When almond butter first became a thing, I got really excited and ran out to buy some. And then, boom. Huge disappointment. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t peanut butter.

I think that was my problem. I was looking at almond butter through the lens of peanut butter and expecting something just like that. When I learned to step back and appreciate almond butter on its own, then it was so much more delicious. Plus, then I could open up all the baking doors and make those fun desserts happen!

It’s the same deal with white chocolate. If I look at it like chocolate, then nope, not interested. But once I start to see it as a dessert on its own, white chocolate becomes totally legit.

A lot of life is like that. If we let our expectations rule our reality, we’re probably doomed to be disappointed. It’s like when someone talks up a movie a lot and it just doesn’t wind up shaking your universe. That happened to me with The Martian, and I wish I could have just seen it before anyone framed it as the best movie ever for me. It would have been a better experience.

Expectation definitely becomes a problem with human interaction. I can’t tell you how many parents of students I teach compare them to other siblings or to themselves, expecting that the child we’re discussing will or should be the same way. No matter how much I gently suggest to them that everyone is different and brings varied talents to the game, they only want to see what their minds have taught them is the norm.

And don’t get me started on relationships. When I was younger, I had a type. That type was the exact opposite of Kenny, and it turned out that I didn’t know squat about what was best for me until I opened myself up to the possibility of a different kind of man. Thank heaven I got the message at the right time, but what about people who keep doggedly pursuing a type of person who they’re positive is right, only to realize time and time again that it’s not working out?

You see? Almond butter inspires an awful lot of deep thought.

These bars are almost like candy. There’s no flour or egg in here either, so yay for that! But these are filled with almond butter, powdered sugar, and regular butter. Mmm. And let’s not forget about that layer of melted milk chocolate on top.

My almond butter-hating brother tried these and was pleasantly pleased to discover that they were surprisingly delicious. And I haven’t stopped knocking them back, either. I’m on batch number three!

It’s hard to adjust our expectations when we’re so biased (often unknowingly) in a different direction. But if we just keep trying new things, we’ll open up the possibilities. And that’s very good news for life, and especially for dessert!