almond butter

I have been absent for quite some time now! Life has been a little crazy for the past few months to say the least. Between work, keeping up with menial chores like laundry and, oh yeah, trying to have some fun in there, I've been running myself on all cylinders. As a result, I've been trying to find extra hours in the day and simplify life in the most general sense of the word. I'm about to embark on the tedious task of finding a new place to live, a necessary evil that is also driving the bus towards simplification. I never realize how much stuff I own until it's time to put it all in boxes and drive it across town. Oh the joys of moving!

In keeping with the theme of simplification, I decided to make something easy and oh so yummy today - almond butter. 5 ingredients and 15 minutes to delicious. Simple.

Few things to note...

If you've never roasted nuts before, it's super easy so long as you keep an eye on them. I have burned many a tray of almonds, pine nuts, walnuts and the like. Almonds take about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. You can always buy your almonds roasted if you'd like to skip this step.

Don't add the honey, cinnamon and salt to the mixture until the very end after processing for the full 12 minutes. Adding the extra ingredients early will cause the mixture to seize and get super thick. Ew.

Almond butter and raspberry jam sandwiches are amazing. Just sayin.

Enjoy! - jz

almond butter

2 cups dry roasted almonds, unsalted
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Place the almonds in a food processor. Process on high until ground almonds begin to form a ball. Drizzle olive oil over almonds and continue to process, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.  Continue to process for 12 full minutes. Add honey, cinnamon and sea salt. Process for another 30 seconds to mix. Transfer almond butter to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.