Almond Butter

I'm always on the lookout for a new kitchen project that might save me a few bucks, especially since I've discovered that a lot of these projects yield better results at the same time.

I've got my sourdough pot and my almond milk maker, and I've recently started vermicomposting.

Browsing through the SquawkFox blog I came across this entry for making homemade peanut butter.  There was this brief, sudden flash of realization that I have a nearly full 2 gallon bucket of almonds that I could substitute for peanuts.  A couple of jars of store-bought peanut butter still linger in my cupboards until I find a home for them.  Last year I made the switch to Almond Butter and now the store-bought peanut butter tastes overly sweet and just "off".

Have you ever priced out Almond Butter?  It is expensive.  The cheapest pre-jarred stuff runs about $8 a pound on sale.  Both Fred Meyers and WinCo have on-site grinders that make fresh Almond Butter for about $6 a pound.  Since I can get sliced or slivered almonds for $4 a pound on sale, it makes a ton of sense to make it at home.


I made some yesterday and then went whole-hog and made a huge batch today.  It was super simple.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spread a thin layer of almonds in a roasting pan or cookie sheet
3. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes
4. Cool
5. Blend in food processor until smooth

That is it.  Since my almonds were sliced or slivered they roasted quite nicely.  I liked the color better from the sliced almonds since they still had skin attached.  Most of the recipes had you adding some oil to make it smoother, but I prefer 100% almonds.

Time will tell if I need to get a special mixer to stir any almond oil back in. The oil does separate readily, but i found it easier to just make smaller batches of almond butter and just use the butter knife to stir the oil back in before using. Initially I thought I'd save some time and make a huge batch, enough for a quart, but it was a pain to deal with the oil, not enough to warrant large batches.

Now if you want to make some for friends and family......go nuts.

Shared on Mostly Homemade Mondays (08Aug12)