Happy Mother’s Day, everyone! And especially you, Mom!! I’m so lucky to have you as my best friend! I don’t know how I got to be so lucky – you are the most loving and fun-filled person I know. And for that, I sent you the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in months. This Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter makes my mouth water just thinking about it on a warm piece of toast!

Once you’ve tried this almond butter, you will never want to buy store-bought peanut or almond butter again! It tastes so much fresher and you have complete control over what ingredients are used. It’s not complicated to make, as long as you have a food processor. For this version, you will first coat the almonds in maple syrup before roasting them in the oven.

After tasting a few of the roasted almonds (you won’t be able to help yourself, they are delicious!), it’s time to put them in the food processor. In the first few minutes, you will get an almond flour. You can see how it piles up on the sides, which is why you while have to continue to switch off the processor and scrape down the sides. After awhile, it will start to look like it’s getting wet  and eventually “snowball” into a big clump. Let it continue to run at this point because after a few more seconds it will “butterize” into creamy almond butter.

I put the different flavored almond and peanut butters in these cute jars from The Container Store and tied them with ribbon and a tag to label the type of butter.

I know my mom will attest to how delicious this almond butter is, since she enjoyed it with her coffee this morning! Of all of the flavors I sent her in the mail, we both agreed this was our favorite!

Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter

Source: Edible Perspective

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almonds
• 5 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Roasting your almonds will make them break down easier in the food processor. Line a pan with parchment paper (to avoid a mess!) and pour the almonds and maple syrup in the center. Stir the almond up so they are coated in maple syrup and then spread them out in a single layer. Roast for about 15-20 minutes, stirring every five minutes. Watch carefully to not burn them!

Let the almonds cool for a couple minutes and then put them in the food processor. You will have to scrape down the mixture several times until you get them to “butterize”.  Be patient, it will happen! Reference the pictures above to see the stages. In total, it can take up to 15 minutes.

Once you’ve reached the butter stage, add the salt and cinnamon and process for another minute.

You can either store on the counter or in the refrigerator. Enjoy on toast, sliced apples, a banana, or a spoon!

*If you haven’t gotten a smooth consistency after 15 minutes, you could add ½ a tablespoon of neutral flavored oil, such as coconut oil, but I have not had any batches needing oil yet. And I’ve made A LOT of almond butter in the last few months. Our kitchen Tupperware has dwindled because they are all stacked in the refrigerator with different recipe combinations!