Honey and almonds are really a perfect combo. Did you know? Honey bees pollinate almond trees as well as 1/3 of the world’s food supply. Almonds are the only crop that is 100% dependent on honey bees for the pollination of its crops, every spring more than a million colonies of honey bees are placed in California almond orchards.
I received 2 of the 4 new flavors to try: Honey Roasted, Honey Roasted Vanilla, Honey Roasted Cinnamon, Honey Roasted Chipotle. I sampled the Honey Roasted Vanilla and the Honey Roasted Chipotle. These new honey roasted nuts are delicious. Both. Awesome. I was a little nervous about trying the Honey Roasted Chipotle worried they might be too spicy for me (I'm not into heat) but they are perfect. It's a smoky sweet subtle heat. I LOVED them, many cans will be purchased in my future. I enjoyed snacking on some right from the can but you know I had to experiment in the kitchen with a few. I made a couple of super easy party appetizers.
Stone fruits are crazy good right now at my Farmer's Market (another thank you to those honey bees doing their thing.) I picked up some apricots on Saturday and they were perfect for this 3 ingredient appetizer.
Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Vanilla Almond and Goat Cheese Stuffed Apricots
1 oz. (about 28 nuts) Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Vanilla Almonds
2 oz. Goat Cheese (Chevre)
8 Fresh Apricots, halved
Wash your fruit. Run your paring knife along the natural seam to cut the apricots in half, remove the pit (if they are ripe they pop right out) and arrange skin side down on a baking sheet.
Place a little dollop of goat cheese in each half. I placed 1 oz. of Blue Diamond Honey Vanilla Almonds in a snack sized baggie and gave them a few whacks with a meat mallet/pounder (don't have a meat mallet, a bottle works great too.)
Sprinkle some of the crushed almonds on top of the goat cheese and place under the oven broiler (toaster oven would work too) for about 5 minutes till the cheese is bubbly, apricots are warm and you begin to smell the nuts toasting.
These would be great at a party. I love party snacks that are about 2 bites with no mess and taste great even after they cool a bit. Also these are perfect if you have some vegetarian party guests.
Here's one for your meat eating friends...
Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Chipotle Almond Mini Turkey Muffins
1 1/4 lb (average weight package) Ground Turkey
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
1 1/2 oz. Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Chipotle Almonds
1 Egg, beaten
2 Tablespoons Milk
1/2 teaspoon Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
Saute onion till golden. Set aside to cool. Whiz almonds in a mini food processor till ground.
In a large bowl mix turkey, cooled onions, ground Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Chipotle Almonds and remaining ingredients till just combined.
Scoop into a 24 cup mini muffin tin that has been sprayed with a little non-stick cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Place under the oven's broiler for a few minutes more till golden. They pop right out. I placed a party pick in each and served them with a Greek Yogurt Cumin Lime Dip. I can't wait to have these little suckers again. So yummy and oodles of protein too!
Greek Yogurt Cumin Lime Dip
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt, plain
zest and juice of 1/2 a Lime
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
Mix together. Use for dipping these Mini Turkey Muffins, veggies, or as a salad dressing.
To find these new products in your area use the Blue Diamond product locator. You'll be glad you did. Oh and yay each can of nuts purchased donates some $$ to bee health research that looks at science-based solutions to honey bee challenges. "Bee" sure to check out all four honey flavors: Honey Roasted, Honey Roasted Vanilla, Honey Roasted Cinnamon, Honey Roasted Chipotle.
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. All of the opinions are mine. For the purposes of this post and recipe development Blue Diamond Almonds provided me with products used. Thanks for the yummy nuts. Want to learn more about all of Blue Diamond Almonds great products LIKE their Facebook page and tell them The World According to Eggface told you to stop by. Hope you give one of these recipes a try at your next shindig.
