Make Your Own Almond Butter

Do you have two cups of almonds, a food processor or high speed blender and about 20 to 30 minutes to spare?

If so, you can easily make your own almond butter using simple steps and ingredients that you can count on one hand.

I buy the three-pound bag of whole almonds at Costco, which equals out to be about nine cups per bag. I took two cups of almonds, lightly roasted them in the toaster oven and then switched them over to my food processor with a pinch of sea salt and a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon, stood by, scrapped down the sides of the container and watched my whole almonds turn into all-natural, preservative-free creamy almond butter.

By lightly roasting your almonds, they break down a little quicker in the food processor because they're already warm. You will have to stand by the food processor with a spoon or a spatula and scrape down the sides of the bowl, but it's totally worth it! The sea salt and cinnamon help bring out the flavor of this simple almond butter.

Make the recipe your own by adding a mixture of nuts, raw cacao nibs or maple syrup. I added maple syrup to my last batch and it turned out great, but I had to mix it in the food processor a little bit longer to get the almond butter back to a really creamy consistency.

Here's my recipe for Three Ingredient Almond Butter. Enjoy!

Three Ingredient Almond Butter
(makes about 10 to 12 oz. of creamy almond butter)

Ingredients:
• 2 cups whole almonds, lightly roasted
• a pinch of sea salt
• a sprinkle of cinnamon

Preparation:
- Lightly roast your almonds in the toaster oven or the oven for about 4 minutes, until just lightly browned.

- Place the almonds, a pinch of sea salt and the cinnamon in the bowl of your food processor or high speed blender and turn on your machine. Depending on what food processor or blender you're using, it can take anywhere from 12 to 20 minutes for the almonds to break down and turn into a smooth mixture. If you have a high speed blender, like a Vitamix, it probably won't take as long.

- Store the almond butter in a sealed container at room temperature, but not for too long because this delicious mixture is free of preservatives. Your almond butter might harden up some if you place it in the fridge. I store my almond butter in an 8 oz. mason jar! Mason jars make everything look better (and cute).

Use on an almond butter and banana sandwich, on top of your morning bowl of oatmeal, add a spoonful to your smoothie or enjoy right out of the jar.

Check back later this week to see what else to do with your home made almond butter, maybe something like a healthy dessert!