Autumn Almond Butter

Autumn-almond-butter

I don’t care what the calendar say–Autumn definitely came early this year. The temperature is cold and the leaves are all falling; store shelves are lined with cans of pumpkin pie mix and candy corn; the farmers’ market is back in swing with squashes no one has ever seen before; I’m back to hastily finishing homework and quizzes. Need I say more?

This weekend I was planning on making an almond version of Winnie’s amazing looking walnut butter, but I decided to save it for another time(when I actually have all the ingredients) and went with an Autumn themed one instead. I’m glad I made that decision because the spice from cinnamon and nutmeg paired with sweet cranberries have made cool mornings a little warmer.

I like my almond and peanut butters on the thicker side, so I didn’t blend this for too long. Taking Ashley’s tip, I’d suggest to keep blending up to 12-15 minutes before adding in the second batch of ingredients for a drippier butter.

Autumn Almond Butter

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(makes about 20oz):

  • 1lb almonds, raw or roasted, blanched or unblanched
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons neutral oil(I used coconut oil)
  • 1/4 cup cane sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Autumn-almond-butter-lateral

Method:

  1. Combine the almonds and oil in a food processor and blend until the almonds form a thick paste(about 5-10 minutes). Scrape down the sides as necessary to make sure all of the almonds get processed.
  2. Stop the processor and add the sugar, spice, salt, and extract. Continue pulsing until the ingredients have all been mixed evenly.
  3. Turn off your food processor. Add in the cranberries and fold them in throughout the almond butter. Move to an air-tight container for storing.

Autumn-almond-butter-side

If your Autumn involves chocolate(and that’s a pretty good Autumn), add 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips at the end and fold them in along with the cranberries.

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27 Responses to Autumn Almond Butter
  1. Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
    September 16, 2011 | 9:05 am

    I’d love to try this with dried cherries! They win out over cranberries for me every time 🙂

  2. Kristina @ spabettie
    September 16, 2011 | 9:12 am

    my autumn always involves chocolate. and now, lots of this almond butter! looks fantastic, Evan!

  3. Erin (Travel Eat Repeat)
    September 16, 2011 | 9:25 am

    Fact: adding pumpkin spice makes everything better.

  4. Molly Ellis
    September 16, 2011 | 9:44 am

    that looks delicious! Definitely going to be giving this a try!

  5. ally@girlVfood
    September 16, 2011 | 9:51 am

    I can definitely see myself stress-eating this during finals. 😉

  6. Pure2raw Twins
    September 16, 2011 | 9:54 am

    we love our nut butters on the thick side as well! looks perfect for fall!!

  7. d.liff @ yelleBELLYboo
    September 16, 2011 | 11:00 am

    I just learned to make my own peanut butter – now I can’t wait to try other nut butters. This one is so much fun – reminds me of something Peanut Butter & Co would make but with almonds… can’t wait to try it!

  8. Winnie
    September 16, 2011 | 11:51 am

    Looks incredible!

  9. VeggieGirl
    September 16, 2011 | 12:21 pm

    Autumn is definitely here! Freezing outside. Love this almond butter recipe!

  10. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga
    September 16, 2011 | 4:25 pm

    The dried cranberries sound perfect in the AB. And maple syrup.

    YUM. Perfect for autumn. Or ANY time 🙂

  11. Ela
    September 16, 2011 | 6:07 pm

    Dried fruit in there sounds like a great touch. Autumn _is_ early this year–up in AK too!

    When you blend your almond butter in the fp, do you walk away, or supervise it? I just don’t know, even with earplugs, how I could stand fp noise for that amount of time…

    • Wannabe Chef
      September 16, 2011 | 6:59 pm

      Well, I’m back to living in a dorm room, so I can’t go too far without being near it. And yes it is unfortunately loud; I’m so scared I’m going to wake someone else up that I only use it mid-afternoon.

  12. BroccoliHut
    September 16, 2011 | 8:30 pm

    I think I just found the next project for my food processor.

  13. Lindsay @ Lindsay's List
    September 16, 2011 | 9:08 pm

    Pretty creative!! And yes, you need chocolate.

  14. Luv What You Do
    September 16, 2011 | 10:42 pm

    I have been obssessed with nut butters recently, but I have never tried an autumn version. Can’t wait to give it a go!

  15. Hannah
    September 17, 2011 | 6:44 am

    Scrumdiddlyumptious! I’ve been meaning to get back into making nut butters, but my brother’s birthday present to me of PB&Co’s flavoured range (procured from the only source, an online retailer, in Australia), has prevented me. But you know what? They’ll keep. I want this.

  16. Claire @ Un Bello Aperitivo
    September 17, 2011 | 10:26 am

    Yes, my autumn definitely includes chocolate (not to mention candy corn, cinnamon pb, and banana bread…though, not all in the autumn almond butter. That mess would be more akin to Hurricane Irene.)

  17. Jessica @ Jess Go Bananas
    September 17, 2011 | 2:01 pm

    Yum! That sounds perfect for a nice afternoon fall snack! 🙂

  18. Kathleen @ Kat's Health Corner
    September 18, 2011 | 12:01 am

    Oh my gosh. That is calling my name. 🙂

  19. Jenny
    September 18, 2011 | 9:12 am

    are those kinnikinnick (sp?) graham crackers? love ’em. Love ’em. Love ’em! they taste like shortbread 🙂

  20. » Highlights: Fall Has Arrived » Relishments
    September 18, 2011 | 9:03 pm

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  21. Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers
    September 18, 2011 | 10:42 pm

    OMG! This looks so good! I need this Almond Butter now!!

  22. Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca)
    September 22, 2011 | 12:20 am

    Your almond butter looks like it is the perfect consistency. I need to get around to making my own nut butters, because I go through them like crazy.

  23. Kara
    September 22, 2011 | 5:31 pm

    Oh. My. Gosh. I must make this now!!! Thanks for all the great recipes! Love your blog!

  24. @stampylisa
    September 28, 2011 | 10:47 am

    made it!–i made a smaller batch last night, and subbed maple sugar in for the extract and cane sugar. added a squeeze of agave cause I didn’t add a lot of sugar. & I processed in my cranberries—all in a magic bullet. here is where a vitamix would come in handy since I didn’t want to drag out my processor. it turned out awesome.. Thanks for sharing!

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