Accidental Almond Nut Butter

A few weeks ago I posted a  blog on "milking almonds", dehydrating the pulp and making my own almond flour. You can read it here:

How Do You Milk An Almond?

I'm not making as much almond milk these days but I am making more bread using almond flour, or meal as some refer to it. I decided that I would just try milling the dry almonds to see if I could make my own flour. I had a jar full of roasted, salted(sea salt) almonds that weren't being used so I thought, "why not?" 


I'll give it a try and see what happens. I fully expected to turn out some great, yet a bit salty, almond flour.

Famous last words as they say...... 

What I got was an unexpected treat. I accidentally made almond nut butter. It was a bit dry so I added some Extra Light Olive Oil and it was pretty tasty. I even managed to make me a substitute peanut butter and banana sandwich. That was a treat!

I am allergic to wheat and very sensitive to yeast, so I cut out all bread a few years ago. I've not eaten a sandwich in about three years now.

I miss them....

I never realized how easy it is to make bread from other sources than wheat. However, that is for another blog that's coming up soon, pinky promise! This one is about my accidental discovery of a super delicious substitute for peanut butter. I'm also not eating peanut butter right now because of another eating lifestyle that I am undertaking, the Paleo diet. Peanuts aren't nuts, they are legumes, and not an accepted food on the Paleo Diet. I am far from educated on the Paleo diet, I'm just beginning to learn, hopefully I will be posting more on this later also

Meanwhile, back to the experiment!

I decided to try this again and take pictures this time, in case you've never tried to make almond nut butter. It's super easy, a little messy, but then most things in my kitchen are when I'm the one doing the cooking.

What you'll need:

This makes about 4 ounces of almond nut butter, if you want to make more, simply double the amounts.

One cup roasted, salted(sea salt) almonds
1/2 to 1 tablespoon oil of your choice(I used Extra Light Olive Oil)
A Magic Bullet or food processor or something similar with a good grinding or milling blade that will grind nuts
One cup measuring cup
1/2 or 1 TBS measuring spoon

What you'll need

You will need a Magic Bullet or something similar. I have not tried this in a food processor or blender, but you could give it a try. I made a very small amount. If you're making more, your food processor would likely work.

One note here before you try what I did thinking it would work better. I tried adding the oil to the nuts before milling. This did not work well at all. I've found that it works best if you mill the almonds first by themselves.

Process:

Place one cup of roasted, salted almonds in Magic Bullet or processor, mill as well as possible. 

Almonds in Magic Bullet

You will  find that the butter tends to cake up around the blades and the top of the container if you're using a Magic Bullet. Simply stir it back down and grind again.

Ground almonds cake up around the top

I also found that some of the nuts just refuse to grind, so I take out the butter that is smooth, place into a small bowl.....

First run

and put the chunks back into the grinder.  After grinding as well as possible, I remove the rest of the butter to the bowl, add the oil and mix. I actually put the mixture back in the Magic Bullet, changed to the blending blade and let it blend it really well for me. 


I used one tablespoon of oil for one cup of almonds, because you have to keep this in the fridge, and it will get thick. You may want yours thicker, if so, then cut back a bit on the oil. 

One Tablespoon Olive Oil

Then I placed it in a jar(or course I did)!

4 ounces of Almond Nut Butter

 And there you have your yummy almond nut butter. 

It's very tasty with just the right amount of saltiness for me. 

Now I have to go make more bread....I need a sandwich!



patti