When mom was out to visit this summer she got me into almond butter. I love it on crackers, toast, in my smoothies and right off the spoon! The only problem with loving almond butter that much is the cost of it in stores. I remeber mom always making peanut butter when we were kids. She just through them in the food processor until they were smooth and creamy. I figured I could try the same method with almonds.
So I made my own almond butter!
I would suggest using a heavy duty food processor for this, I have a little kitchen aid one, it is great for chopping veggies and making smoothies but by the end of the process I was worried my little one was going to burn out. I had to puree in short intervals to avoid getting my machine too hot, a heavy duty mixer would handle this job much better.
Preheat your oven to 350F. Spread your almonds on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. I left mine in a bit longer to really bring out the nutty flavour, be careful not to burn them though!
Let them cool a bit, they blend better when they are still warm. Put them in your mixer and mix. And keep mixing....and mix some more. They need a good 10-15 mins to really get the smooth creamy consistency. Dont forget to scrape the sides down!
Once the almond butter has reached a consistency you are satisfied with (lots of taste testing required) which just happens to be my favorite part :) Pour into a container or a mason jar and voila, your own homemade almond butter for a fraction of the cost of store bought stuff.
Enjoy!
