Stuffed Lamb Burgers + Paleo Burger Buns

Lamb burgers are stuffed with manchego cheese and cherry jam for an elegant twist, and served on easy-to-make yeasted paleo burger buns!

Last year, my fiancé Ben asked me to make stuffed lamb burgers for his birthday dinner. At that point I had never made a stuffed burger or even cooked with lamb, which I didn't think I liked. Since it was his birthday, though, I went for it. 

Can you see where this story is going? Spoiler alert: the burgers were delicious. Stuffed burgers are not hard to make, and it turns out I DO like lamb!

I make burgers all the time because they are such an easy, simple dinner, but I usually make them with beef and use butter lettuce for the buns. Upgrading to a lamb burger (and a stuffed one at that!) and making my own paleo burger buns definitely kicked my burger night game up several notches.

These burgers are stuffed with manchego cheese and cherry jam, so you end up with the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and meaty tastes. The strong flavors of lamb pair really well with fruit preserves, and I chose manchego because it's one of my very favorite cheeses. If you're avoiding dairy, you can stuff the burgers with just jam and they'll still be delicious. You could even add some avocado slices on top for extra creaminess. Or, if adding jam to a burger freaks you out, you can stuff them with only the cheese (but I do hope you'll try the jam at least once!).

Sparkling Sandwich Cookies (Vegan, Gluten-free, Paleo)

I subscribed to Gourmet Magazine when it was still being published, and looked forward to getting it every month.  The cover photographs were always stunning, but the December 2008 cover really stuck with me.  The theme was cookies, and eight different gorgeous recipes were featured on the cover in different parts of the country.  I got the one with these glittering lemon sandwich cookies on it, and now, five years later, I finally got around to making my own version.

These sparkling cookies are vegan, paleo, gluten-free, and perfect for New Year's Eve.  They're also the most adorable cookies I've ever laid eyes on.  The cookies are richly flavored thanks to the almond flour and lemon zest, and the sugar coating provides the perfect amount of crunch.  I was planning to make the lemon filling from Gourmet's recipe, but I got lazy, and instead pulled out jars of raspberry jam and dulce de leche.  The tiniest amount sticks the cookies together, and provides the extra bit of sweetness that makes these sandwiches irresistible.  Also, they kind of look like miniature hamburgers!  How can you say no to that?