Monday
Jun082009
too simple?
06.8.2009
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.
Reader Comments (41)
Thanks for this recipe! I love simple and easy recipes, and this looks delicious. I really want to try it :)
Not too simple...too DELICIOUS! I think I would eat the whole jar. Now all I need is confidence that my mini processor won't go up in flames.
Not too simple at all! It would be hard to resist eating it on thick slices of toast for breakfast AND lunch!
Dried figs & cinnamon-vanilla almond butter = tastes just like a PBJ without the bread. Simple yet SENSATIONAL.
Definitely worth sharing! I've been making my own peanut butter and almond butter too, since I saw it was so easy over at Joy the Baker. I love your addition of vanilla and cinnamon though. I am going to add more almonds to my shopping list right now. Thanks.
Hi,
I made couple of jars of home-made nutella based on 70% toasted hazelnuts, 20% bitter chocolate (75%) and 10% rapadura. It was a huge impact (also a little bit on the waistline , but at least you know is good fat!) and not so sweet.
I also made almond and cashew butter, added a few apricots and some pear essence,
Next one will be something with walnut, pistachio and cardamom perhaps?
Good luck with all your nut buttering experiments!
Brilliant! I need to get a full sized food processor. The one I have is one that goes on top of a blender bottom so it is rather small. Need to wait until I have a real kitchen, you know one with an actual pantry :)
The almond butter looks great! Thanks for the recipe!
love this recipe! i want to try this so much especially with the cinnamon and vanilla additions. sounds so unbelievably tasty!
How long does it stay good for? Looks delicious!
i STILL have not made my own because I want to finish off the jars I have first :) But the cinnamon + vanilla sounds amazing!
As always - AMAZING! Cinnamon Vanilla? *swoon*
Cinnamon Vanilla?! DELISH! I still order the Vanilla AB from Naturally Nutty and it can get expensive...I'll try this out and see if I can convert =)
Sounds AMAZING! I need to invest in the larger food processor.
Can I ask in your last picture...what your concotion is you're eating with the almond butter? It looks delicious.
That looks delicious! I made almond butter a few weeks ago. It's a bit grainy but I've grown accustomed to the texture and really like it. Yours is much darker than mine.
Do you think you could use a blender?
Adding flavors seems like an excuse to make homemade almond butter. I've totally done homemade peanut butter in my food processor and it's a billion times better than store bought.
I think I might try mixing the almonds with dried figs and honey... that sounds like a spread worth getting out of bed for!
This looks delicious and makes me wonder what it'd be like if I used a bag of unsalted mixed nuts that I bring for traveling instead of just almonds. I've been trying to get rid of it for some time now, and intermittent snacking doesn't seem to make a dent. It's got a mix of almonds, cashews, some hazelnuts and peanuts ... what do you think? Worth a try?
I tried making almond butter but never got beyond almond dust. I guess I need to keep at it. Yours looks delicious!
ummm...that looks AMAZING! Where do you live in Charlottesville??? I'll be over with my spoon!!! JK
On a serious note, is it less sweet than the commercial almond butter. I've bought Maranatha and Barney Butter and it sorta makes me gag its so sweet!! Maybe you could add salt when you make your own?
Forget the almond butter recipe, look at that OATMEAL. How about a recipe for that? Wowza. Pine nuts, figs, almond butter. That is right up my alley.
Flavor combo sounds amazing! Need to invest in the larger food processor.
But I agree that OATMEAL looks awesome. Would love to see the recipe for that!
I've made homemade almond butter before and I LOVED it. I'll have to try flavoured variations soon. I just made cashew butter the other day. Homemade nut butters are so much more rewarding than store bought :)
Sweetie,
Definately not too simple! I love seeing everyone's variations on various nut butters. I just have the problem of the nut butter getting really hard at the bottom of the jar...
Have a fantabulous humpday tomorrow!
With Love,
Emily
Hello sweet Emily! I agree that homemade nut butters do get a little hard at the bottom of the jar. I haven't figured out why homemade has less oil than store-bought, even the brands that claim to only contain nuts and salt...