Macadamia Nut Cookie Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Have you tried Nikki's Coconut Butter? This stuff is truly awesome. This cool little company makes 5 really delicious flavors of coconut butter from wholesome, paleo-friendly ingredients. All of their flavors are naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and sweetened with only natural sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, and dates. Ian's mom is so sweet, and for my birthday she sent me (really she sent us) a sampler box of every flavor. So what did my creative chef mind come up with using this awesome ingredient? Um... nothing. The first sampler set we just simply ate with a spoon.... straight out of the jar. We. Just. Couldn't. Stop. True story. It's that good.

So she sent us another one as a house warming present when we moved into our new digs. I vowed to actually cook some things with this set, rather than eating it straight from the jar. I sorta suceeded. The Midnight Mocha flavor didn't quite make it. That's my favorite flavor by the way -- go order some right this second.

My second favorite flavor is the Macadamia Nut Cookie, and so I came up with this wonderful recipe. I hope you guys like it!

Macadamia Nut Cookie Sweet Potato Hash Browns
Serves 2-4

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup of lard for frying ( you could also use coconut oil)
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of Macadamia Nut Cookie Nikki's Coconut Butter

Directions

1. In a large cast iron pan, melt the lard (or coconut oil) to 350 degrees.
2. Add in the cubed sweet potatoes, and fry for 10-15 minutes, stirring often to promote even browning. It's ok if they aren't fully submerged in oil, just make sure to keep stirring.
3. When the sweet potatoes are done and browned evenly on all sides, remove to a large glass or metal bowl. It's ok if some of the lard comes with the sweet potatoes because you will need it.
4. Toss the sweet potato hash browns with salt, cinnamon, and the tablespoon of coconut butter.
5. Once the coconut butter hits the hot hash browns and lard, it will melt and you will be able to easily coat all the sweet potatoes in a thin layer of coconut butter. Trust me, all you need is that one tablespoon!

If you don't have Nikki's coconut butter, I suppose you could just use a plain coconut butter and then chop some toasted macadamia nuts to go with the dish. BUT Nikki's Coconut Butter will seriously change your life. It's very rich, so it will last you a long time, and you only need to add a spoonful to recipes to add an enormous amount of richness and flavor.

There are already some recipes on Nikki's site, and Ian's mom made the Mary's Carrot Cake which features the Honey Pecan Pie flavor in the cake and the Vanilla Cake Batter in the frosting. She came and visited us this past weekend, and was absolutely raving about that recipe, and in particular the frosting. I had already planned to make the Carrot Cake Cream Pies from Primal Cravings, and instead of making their recipe for a dairy free cream, I decided to be a little naughty and use the frosting recipe that Ian's mom raved about. OMG amazing. First of all, the soft cakes were so delicious. I won't reveal the recipe out of respect for the authors, but I highly suggest that book. So many amazing recipes. Someday soon I will do a full review of the book. Secondly, THAT FROSTING! Crazy fluffy and good. We thoroughly enjoyed this treat, and they were even better the next morning after they had been refrigerated.

I know, these aren't great photos, but I was more concerned with EATING the cream pies, than food styling and lighting. And I may have been drinking a little wine at the time too. :P Because what goes better with baking than wine, right?

Anyway, I hope you guys give Nikki Coconut Butter a try, and I also suggest you check out Primal Cravings by the cute couple at Health Bent. Nope, neither has paid me to say these things or create this recipe, they are just a few things I am interested in right now, and I wanted to share! Until next time...