My Kind of Butter

All work and no play means we have not been doing much cooking! We've been out of town and busy with work and getting the yard ready for planting, so we've been living off beans and rice and hummus (which is fine by me). There is one thing, however, that I always have time to make... almond butter! 
If you're anything like I am, you're no stranger to the beauty of a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. Being a teenage vegetarian who didn't like vegetables, peanut butter was a lifeline. Unfortunately, most peanut butter is full of sugar and partially hydrogenated soybean oil, so in eliminating processed foods, out went the peanut butter.
I started buying almond butter because I had heard about how good almonds are for you. They help stabilize blood sugar (reducing cravings), they are full of healthy fats and they regulate blood pressure and cholesterol. The downside was that almond butter is expensive! It was too costly of an addiction to continue buying it, so I decided to start making it. Honestly, it is effortless to make- all you need is a food processor!

Cinnamon Almond Butter

makes about 2 cups

1 lb bag whole raw almonds
1 T cinnamon
1 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place almonds in a cast iron skillet or on a sheet tray and roast for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Let cool for 10 minutes, but don't let them cool completely. They should still be warm.

Put almonds in the food processor and let it go! It's not the best sound in the world, but you get used to it.  

Stop and scrape the sides if it's sticking

About halfway!

Process for 5-10 minutes. Some batches come together quick and some take longer. Once it has "butterized" add the cinnamon and salt and pulse to bring it all together. 

The longer you let it spin, the runnier it will get. This batch was for Jon because he likes his more solid. If it was for me, I would have let it go a couple more minutes. Forget about runny eggs- runny almond butter is so much better tasting and better for you!