Almond Butter:
Once found only to health food stores, you can now buy almond butter in most grocery stores. It is less expensive and very satisfying to make it yourself at home. All you need are some almonds, a little oil (or not), and salt or sugar if you want.
To toast or not to toast:
Some people like to toast the almonds first which can bring out more flavor but I prefer mine untoasted. If you want to toast them first just preheat your oven to 350 F, spread almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast approximately 8 minutes. Let almonds cool before preparing butter.
Now for the butter:
Add almonds to your food processor and start processing. You can gradually add in a little oil to help it get creamy, I use grapeseed, but if you let it go long enough the natural oil in the almonds will release and you won't need to add oil at all. Totally up to you and how long you want to wait. It may take up to 10 minutes for the oils to release. The longer you blend, the creamier your almond butter will get. If you want it salty add a little salt or if you prefer sweet do sugar. I don't do either, but this is your butter so go crazy :)
Other Options:
You can do this with any type of nut. If you've looked at the back of the grocery store peanut butters and seen hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup and other nasty additives, you'll be happy to know that homeade peanut butter is healthy and very good.
Usage and Storage:
Once you have made your nut butter use it just like you would if you bought it at the store. Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
The Smoothie:
One of my favorite uses for almond butter is my nut butter and flax smoothie. To make it, add enough almond milk for the amount of smoothies you are making. If I'm drinking alone I usually do 2 cups. Then add in a generous glob of almond butter, a tablespoon of peanut butter, a banana, about 2 tablespoons flax seeds and some liquid sweetener such as agave. The result is sweet and creamy and has some chewiness from the almonds and flax seeds.
