Homemade Almond Butter

Homemade nut butter  are perfect with so many things. And with so many good brands on the market I’ve never tried to make my own. Last week it was freezing and I made spiced hot chocolate after dinner. I experimented by adding almond butter to make it thick and rich, it turned out creamy and so decadent. This and the fact I had a Costco sized bag of almonds led me make almond butter at home. The result was a rich, creamy and delicious butter. I divided the butter into three and made 3 different flavors. Matcha, chocolate and chai spices.
There are a few things to note:

1. you will need a heavy-duty food processor. One that can run 10-12 minutes without getting hot or tripping.
2. I used raw almonds. You can try roasted nuts for a nuttier taste.
3. I’ve also made combination of nut and seed butter which is also delicious. Use equal amounts of almonds, cashews and sunflower seeds.
4. Add spices and maple syrup at the last pulse or mix it manually, it will seize up and get dry if added sooner.
5. The time given are approximate, this depends on the machine, and it’s power.
6. Scrape down frequently so the nuts are evenly ground.
7. add more or less spices to suit your needs.

You will need // makes about a cup of butter

• 2 cups of raw almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon almond oil or any neutral nut cold pressed virgin oil
• For Chai spices butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• pjnch of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1-2 teaspoon maple syrup
• For Matcha
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon culinary grade matcha
• For chocolate
• 1-2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Place the nuts in the food processor. Process until you get a creamy texture about 8-12 minutes.
Stop and Scrape every 2-3 minutes, add the oil if it’s too hard to process. This is essential to get it evenly smooth. It may seem the recipe doesn’t work, but the full-time is needed to get to the right texture.
When you get the smooth and creamy texture, add the spices and pulse 1-2 times to blend evenly or mix it with a spatula or fork. Add the flavor of you choice. Mix or pulse a couple of times to blend.
Transfer to a clean jar. Store in the fridge.
Great over toasted bread, porridge, sandwich spread, fruit slices or slather wherever you need nutty goodness. I caught my son spoon it directly from the jar standing in the fridge, it’s that kind a good stuff!