I’ve been obsessed with almond butter recently. Just a nice, all-natural almond butter. Unfortunately, the prices that in the stores around here are anywhere from $6-8 a jar! Eek. So, I decided to whip up a batch of my own for literally a third of the cost!  I bought a big 3lb bag of raw almonds for $9 at Costco and gave it a whirl. I used 1/3 of the bag and came out with the same amount as a standard jar. And it’s delicious!

Almond Butter

• 1lb raw almonds
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (plus extra if needed)
• Approx 1 Tbsp honey (optional)
• Approx 1 Tbsp kosher or sea salt (optional)
• 2 Tbsp flax seeds (optional)

1. Roast the almonds in a 350 F oven for 10-12 minutes until starting to darken color and smell warm and nutty. Allow to cool for 5 mins.
2. Place almonds and oil in a sturdy food processor. (If you prefer a chunky almond butter, reserve about 1/3 cup of the almonds to add later.) Turn the processor on and let run until it begins to look like a traditional nut butter (3-5 mins) and is very smooth. Scrape down the sides occasionally. Add a little more oil if it’s too think for your preference.
3. Add the optional honey, salt and flax seeds and blend for another 30 sec-1 min. Adjust salt and honey to your taste preference.
4. If you’re making chunky almond butter, add the reserved almonds. Watching carefully, blend until they are well chopped up but not completely pureed.