Almond Butter

Almonds are a rich source of various nutrients and hence inclusion of almonds in your regular diet proves to be beneficial to your health. Almonds can be included in you diet as a whole or through other almond products like almond oil or almond butter. Haven’t heard of almond butter? Well it is similar to peanut butter. It is just like a ground paste of roasted almonds with some minor additions like salt or vegetable oil. Just like peanut butter, you can have various types of almond butter, chunky, smooth or even the flavored varieties. Well, starting with the basics let me give you the recipe for chunky almond butter.

Making Chunky Almond Butter at Home

Making almond butter at home is extremely easy. It is just like making peanut butter. There are very few ingredients that you require, however it is the finesse with which you make the almond butter that will determine the taste of your homemade almond butter. The crucial steps in making the almond butter are roasting the almonds properly and getting the proportion of the salt and oil right. Just follow the instructions to avoid any goof ups.

Ingredients

• Almonds – 1¼ cup
• Vegetable oil -1 tablespoon
• Sea salt – ¼ teaspoon

Preparation

• First, you need to chop the almonds and roast them to the right degree. The amount of time for which you roast the almonds is very crucial since it determines the taste of the nut butter.
• Simply put the almonds on a baking sheet and roast at 300°F for about 20 minutes, until the almonds turn slightly brownish. Make sure to stir the almonds and toss them up and down to ensure the almonds are roasted evenly on all sides.
• Once roasted, just combine the almonds and the salt in a food processor and grind until you get a fine paste. Now, add the oil and continue to blend the mixture until you get smooth and creamy nut butter.
• Now add the chopped almonds and stir the mixture well. Your creamy and crunchy almond butter is ready to be used.

Strawberry and Almond Butter Cookies

Almond butter can be used in a wide variety of recipes. An almond butter cookie recipe is one such interesting recipe that you must try out for sure. Almond butter cookies, with a hint of strawberry are amazingly delicious and make for a fun snack at any time of the day. Here is the recipe that combines creamy almond butter and fresh strawberries. Try it!

Ingredients

• All purpose flour –1 cup
• Almond Butter - 1cup
• Sugar – ¼ cup
• Butter – ½ cup
• Fresh Strawberry Pulp – 6 tablespoons

Preparation

• Take a large mixing bowl and combine the almond butter, flour and sugar.
• Add the butter and blend the mixture well.
• Now, shape dough into a ball and cover it with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
• Now, take the mixture out and roll out the dough on a plain floured surface.
• Use a cookie cutter and make cookies of desired shape and size.
• Place the cookies 1 inch apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.
• Bake the cookies at 375F for around 8 minutes or until the brownies turn golden brown at the base.
• Allow the cookies to cool down for 15-20 minutes.
• Now spread the strawberry syrup on a cookie and place another cookie on top of it to make a sandwich-like cookie.