Nut Butters, a Labor of Love Story

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It's so important to continue challenging ourselves in order to experience growth, evolve and build a stronger relationship with ourself. And yes, all this power & positivity talk ties into making nut butters, for me at least. I'm quickly learning that I do not enjoy when I cannot do something (that I want to do), to the point of sheer frustration, reaching for a glass of wine, grumbling, groaning, grunting, asking "Why do I keep doing this to myself?" Guess I'm a sicko & I kind of enjoy it because it pushes me to do it again, but better. I haven't learned from these mistakes because I kind of like saying yes to things without overthinking (or just simply thinking them through).

This happens to me at the gym, during long races I've decided to run without appropriate training, recipes, craft projects and more. Honestly, there's an element of humor in (what feels like) failing desperately at something that you didn't expect to be that difficult. I've failed at making ghee more times than I care to admit, destroyed cauliflower pizza crusts, and now, I nearly allowed nut butters to get the best of me. Now that I am a "food blogger," so to speak, I can't help but initially feel a little embarrassed about my culinary mishaps like not knowing the trick to opening up a bloated mason jar, or that I don't really know how to cook meat. In my brief experience I have realized that asking for help is actually quite rewarding, it feels better to admit that I'm still learning and to share my kitchen struggles, I'm not aiming for perfection here. Hopefully, it helps me become more relatable and transparent. I imagine there will be many more (foodie) fails to come. 

What I'm really trying to say, is when you're cousin asks you to come up with healthy nut butter recipes with less sugar & additives, act like the text didn't go through. Jokes, I appreciate the challenge. 

Why might one want to make their own nut butters when there's an abundance out on the market? Yes, this would be a less time consuming endeavor, but you have lose control over the ingredients when you purchase from the store. Name brand nut butters are filled with preservatives, hydrogenated oils, excess salt, high fructose corn syrup, artificial ingredients, etc., when to have a delicious and satisfying nut butter, we don't really need all the extra junk. Even in natural and organic nut butters you will find superfluous ingredients like added sweeteners and palm oil- which may have it's health benefits, but also drives deforestation and increased global warming emissions.

Additionally, if you are some that struggles with food sensitivities/allergies/digestion issues, many products contain ingredients/additives that may not agree with your system. By making your own, you can skip the painful process of checking labels, worrying about cross-contamination and potential discomfort of overlooking something. Allergic to nuts? Forego the nuts in the recipes below & replace with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. 

Making your own nut butters is an albeit simple concept, but time consuming. I started soaking the almonds on Friday, roasted and began blending them on Saturday and then again on Sunday and finally finished on Monday. So when I say labor of love, I mean it. I usually like to clean my house one day during the weekend, which started on Saturday, while the nuts were roasting, and then had to be done again on Sunday because there were nut crumbles galore scattered everywhere and coconut oil spots all over the floor.

While my almond butters may not have that typical creamy texture, I am proud of my final fluffy product because I persevered this nutty experience and I refuse to waste 6 cups of nuts and collectively, about 24 hours of my life.  

If you're interested in experimenting with making your own nut butters, please set aside a chunk of time, a really good blender/food processor/Vitamix, patience and your best stress coping mechanism. Please do not let my experience deter you, if this process goes a lot smoother, literally, for you, please share your secrets/ witch craftery. 

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Similar to nut milks, you can really make a butter out of whatever nut or seed you like, they may be a little different to work with and have differing flavors, textures, but the general rules should still apply for most.

I decided to work with almonds, cashews and pistachios. I purchased raw almonds and cashews, which I soaked first, and roasted pistachios (soaking not necessary). As I mentioned in DIY Nut Milks , I prefer to soak my nuts prior to making nut milks/butters to remove phytates, help them digest better and to create a smoother product- click on the link if you'd like to read more. 

  • Almonds- soak for 12+ hrs, drain water and rinse
  • Cashews- soak 2-4 hrs, don't go over as they will start turning a gross texture

After soaking the nuts for the recommended time, it is important to bake or dehydrate them because the extra moisture will lend itself to a lackluster butter and shorter shelf-life. After rinsing the nuts, lay them on a baking sheet, set oven to 150º (or 170º if you're oven doesn't go that low like mine), and the nuts should dry out after 3 hrs, or after 45 minutes when set at 300º. To make the most out of my time, I started soaking the almonds on Friday night, roasted them Saturday morning and then began soaking the cashews, then while the cashews were drying, I began working on the almond butter.

After the nuts have dried, add them to your food processor or Vitamix and blend-chop-blend-chop-chop! In the meantime, clean your house, binge watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, groom your pet, apply your favorite face mask, whatever brings you joy. Depending on your equipment and the nuts, this process could take anywhere from 8 minutes to 20-40 minutes, or in my case, days.

The nuts will reach a few different stages while they are blending/chopping, the nuts will start to heat up and eventually release their natural oils, which helps turn them into a butter. From what I've gathered from my panel of nut experts (via the internet), is that sometimes drying the nuts removes too much of the natural oils and this is when you may need to add in extra oil. I used organic unrefined coconut oil, in order to create the creamy butter consistency. Continue adding more oil until it reaches the preferred state, I used about 3-4 tablespoons for each. The pistachio butter turned creamy way faster than the almonds, perhaps because they were purchased roasted. 

Once the nuts have reached the desired consistency, add in extra ingredients of choice, or nothing at all! Some ideas are honey, chia seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon, maple syrup, cacao powder, or you could real fancy and add some adaptogens to the mix and create a super magical, powerful nut butter!

I decided to add chia and flax seeds to elevate the butters, add more fiber, protein, antioxidants and healthy fats like Omega 3- Alpha-Linoleic Acid. I do not have much of a sweet tooth, so I used cardamom and Ceylon cinnamon to jazz up the flavor profile and found it to be quite delightful! 

Almond-Flaxseed Butter

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups raw organic almonds (use 4 cups if you're only making one butter and would prefer a greater amount)
  • 1/4 C golden flax seeds 
  • Coconut oil- eyeball this one, keep adding more oil to create desired consistency, I used about 4 Tbsp.
  • Sea salt
  • Food processor or good blender
  • Dehydrator (optional)
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Directions:

  • Soak almonds in water for 12+ hours, overnight is a good start! 
  • Preheat oven to 150º
  • Drain water & rinse nuts
  • Lay out on baking sheet, let dry out in the oven for about 3 hrs
  • After the nuts have dried, transfer to processor and begin blending, stopping every few minutes to scrape off the sides and give the blender a rest. Steam is natural, but you're processor should not over heat! This is what happened to me and part of why this took me so long :/
  • Wait patiently for the nuts to warm and release their oils and create a creamy texture, maybe 15-20 minutes, if it's looking dry, add oil of choice until it reaches desired consistency. Towards the end, add in flax seeds, and give a few pulses. I did this to provide a mix of whole seeds and blended to jazz up to texture. If you'd prefer creamy, add them earlier or at the end if you'd prefer them whole
  • When it's done blending to desired state, add in extra ingredients if you want. For this one, I just used sea salt and mixed it in by hand
  • Transfer to jar/container and store in fridge for several weeks or freeze
  • Enjoy by the spoonful, add to smoothies, oatmeal or toast, dip carrots, celery or apples to help reach daily vitamin, healthy fat, protein and fiber intake

Super Almond-Cashew Butter with Chia Seeds 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups raw organic almonds, soaked for 12+ hrs
  • 2 cups raw organic cashews, soaked for 2-4 hrs
  • 3 Tbsp. chia seeds
  • Unrefined organic coconut oil
  • Ceylon cinnamon
  • Cardamom
  • Food processor/ blender
  • Dehydrator (optional)
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Instructions:

  • Soak almonds in water for 12+ hours, overnight is a good start! 
  • Preheat over to 150º
  • Drain water & rinse nuts
  • Lay out on baking sheet, let dry out in the oven for about 3 hrs
  • After the nuts have dried, transfer to processor and begin blending, stopping every few minutes to scrape off the sides and give the blender a rest. Steam is natural, but you're processor should not over heat! 
  • Wait patiently for the nuts to warm and release their oils and create a creamy texture, maybe 15-20 minutes, if it's looking dry, add oil of choice until it reaches desired consistency. 
  • When it's done blending, add in chia seeds, sea salt, cinnamon & cardamom. I added a few dashes and mixed, adding more to taste. About 1/2 tsp- 1 tsp of both
  • Transfer to jar and store for several weeks
  • This is honestly soooo good, but maybe I'm biased. Tastes like a dessert treat to me! 

Pistachio Butter

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups roasted pistachios, shelled
  • Coconut oil
  • Food processor/blender
  • Sea salt
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Instructions:

  • Add nuts to food processor and begin blending, pausing occasionally to scrape butter off the sides
  • As I mentioned earlier, this turned way faster than the almonds, about 15 minutes and then I added a few tablespoons of coconut oil to enhance the flavor and create a creamier texture
  • Once you've finished blending, add a few pinches of sea salt to taste, transfer to jar and store in the fridge for several weeks, if it lasts that long!
  • This one was by far my favorite! So delicious and different. I added it on toast with a little raw lavender honey (omg) and chia seeds. Tasted so fancy and decadent!
I need to work on my photo taking skills :) 

I need to work on my photo taking skills :)