If you're tired of peanut butter and want a little more variety in your life, try almond butter. Making almond butter at home can be fun and save money over the store-bought variety. Making it at home also allows you to control the flavor, saltiness and consistency.
Choosing Your Almonds
Use fresh, whole almonds. If the almonds are too old or you purchased them pre-sliced, you run the risk of making rancid almond butter. You can also purchase almonds that are still in their shells, but you'll need to crack and shell them individually before making the butter, adding a lot of time to your task. Once you have your shelled the almonds, choose whether you want to remove the skins, which can add a bitter taste to your butter and make it a bit more grainy in texture. If you decide to remove the skins, you can do so by blanching them, which requires that you pour boiling water over the almonds in a pot or bowl. Wait two or three minutes, pour out the excess water, and remove the skin from each almond using your fingers. If you want to skip this step, but still want creamy almond butter, you can purchase almonds that have already been skinned.
To Roast or Not to Roast
Roasting the almonds gives them a deeper, nuttier flavor, although some people prefer the taste of raw almond butter. You can experiment to see which one suits your taste buds best. If you prefer to use raw almonds, you can move on to the blending section. If you want to roast them, you should do that now. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and spread your almonds onto a cookie sheet or baking pan. Put the almonds in a heated oven and check them every few minutes, shaking the pan to ensure that they don't burn. When the almonds have turned a light-to-medium brown color, they are ready. Remove them from the oven and get ready to blend.
Blending
Use a blender or a food processor for this step. Add the almonds into the grinder slowly and turn it on. It's best to use almonds that are still slightly warm from the oven. You'll need to blend them for about 10 minutes to get the oils to release from the almonds, so make sure that whatever food processor you choose can handle this. The almonds may look dry at first, but the prolonged blending time should allow them to release their oils and form a creamier consistency. If you plan to add salt, now is the time. Use your taste to decide how much salt is necessary.
Adding Oil and Being Creative
If the consistency of your almond butter is still too dry for your liking, you can add any type of plant-derived oil at this time to make it smoother. Olive oil is a good choice, or you can use flax oil to boost the omega-3 content of your butter. Add the oil slowly and be careful not to pour in too much. Process until smooth.
If you want to get more creative with your almond butter, you can add honey, any type of sugar or sweetener, or even chocolate.
Storage
Put your finished butter into a jar with an air-tight lid. If you plan to eat it right away, you can leave it in a cabinet at room temperature for up to 30 days. If you plan to store it longer, keep it in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage. If you used an oil that requires refrigeration, like flax oil, put it in the refrigerator right away.
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