It’s hard to believe that we are halfway through the year. It feels like so much has happened and with all that’s going on, so many things have fallen to the wayside. Back in March, my book baby, Aloha Kitchen turned one! The first year was such an adventure–I’ve loved following along with all of your culinary adventures and have marveled at all the photos you’ve all shared with me. The recipes that seem to have resonated the most with all of you have been: Shoyu Chicken, Mac Salad, and Butter Mochi and I have to agree, those three recipes are pretty popular in my house too.

And so, I thought even if it’s a bit belated, a great way to celebrate my book babe’s bday and to kick off a very exciting six-month partnership with the Albertsons Companies family of stores would be to riff on Aloha Kitchen’s Butter Mochi. First birthdays are a big deal in Hawai‘i, so I knew I had to do something special. My goals were to create a muffin version of my butter mochi, add more depth of flavor, pack in more protein, and use more plant-based ingredients. My local neighborhood Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions stores all have loads of plant-based and protein-rich O Organics® and Open Nature® products that are exclusively available in their stores, so it was easy to find the ingredients I was looking for. The end result was these Almond Butter Mochi Muffins that are equal parts decadently chewy treat and protein-packed portable (muffin!) snack.

I developed this recipe before quarantine hit, back when Moses was still traveling for work. He arrived home at the perfect time, because it was the day I finished development. His enjoyment of these chewy yet almost fluffy muffins was all I need to know that Almond Butter Mochi Muffins were a thing worth sharing. What I love about them is that they are infused with almondy goodness and flavor in three different ways. I cut out some of the dairy from the original recipe and substituted O Organics® Almondmilk Plain Unsweetened as well as added Open Nature® Almond Butter, Creamy Maple (yum) and O Organics® Almonds Roasted with Sea Salt for that yummy almond flavor and bonus goodness of added protein. I love how easy it was to find all of these organic and clean ingredients at my local Pavilions and all at such great prices.

A few things to think about with this recipe: bake time really is close to an hour. It will differ from traditional Butter Mochi in that it’s a) almondy and b) it’s lighter—not quite as dense, thanks to a touch more leavening. You can absolutely substitute peanut butter or even cashew butter if you’d prefer. And I would recommend going with already toasted and salted nuts because they get so nice and toasty during the baking process, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but of course you can start with raw nuts and sprinkle a pinch of flaky salt if you’d prefer.

As for my ongoing partnership with the Albertsons Companies family of stores, I cannot wait to share more recipes, ideas, tips, etc. using their exclusive products. Safeway was always my dad’s go-to stop on the way home to grab groceries growing up on Maui, so it’s wonderful to find a lot of the products I grew up with here in Los Angeles!

Almond Butter Mochi Muffins

makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS

2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup O Organics® Almondmilk Plain Unsweetened
2 cups mochiko flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1½  teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing
¾ cup unsweetened coconut milk (canned)
½ cup Open Nature® Almond Butter, Creamy Maple
1/3 cup O Organics® Almonds Roasted with Sea Salt, chopped

TOOLS

Muffin tin

FIX

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease the 12 molds of a muffin tin with butter.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and O Organics® Almondmilk Plain Unsweetened. In another large bowl, whisk together the mochiko, sugars, baking powder and kosher salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, with a wooden spoon, stir until well combined. Add the melted butter, coconut milk and Open Nature® Almond Butter, Creamy Maple and mix until fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin tins, filling to just below the rim of each mold and rap the pan on the counter a couple of times to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Sprinkle the chopped O Organics® Almonds Roasted with Sea Salt on top of the mixture in each mold, being careful not to jiggle the pan too much, as you want the almonds to stay on the top.
Bake until the mochi is set and golden brown on top, about 55 to 60 minutes. If the almonds look to be browning too quickly, tent the muffin tin loosely with a sheet of foil. Set the pan on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before popping each muffin out to cool on the wire rack completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

This post is sponsored by the Albertsons Companies family of stores. I buy my O Organics® and Open Nature® products at my local Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions stores, and you can also find them exclusively at the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets and Carrs/Safeway. Visit www.albertsons.com/exclusivebrands