Honey Almond Cheese Spread

 

This is such a simple idea and such a good one. When I get up in the morning, I’m not particularly functional. (Heck, I’m not sure how functional I am as the day goes on.) A quickly toasted bread product with something delicious spread upon it can do wonders for my ante meridian attitude. And so I jumped on this recipe as soon as I came across it.

Well, that’s not exactly how the story goes. If you’ve been paying attention to The Messy Apron at all (or if you actually know me), you know that I don’t exactly get to anything right away. I’ve had the cookbook from which this recipe came for many years, and I had neglected it for almost as many (which is a shame because it’s great.) It was, however, only a matter of weeks after I re-discovered this recipe that I made it. We don’t have to talk about how long it took me to get it to these pages.

Anyway, the good part of the story: this is delicious, especially for how little effort it takes to make (assuming you have a food processor.) All it involves is toasting some almonds, grinding them, then whirling them with cream cheese, cottage cheese, and honey. Toasting the almonds is worth the extra time for the extra flavor, and if you can get good honey produced close to home, all the better.

I like this spread on toasted bagels, but just about any toasted bread without competing flavors will do. I think it would be great on a sturdy muffin, as the original recipe suggested, heavenly on a scone, and over the top on a croissant. It’s not especially sweet, with the cream cheese keeping it kind of tangy, but if you want it sweeter, more honey might be pretty good. I also think changing up the nuts, swapping in ricotta for the cottage cheese, swirling in some jam, or adding warm spices, like cinnamon or nutmeg would be great ways to vary the flavors without increasing effort.

This spread lasts at least a week in the refrigerator (I’ll admit that it was in mine longer, and was still just fine), so easy breakfasts on slow mornings are in the bag for a little while. Of course, so are mid-afternoon pick-me-ups and perhaps a midnight snack or two, if that’s how you prefer to roll.

Honey Almond Cheese Spread

Adapted from The Best Quick Breads by Beth Hensperger

¼ cup almonds

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup cottage cheese

3 tablespoons honey

1. Place the almonds in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Warm the almonds, stirring or tossing frequently, just until they are beginning to brown, about 5-8 minutes. Be especially careful not to burn them. Cool.

2. Place the cooled almonds in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground. Add the remaining ingredients and process until well blended. Keep refrigerated for about 1 week.

Makes about 1 ¼ cup.

Another recipe like this one: Chocolate Cookie Butter