Homemade Almond Butter

Homemade nut butter sounds like something right out of the pages of Little House on the Prairie, but you don’t have to have Ma Ingall’s skills in the kitchen to make this wholesome and nourishing treat.  Not only is it much less intimidating than you may think, it’s far healthier than much of what you’ll find at your local grocer.

Give it a go and let us know what you think!

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb Raw Almonds
    • 1-2 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract (*optional, but adds great flavor)

    Directions

    1

    Preheat oven to 350*

    2

    Place 1lb of RAW almonds evenly in one layer on cookie sheet.

    3

    Roast almonds until you begin to smell the scent of roasted nuts.  The time will vary, but you will easily be able to detect the scent.

    4

    Place freshly roasted almonds directly into a food processor.

    5

    Turn the food processor on low and let it grind the almonds first into a powder (this is actually pure almond flour), stopping the processor occasionally to scrape the sides.

    6

    Keep processing the almonds on a higher speed until the natural oils release (this is sped up by the fact that you just roasted them) and begin to turn into a paste.  This process can take some time.  Be patient because it’s well worth it.

    7

    Continue to stop the processor occasionally to scrape the sides.

    8

    Once the almonds have changed to butter, pour the pure vanilla extract into the butter and process for several more minutes to ensure the vanilla is infused throughout the butter.

    9

    Sample to see if you want to add more vanilla to the butter.  This is purely up to the individual as to how much more, if any, to add.

    10

    Once you finish processing, pour into an air tight container.  The butter will be runny and will not solidify as you might expect, but this is because you have created pure almond butter without added oils or preservatives.  There should be little to no separation of the oils, as you find in store bought almond butter.

    11

    You do not have to refrigerate.  The butter will keep for 2-3 weeks (if it lasts that long!) on the counter or in the pantry at room temperature.  

    Recipe by Amanda McClellan

     

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