Almond Butter.

Almond butter. Probably the most amazing food that has ever existed together with chocolate. It is a vegan life-saver, my trusted companion, it doesn’t go bad, it doesn’t have to be in the fridge and it is heaven in your mouth. I use it for all sorts of things, but it’s best on its own. On a spoon. Or ten. Or on top of breakfast bowls or with pear in tortillas, it can even be used for baking. And the most amazing thing about almond butter is the fact that it’s made from almonds alone. No oil, no added sugar, just plain, simple, roasted, delicious almonds. You see, when you bake the almonds in the oven, the natural unsaturated fats in them kind of just comes out and becomes… more accessible? Anyways, what I’m trying to say, and what this implies, is that the almonds are softer. And when you eventually put them in a food processor for a while, they turn into creamy, lucious nut butter. Oh, and did I mention they get this incredible, sweet, scrumptious flavour as well? Anyways, this butter will change your life, so brace yourself for the best recipe so far on this blog!

So before you begin, make sure you have a food processor that works (not a blender – I tried that once and it took for ever). If you’re as crazy as I am, you might even want to roast some hazelnuts together with the almonds to get a hint of hazelnut and a slight Nutella-like flavour. And if you’re even crazier, or simply love chocolate, I’d advise you to save half of the nut butter and keep processing it together with 100 grams of dark vegan chocolate (I use 85%, but my mom thinks it’s way too bitter).

Ingredients:

500 grams almonds (250 grams for one jar)

100 grams hazelnuts (optional)

100 grams dark chocolate – I use 85% cocoa solids (optional)

So start with putting the oven on 200 degrees Celcius (about 400 Fahrenheit). Dress a baking tray with a baking sheet and spread the nuts across it. Once the oven is hot, put the nuts in and set the timer for 10 minutes. Then take them out afterwards.

Let the nuts sit for between 5 and 10 minutes after taking them out of the oven. Also, you should try the roasted nuts! They taste so amazing, you may never want to eat them raw again. Oh, and if you’re using hazelnuts, remeber to rub the shells off of them. You can simply do this by taking a handful at the time and rubbing them between your hands over a bowl. Try to remove as much of the shells as you can, but don’t be too thorough. You have better things to do. Then put it all in the food processor and get excited.

So now we have made almond meal. But we’re not quite there yet! Keep going!

Also, remember that making nut butter is hard work for your food processor, so you should give it some short breaks to catch its breath and cool down while working. When it’s on pause, make sure to scrape down the nut-mass that gets pushed up on the sides with a spatula.

It is starting to lump together (is that even an expression?) and form a thicker, more dense mass of almonds. Let your processor breathe, and don’t forget that you have to breathe too! Making nut butter takes some patience. For some people…I personally enjoy watching the butter form.

And just when you think it’s done, keep going! Make sure to get all those air bubbles out of it and keep going for a bit longer as it does get creamier. Now you can choose to put all of the butter in jars/containers, or you can put half of it in a jar and add dark chocolate to the processor. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to melt a little, or don’t. Anyways, you don’t need to blend it for long. If you want, you can add some vanilla, or enjoy it the way it is. Either way is awesome.

Have a nice week and I’ll write to you again soon!