My mind has been elsewhere lately. I bought my plane ticket to go home for a visit in May and it seems as though my head has arrived earlier than I actually will. I can’t keep my self from day dreaming about a tearful reunion with my mom and dad, sunny brunches with gal pals and many city strolls through my old stomping grounds. It has left me feeling a little uninspired over here, and for someone who usually spends their days dreaming about food and recipes – well, its been a bit odd to say the least. Every time I gather up the motivation to get into the kitchen, something usually goes wrong, sauces spill, plates break and I don’t even want to talk about the cakes that don’t rise – and feeling frustrated I would return to my cozy nook on the couch. So I guess this is just my way of saying sorry for being a lazy bum lately.
But, I am back with a one ingredient recipe that takes no time to make, tastes amazing and leaves you feeling very, very accomplished! You can make your own almond butter – talk about motivation! A few cups of nuts plus a food processor equals kitchen magic. And since I live in the culinary boonies where a store bought jar of almond butter is about a 45 minute drive away, this is about the best thing I’ve discovered in a while (and if you saw the road I had to drive you’d understand even more). The whole process takes about 30 minutes to make, the recipe can be adapted to pretty much any nut and making it yourself is better for your budget – seriously, you’d be nuts not to try it.
HOMEMADE ALMOND BUTTER
There are endless flavor options here, you could add anything you have on hand; cinnamon, maple syrup, honey, sea salt, chocolate or other roasted nuts. I chose to keep it classic and simple this time, but I can see many more nut butters in my near future! Yields about 1 cup of almond butter.
Ingredients
2 cups whole raw almonds
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F
Spread the almonds out on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes or until fragrant and just beginning to brown in color. Make sure not to burn them or it will give a bitter taste to the butter
Remove from the oven and let cool slightly
Place the almonds in a food processor and start blitzing. The almonds will go through stages – from almond meal to a dry paste, and once they start releasing their oils its when the magic happens. The sticky almond paste starts to turn into a creamy butter. You may need to stop a few times to scrap down the edges of the food processor. When the almonds seem like they are getting smooth – continue blending for a few more minutes. The whole blending process took me about 15 minutes
Once you’ve reached a desired consistency, store in an air tight jar and the butter will keep in the fridge for a few weeks
Let me in on your kitchen creations – tag your photos #happyheartedkitchen and share the love!
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