This creation was quite the accident.
I've been looking forward to making french macarons for some time, but we didn't have almond flour in the house. So I decided that homemade almond flour would have to do and set about grinding up the almonds in the food processor. I have no idea what happened, but the almond mixture just would not turn into a fine powder. It was coarse and grainy - a recipe for failed macarons. I tried to roast the almond meal to dry out the oil that was making the mixture clump together, but it made no difference. After some time, I knew my attempts were futile so I gave up and just reverted to making almond butter instead.
Which wasn't a bad thing. I added my own spices and sweetness to personalize the almond butter, and lemme tell you, it tastes 10x better than the store-bought kinds. Roasting the almonds did all kinds of wonderful things to the butter - the smoky flavor is unlike any other I've had before. The amazing thing is - it doesn't even take that long to make! 15 minutes tops if you know what you're doing.
I've been looking forward to making french macarons for some time, but we didn't have almond flour in the house. So I decided that homemade almond flour would have to do and set about grinding up the almonds in the food processor. I have no idea what happened, but the almond mixture just would not turn into a fine powder. It was coarse and grainy - a recipe for failed macarons. I tried to roast the almond meal to dry out the oil that was making the mixture clump together, but it made no difference. After some time, I knew my attempts were futile so I gave up and just reverted to making almond butter instead.
Which wasn't a bad thing. I added my own spices and sweetness to personalize the almond butter, and lemme tell you, it tastes 10x better than the store-bought kinds. Roasting the almonds did all kinds of wonderful things to the butter - the smoky flavor is unlike any other I've had before. The amazing thing is - it doesn't even take that long to make! 15 minutes tops if you know what you're doing.
Ingredients
2 cups whole almonds (not blanched)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsps brown sugar
2 cups whole almonds (not blanched)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsps brown sugar
To prepare
- Add the almonds to a food processor and blend until the mixture is crumbly and coarse.
- Transfer ground almonds to a pan and roast on medium heat until fragrant and browned. (Take care not to burn)
- Transfer roasted ground almonds back into food processor and keep blending. The consistency of the butter will get clumpy as the almond mixture begins to stick together, so use a spoon to break apart the lumps.
- Keep blending (patience is key!) until the almond mixture turns creamy and smooth.
- Add in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend again to thoroughly incorporate
- Feel free to add your own spices! But try not to add any liquid - it'll decrease the shelf life of your almond butter.
- Pour into a super cute mason jar and enjoy with cereal, toast, fruit, muffins, cookies, or straight from the spoon :)