too simple?
Andrea
This post has been clanging around in my drafts folder for months now, as is evidenced by the breakfast photo at the bottom (in our house we are fully into smoothie-mode for the morning meal since Summer has clearly arrived in Virginia...). Its sad really, because it deserves better than that. Making almond butter at home is so simple that I just wasn't sure if I should bother with posting it, and then decided that "too simple" is a really silly reason to not share a perfectly delicious recipe with my readers. Aren't we all searching for simple recipes? Especially for simple recipes that will save us some money at the grocery store?
A few months back, one of my favorite healthy lifestyle bloggers, Heather, started making her own nut butters to save money. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea and she made it seem so simple that I just had to try it. I'd been intrigued by many of the flavored almond butters on the market for months, but it is so expensive that I can only bring myself to buy one jar at a time and must use every last bit before purchasing another, so I hadn't been able to try many of them. Now, it doesn't take me too long to finish a jar since I have a tablespoon or two of the creamy spread nearly every day, but that doesn't change the fact that it is expensive and I can make it at home for less, with endless possibilities of flavor variations.
I made this almond butter in my KitchenAid food processor. At first I dumped the almonds into the smaller of the two processor bowls, with the smaller blades. After 10-12 minutes of whirring I still had finely ground almonds instead of the creamy butter that Heather promised would form after just a few minutes. Frustrated, I dumped all of the ingredients into the larger bowl with the larger blades, and within 2-3 minutes had the creamy consistency I was looking for. So, if you have a larger food processor (mine has a 12-cup capacity but I don't think it would need to be quite that big) it would be very helpful. But you may still get the consistency you're looking for with a smaller processor and additional time.
There are so many wonderful variations to this recipe (can I call it that if there are only three ingredients?) and I would love to hear about any favorites you all have tried. So, please leave a comment if you've made any nut butters of your own!
Cinnamon Vanilla Almond Butter
makes about 8 ounces
Ingredients:
Method:
A few months back, one of my favorite healthy lifestyle bloggers, Heather, started making her own nut butters to save money. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea and she made it seem so simple that I just had to try it. I'd been intrigued by many of the flavored almond butters on the market for months, but it is so expensive that I can only bring myself to buy one jar at a time and must use every last bit before purchasing another, so I hadn't been able to try many of them. Now, it doesn't take me too long to finish a jar since I have a tablespoon or two of the creamy spread nearly every day, but that doesn't change the fact that it is expensive and I can make it at home for less, with endless possibilities of flavor variations.
I made this almond butter in my KitchenAid food processor. At first I dumped the almonds into the smaller of the two processor bowls, with the smaller blades. After 10-12 minutes of whirring I still had finely ground almonds instead of the creamy butter that Heather promised would form after just a few minutes. Frustrated, I dumped all of the ingredients into the larger bowl with the larger blades, and within 2-3 minutes had the creamy consistency I was looking for. So, if you have a larger food processor (mine has a 12-cup capacity but I don't think it would need to be quite that big) it would be very helpful. But you may still get the consistency you're looking for with a smaller processor and additional time.
There are so many wonderful variations to this recipe (can I call it that if there are only three ingredients?) and I would love to hear about any favorites you all have tried. So, please leave a comment if you've made any nut butters of your own!
Cinnamon Vanilla Almond Butter
makes about 8 ounces
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole, unsalted almonds
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Method:
- Place almonds in food processor and process until fine.
- Add vanilla extract and cinnamon.
- Process continuously until a creamy butter forms.