Chunky Monkey {Raw} Honey Almond Butter

No matter how long you’ve been cooking or baking I’ll bet you have a kitchen disaster or two to tell. Now I’m not necessarily talking about kitchen fires, floppy souffles or sliced fingers but the minor yet equally embarrassing flops that you will remember always and share with friends when ever the topic arises.

Mine happens to be the time several years ago I tried to make almond bars for a Christmas party.
You see, and keep in mind I was young and didn’t bake much, I thought that when the recipe called for 1 cup of   “Almond Butter”   that meant to take a cup of butter and add almond extract to it and mix………..

There. I’ve told you, now you too know my shameful secret. No biggie. You’ve done something like that too right? Humor me.

Fast forward several years and many cookbooks and blog reading later, I not only know what almond butter is but I’ve discovered how easy and especially economical making your own is! Good almond butter is apparently worth it’s weight in gold and I feel a twinge of guilt every time I buy it. My kids love peanut butter but I’m just not a fan and find it too in your face roasted pea nutty.

Almond butter however is in my opinion mild, creamy and a perfect addition to apples or on a sandwich with bananas and honey. Yum!

So I’ve seen my blog friends like The Fit House Wife and  Naturally Ella  posting creamy and beautiful recipes for home made almond butter and I new I had to make it part of my life.

Turns out that not everything goes according to plan on your first try. Ever in my case. While this almond butter was a really delicious and a hit with the whole fam, it wasn’t as creamy as I wanted it to be. I think maybe I tried adding too much almonds into my Vita Mix at one time. The tips I’ve heard from around the web discouraged using a Vita Mix at all to make almond butter but I was an eager new owner of a shiny new Vita Mix and the guy at Costco told me it could do absolutely anything, so I went for it!

I’m going to take Jen’s advice over at The Fit House Wife  and try adding less at a time and maybe freezing the almonds to avoid them heating up so much like they did this time.

Since it wasn’t as creamy as I dreamed of I’m just going to call it “Chunky Almond Butter” lookin’ at the glass half full my friends.  It was still delicious and the bit-O-honey made this a perfect afternoon, post-work out/after school  treat.

You Will Need:

1 cup frozen Raw, Unsalted almonds (preferably Organic)
2 teaspoons salt (I use Pink Himalayan)
1/4 cup Raw Local honey  (buying local helps fight common allergies!)
Optional:  1 teaspoon cinnamon