Vanilla almond butter

I have a confession. I love vanilla. It has a reputation for being plain and boring but I do not understand why. It gives such a distinctive flavour and I enjoy desserts and bakes flavoured purely with this exotic spice. Vanilla also complements and lifts so many other flavours such as chocolate and berry fruits.

Vanilla also pairs extremely well with nuts and, as I found out, lifts the already delicious almond butter to a whole new level. I am a big fan of making my own nut butters for a number of reasons 1) it is much cheaper to make my own 2) I know exactly what is going into it 3) I can experiment with new flavour combinations.

It could not be simpler to make nut butter, you simply need a powerful food processor and a little patience!

Vanilla almond nut butter

150g skin on almonds
1 tsp unrefined coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla paste

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend! First the nuts will turn to a fine flour-like texture, keep going and it will come together as a ball, jut let it keep going and you will be rewarded with a super creamy almond butter. The time this takes will depend on your processor. 

The amounts in this recipe make a small jar, I am definitely doubling it next time!

I have experimented with this almond butter a number of ways.

It is delicious stirred into porridge, especially delicious if raw cacao and a dash of maple are also stirred through, chocolate almondy porridge topped with a sliced banana is an oh so delicious and nutritious start to the day!

It is also fabulous in chia seed pudding. I made chia pudding with almond milk and left overnight, I then blended with a good dollop of almond butter and a third of a frozen banana, before layering up with a little extra banana. So good.

I also stirred a spoonful through pear overnight oats served with blueberry chia jam. More on the jam in a later post.

I also plan to experiment with other homemade nut butters... if I can drag myself away from this vanilla almond one that is!