Pinned It Did It: Slow Cooker Almonds

Umm hello...can anyone say new addiction?? I came across this recipe on Pinterest and had to try it out. This would be perfect for little hand outs for Christmas, to friends, neighbors, coworkers, teachers etc...
The original recipe is at The Recipe Critic.

I'm going to list the ingredients, but I did change a few things up. The original recipe calls for:
  
Ingredients The Original Recipe Called For:
1 1/2 C. Sugar
1 1/2 C. Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 Egg White
2 tsp. vanilla
3 Cups Almonds
1/4 C. Water

Ingredients I used:
1 Cup of Splenda
1 Cup of Splenda Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon (because that's all I had. Still tasted awesome)
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 Egg White
2 tsp. Vanilla 
3 Cups Almonds
1/4 Cup Water 

I use Splenda products to make it a bit healthier and to be honest I do not carry regular sugar/brown sugar in my house! :) 

1) So in a bowl mix together your Splenda (or sugar), Splenda Brown Sugar (or brown sugar), Cinnamon and Salt.
2) In a separate bowl mix together your Egg White and Vanilla. Mix together until the Egg Whites are foamy. Then mix your Almonds in with the Egg White/Vanilla mixture and stir. Be sure to mix them well, it will help our sugar blend stick better!
3) Prepare your crock pot by spraying it with cooking spray.
4) Add all ingredients to your crock pot, stir very well making sure all the almonds are coated.

****WARNING. Your house will smell amazing! :) 

5) The original recipe calls to cook 3-4 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. I ended up cooking mine for about 2 1/2 hours. Just be sure to stir every 20 minutes. 
6) Towards the last hour of cooking, add 1/4 cup of water and stir well. This will ensure a crunchy coating and help the mixture to harden.
7) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the almonds onto the sheet to cool. The almonds will be pretty sticky so be sure to separate them the best you can. 

**Tip: Be careful with the parchment paper. I did have some almonds that didn't want to come off easily or at all. Some pulled parchment paper with them. Next time I'll try without the parchment paper and see how that works out. 

I hope your family enjoys them as much as mine did. Even my very very picky toddler Ronnie, loved them. 

I had to share this with you. Ronnie's elf Max will be delivering a bag of cinnamon almonds to Ronnie.

 

 

Pinned It Did It: Skinny Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

First let me just say, these brownies are AWESOME! They are super easy to make too! My husband is a sweets junkie and I am too. However, I like to *try my best* to be a healthy sweets junkie! I have so many desserts pinned on my Sweet Treats board. I had all of the ingredients needed to make these brownies, so I went with this recipe.

You can find the original post about this recipe at Dashing Dish. Kudos to you, because these are just awesome. And healthy. You can't beat that! I did however follow the recipe found at Sally's Baking Addiction. But changed a few things. I used 1 cup of Splenda instead of sugar. I didn't use any salt and I didn't use the baking powder. They still turned out awesome. The hubs said they reminded him of fudge.

Ingredients needed:


Skinny Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 
• 6 oz. low fat vanilla yogurt 
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  
  Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 8×8 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  Place all of the ingredients except for the peanut butter into a blender. (Yes, a blender!) She says to place the liquid ingredients into the blender first. Next time I will do the oats first to ensure they are completely ground up. Blend until smooth and oats are completely ground up.
  Pour your batter into prepared baking dish.  Microwave peanut butter for about 30 seconds. The hubs microwaved the peanut butter in a large measuring cup and then he poured the whole thing into the middle of the brownies. Our sweet little toddler Ronnie, took the butter knife and swirled the peanut butter around into the brownie mix. Or you could mix the melted peanut butter into the batter before pouring.
  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. I ended up baking for 20 minutes, let it cool for a bit and then moved it to the fridge to finish cooling. After about an hour we took them out and cut them. Ronnie couldn't wait to try one! :) These brownies are so yummmmy!
  
  

  Nutrition Breakdown

  9	Servings (brownies)
  130	Calories Per Serving
  9 g	Fat
  13 g	Carbohydrate
  3 g	Fiber
  2 g	Sugar
  7 g	Protein
  3	WWP+*

  *Weight Watchers Points per serving

  
  

  
  

  Hope you enjoy them as much as our family did! 

  

   
  
  

Change It Yourself

When We Were Young

Yes!