbooks. I've had a jar of fig-sesame jam sitting around for a few months and I wanted to use it up, so I didn't make the fig butter in the recipe (although it sounded fantastic).

I didn't get any pictures of this step, but you roll up the dough into a log, cut it in half, refrigerate until cold, then cut each half in six slices (twelve slices total) and bake. The dough logs can keep in the fridge for up to two days, so these would be great for make-ahead breakfast or brunch.

The scones turned out really well, not too sweet, with deeply caramelized edges from the jam.  I've heard good things about this cookbook and now that I've tried one of the recipes, I definitely want to check out the whole book.

I did make a couple of changes to the recipe. It includes both buckwheat and all purpose flour, I reduced the all purpose and added in some brown rice flour. I also used the recently-purchased demerara sugar, which added extra crunch.

I am just a sucker for new ingredients sometimes.

My Favorite Granola Bars

When I started graduate school I started trying to make various bars to help fuel my long days (I was also working part time). I tried baked bars, unbaked bars, crunchy, chewy, you name it. Ingredients from textured vegetable protein to applesauce to wheat germ came and went as I experimented to find the combination I liked best. After many many batches of different bars, I now have a formula that I can adjust depending on my mood and what ingredients I have on hand. 

Even though I'm done with school I still love these granola bars. They are great for travel, of course, but I frequently eat them for breakfast, usually with some nonfat or 2% Greek yogurt. They are incredibly hearty (nutrition facts at the end of the post if you're interested) and this keeps me full for hours.

I make a large batch of these, enough for two people to eat them for 2-3 weeks. You can easily cut the recipe in half and use a 9"x13" pan.

The first step is to chop 3-4 cups of nuts. I typically use almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts but you could also use macadamias, pecans, cashews, or pumpkin seeds, anything that can be toasted.  Add some buckwheat or quinoa if you like, and toast it all in the oven.

Mmm, nice and toasty.

Next you toast some oats and unsweetened coconut.

While these things are toasting, you mix together some other ingredients that will not get toasted, like dried fruit and various seeds. I like chia, hemp and flaxseeds but also sometimes add sesame seeds. I usually like to add some wheat germ, although I am (in theory) trying to cut back on wheat. I use a giant 8-quart bowl to mix the ingredients.

When the nuts and oats are toasted, add them to the giant bowl and mix everything together. Then, melt some butter and different liquid sweeteners until it bubbles for a couple of minutes, then add some almond butter or other nut butter. This binds everything together and makes the bars really chewy.

Stir and stir and stir until it's all mixed together.

Dump onto a 11"x17" pan that has been lined with wax paper and spread it around with a spatula. Then cover with another piece of wax paper and use a rolling pin to flatten them. 

When they are completely cool, cut them into bars. Store them in an air-tight container between layers of wax paper.

Rachel's Favorite Granola Bars

Makes one 11"x17" pan

Ingredients (more like a formula):

Toasted ingredients:

• 3-4 cups nuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup small grain or large seed, such as buckwheat, quinoa, or sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• 5 cups oats
• 3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Untoasted ingredients:

• 1 cup small seeds, such as flax, sesame, hemp, or chia (definitely recommend a mixture)
• 1/2 cup wheat germ (can substitute for more seeds or coconut)
• 1/2-1 cup dried fruit, your preference on type and amount. I prefer 1/2-3/4 cup, usually golden raisins or dried cranberries.

Liquid ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, walnut oil, etc., whichever you prefer
  
• 1 1/2 cups liquid sweetener, such as brown rice syrup, honey, golden syrup, maple syrup, molasses, whatever. I prefer using more than one type of sweetener, as it seems to make a chewier (and more interestingly flavored) bar.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup nut butter, again, your choice here. I prefer almond as it has a mild flavor and doesn't overshadow the other ingredients.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Chop all of the nuts, one cup at a time, and place on a 11"x17" baking sheet. Toast them, along with the small grain/large seed, at 350F for 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice.  
3. Toast the oats (my oven is a piece of crap, you may be able to toast your nuts and oats at the same time) for another 8-10 minutes. After 3-5 minutes, add the coconut and toast it as well.
4. While you're toasting the other ingredients, mix together the small seeds, wheat germ and dried fruit in a very very large (at least 6 quarts) bowl. After the nuts and oats are cooled, add them to the bowl and mix together. Line that same 11"x17" baking sheet with wax paper, and set aside a second piece of wax paper of the same size.
5. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the liquid sweetener and heat until it starts to bubble, then let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes.
6. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the salt and the nut butter until it is completely blended. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix very well until thoroughly combined.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread fairly evenly with a spatula, pressing gently. Place the second piece of wax paper on top and use a rolling pin (or your hands, or a wine bottle) to flatten. When they are completely cooled, cut into bars. I cut them into 32 bars, but you could easily cut them smaller if you want bite-sized snacks.
8. Store in an air-tight container between layers of wax paper for up to 2 weeks (I have stored them for up to 3 weeks, their taste didn't suffer but they started to dry out).

Nerd time!

I love spreadsheets and keep a spreadsheet of all of my commonly used granola bar ingredients and their nutrition facts, acquired from either the package or NutritionData.com. Then I can keep a second spreadsheet with my current combination of ingredients and it calculates everything for me. Very handy. 

It also makes it easy to see how to change the ingredients in order to change the nutrition facts, such as using exclusively almonds (instead of other nuts) to increase the protein, cutting out the coconut to reduce the fat, or using more brown rice syrup and less honey to reduce the sugar. 

I'm thinking of trying a baked version with pumpkin and 1-2 egg whites. What's your favorite granola bar flavor? 

Apple Almond Muffin Cookies

I saw these on Oh Healthy Day and thought they sounded fantastic - seasonal with the apple, high in protein with the almond flour, and (most importantly) easy to make. I don't follow the paleo diet but I am trying to cut back on wheat flour, so I thought I'd give these a try.

Based on Maria's comments and my own preferences, I made a few changes, so I am posting the whole recipe below. The changes were designed to help the mixture stay together better and to have a texture more similar to flour-based baked foods, which is always a challenge when working with almond flour and coconut.

The first change was to add some oats into the mix. This means the recipe is no longer paleo, but I'm ok with that. I put the oats and coconut in my food processor in order to even out the texture.

This is what the oats and coconut looked like after about 20 seconds of processing. I might try processing longer next time.

Maria said hers turned out a little crumbly, so I tried chopping only half of the apple and shredding the other half to help the batter stick together. This seemed to help.

After baking, these were soft and warm like a muffin but with a tiny bit of crispiness around the edges. And easy to eat like a cookie.

I definitely to plan to experiment more with these! I can see a lot of possibilities for variations - pumpkin, banana walnut, etc.

Apple Almond Muffin Cookies
Adapted from KnitFit via Oh Healthy Day

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond meal
• 3/4 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon almond butter
• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
• 2 tablespoons walnut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 1 large apple

Directions:

1. In a food processor, combine coconut and oats and process until finely ground (I would probably process longer next time)
2. Add almond meal, salt and spices and pulse a few times to mix.
3. In another bowl, mix eggs, almond butter, brown rice syrup, walnut oil and extracts. You may need to heat your almond butter slightly if it is very cold.
4. Peel the apple and cut it in half. Shred one half and cut the other half into a fine dice. Mix all of the apple into the wet ingredients.
5. Combine dry and wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Scoop scant 1/4 cups of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, then bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden.