Coconut Cranberry Almond Butter

Yield: About 2½ cups

Ingredients:

3 cups (450g | 16oz) raw almonds
1 cup (80g | 2.9oz) finely shredded unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup (70g | 2.4oz) coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp salt (I use Himalayan salt)
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1/2 cup (40g | 1.5oz) finely shredded unsweetened coconut
2/3 cup (80g | 3oz) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
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1 tbsp pure vanilla extract, (store-bought or homemade)

Directions:Preheat your oven to 350°F; Place the almonds in a single layer on a 9" x 13" baking sheet. Toast for 10 minutes, or until fragrant, moving the nuts around a few times while they are toasting. 

Allow the almonds to cool until you can safely handle them with your bare hands, about 5 minutes, then transfer them to the container of your High-Speed Blender

Add 1 cup of shredded coconut, melted coconut oil and salt; process on low speed for about 30 to 60 seconds while pushing down with the tamper as needed to help the ingredients into the blades. At this point, the mixture will be very dry and solid and will look nothing like nut butter, but fear not: this is all about to change. 

Slowly increase the speed to 5-6 and continue processing until the mixture starts to get creamier, about 30 seconds to a minute.

Remove the lid and scrape the sides with a rubber spatula and then resume processing, progressively increasing the speed all the way up to 10. Let her rip for about 60 to 90 seconds, until the nut butter becomes really thin in consistency and runs freely in the blades. 

Add the 1/2 cup of shredded coconut and dried cranberries and process on pulse until the newly added ingredients are evenly distributed. At this point, the nut butter will have thickened up slighlty, but will still be fairly runny. 

Add the vanilla extract and resume mixing for no longer than a few seconds, just until the nut butter has thickened. 

Transfer your nut butter to an airtight container and store in the pantry for up to several weeks, or in the refrigerator for up to a few months.

Notes

If using a regular food processor, you'll have to stop the motor and scrape the sides regularly and total processing time will be much longer.

Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter

Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter 
with Hemp, Flax, and Chia Seed

Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter 

with Hemp, Flax, and Chia Seed

I try to incorporate as many grains as possible in my diet after reading an article several years ago. The Harvard Medical School published that most diets are Niacin deficient due to insufficient use of grains. Reap the benefits of no cholesterol with a nut butter. Serve on bread or with apple slices. This recipe comes from the blog "Oh She Glows". Use a food processor not a Vita Mix to process until smooth as it must be frequently stirred. This is so well worth the ingredients as it is delicious.

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Ingredients:
2 cup raw almonds
2 Tbsp whole flax seeds
2 Tbsp hemp seeds
1 Tbsp chia seeds
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

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Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a non-stick mat. In a large bowl, mix together the almonds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and maple syrup. Spread out almond mixture onto baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once half way through.


2. Remove from oven and allow the almond mixture to cool for a few minutes before placing into a food processor. Process for about 10 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl every 30-60 seconds as needed. The mixture will be very drippy and smooth when ready. Add in the vanilla, salt, and cinnamon and process until mixed well.


3. Remove the almond butter from the processor. If you’d like crunchy almond butter, add some almonds (~1/2 cup?) into the (now empty) processor and process until chunky. Stir the chunky almonds into the almond butter. Makes 1 and 1/4 cups or a bit more depending on how much you lick the bowl.
Yield: 1 1/4 cup.

Adapted from Ashley and inspired by Naturally Nutty’s.