Almond Butter Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream

Growing up, I was a picky eater, especially when it came to tree nuts. I avoided them during my childhood and teenage years simply because they looked "gross" to me. Each Christmas, my father would get a jar of mixed nuts wrapped up in a bow. He'd offer them to me to give a try and I'd turn him down. Though nuts were frequently found in the cupboards and in desserts at family get-togethers, I was so frustratingly picky I wouldn't give them a chance.

Not a single one.

I visited an allergist for the first time after my tongue swelled up like a balloon after eating fresh kiwi in a middle school Beginning Foods course. As long as we were there, my mother and I decided to test for a slew of random foods, animals, and plants. Most notable was my allergy for cats (already known) and, surprisingly, tree nuts. In fact, my arm grew so angry red and swollen, the allergist immediately wrote me out a prescription for adrenaline. I was severely allergic to most tree nuts and never knew it.

Since that day, I've landed myself in the emergency room ICU from a single, accidental bite of an "oatmeal raisin" (macadamia nut) cookie. I've developed the early symptoms of an allergic reaction when I'm in a room where other people are eating pecans just from breathing in the microscopic pieces hovering in the air. I've interrogated many bakers and cooks what exactly is in the food they make hoping that, unlike a particular lady and a "chocolate cake" incident (Oh, hazelnuts are a nut? Whoops.), they'll let me know what to avoid.

In a twisted piece of fate, the fact that I was such a frustratingly picky eater growing up may have saved my life.

Even so, I've always been inexplicably drawn to almonds. I remember moments of guilty pleasures when I'd sneak a few chocolate covered almonds from the cupboard before my parents came home from work. Though I am supposed to avoid all tree nuts as a precaution towards cross contamination, I am technically (and oddly) not allergic to almonds. If you pay attention to the sheer number of almond recipes on this website, you may think of me as either rebellious or an unnecessary risk taker.

However, if I wasn't a bit of a rebel, these cupcakes wouldn't exist and oh boy am I glad they exist.

Almond Butter Cupcakes with Mocha Buttercream are dark, gorgeous, and unexpected. The cupcakes are made with almond butter, which lends a texture to the cupcake that is both light and dense, while just barely sticking to the roof of your mouth. Frosted with a rich mocha buttercream, the flavors compliment one another immensely, making it impossible to eat just one. The almond flavor in these cupcakes is very real (no almond extract involved), which sets them apart from other almond cupcake recipes.

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Mocha Granola

There is something indulgent and romantic about a hot cup of coffee. The steam swirling out of the mug creating a thin fog that hovers delicately above the liquid, only disrupted by the wafting air of a mug lifted to the lips for a hesitant, fleeting first sip. The smell of coffee is familiar, embracing the soul while sleep is rubbed away from tired eyes. The heat from the mug is a welcome touch on cold winter mornings when it feels too early to crawl out of bed before the sun.

It's an ancient drink, creating an invisible connection between people both near and far with a single, simple message.

The day is about to begin.

It was the smell of ground coffee beans that aroused my love for coffee. Long before I became a coffee drinker, I sat at the kitchen table with my grandparents during breakfast, listening to them talk over cups of coffee as the dawn light spread pastels across the sky. The coffee maker faintly dripped in the background, a simple sound in a quiet room, with a rush of steam as the last drop of water fell into the pot. There was something exquisitely romantic about the whole affair.

I wanted to capture all of these sensory moments, to keep them inside as a comforting moment for a day when the world felt bleak. I turned these moments into vignettes, of coffee and newspapers, of yawning faces and quiet moments, wanting to hold them in my mind simply because I found them beautiful.

It was a quiet morning when I made this mocha granola. I was tired, even after a long night's sleep. The sun seemed to agree as it hid behind the clouds, keeping the sky covered in a gray blanket. The warmth of the oven and the moody, shadowed lighting through my camera lens painted another Tuesday morning.

Perhaps unremarkable to another eye, it was peaceful for me. The scent of the coffee infused granola wafting through the apartment made it difficult to imagine a more tranquil morning.

Mocha Granola is indulgently moody, with an unmistakable aroma of espresso and dark chocolate. This is an adult granola, with a rich coffee flavor, almonds, and hint of chocolate for sweetness. While I enjoyed it mixed into Greek yogurt, it's not hard to imagine this granola being equally at home covered in milk or grabbed by the handful on the way out the door.

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Cappuccino Pancakes with Mocha Syrup

My mother received a latte maker for Christmas. Though this sounds relatively unassuming, it was a big step for my family. You see, my parents were never coffee drinkers when I was growing up. We had a coffee maker hidden under the steps for when company came calling, but it rarely made an appearance. The coffee maker was aged and yellowed, perhaps even older than myself. Because my family was never part of the coffee culture, I thought people only began their day with a steaming mug on sitcoms and morning talk shows.

It's funny to look back now and see how very wrong I was.

My first taste of coffee was in my second year at university. As a late bloomer in many aspects of my life, it was hardly surprising I had stayed away from coffee for so long. To be honest, after my first sip, I vowed to myself I would never drink that horrible liquid again. Though I've always had a fondness for the coffee's wafting scent, my first taste wasn't terribly different from drinking a cup of gasoline.

Nevertheless, it grew on me. To begin, I could only stomach coffee if it resembled chocolate milk more than its bitter counterpart. With so much sugar and milk, the only way to distinguish it as coffee was the noticeable caffeine hit. Yet, somewhere over the last few years, coffee and I have become friends. I can drink it straight and black, without so much as a flinch.

Yet, with the advent of my mother's latte maker, coffee has become nearly a regular occurrence in my mornings. Without needing to fork over half an hour's pay for a drink at a coffee house, it feels like an elicit treat every single day. It's the frothy milk that gets to me.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that when I was dreaming up new brunch ideas, I looked to the empty bottom of my mug drained of my homespun mocha cappuccino for inspiration.

If you love coffee, caffeine, and Sunday brunch, these Cappuccino Pancakes with Mocha Syrup are destined for you. I spruced up my "old faithful" of pancake recipes with a good measure of espresso powder to give it a well-rounded coffee flavor. Then, like any proper cappuccino, the pancakes are topped with whipped cream and a homemade mocha syrup. Serve these with your next morning cup of coffee and you'll start your day off just right.

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