Creating Nut Butters

This may be one of my favorite things right now, which says a lot considering how much I play in the kitchen. Making your own nut butter is so incredibly easy you will wonder why you never did it before. But that's not my favorite part. Neither is the fact that it is cheaper to make it yourself. My favorite part is that you can customize your nut butter to use the ingredients that you want to use. Again, back to the idea of using ingredients that work for you. You can use coconut oil, if you choose. You can use raw honey. Or pure maple syrup. Or leave the sweetner out, altogether. You get the idea. It would be rare to look at the back of a peanut butter jar and find just the ingredients you were looking for.


I use coconut oil in my nut butters. I use it in a lot of things, actually. For years coconut oil has been a source of controversy, because it is comprised of saturated fat. Research has found, however, that because it is a medium chained fatty acid (MCFA) versus a long chained fatty acid (LCFA) our bodies metabolize it differently. Better. Some say it actually promotes fat burn by triggering an increase in metabolism. Click here and here to read more about the benefits of coconut oil. How cool is it to have the option to have coconut oil in your almond butter or peanut butter instead of some gross hydrogenated oil?

Roasted Rosemary Cashew Butter
This is more of a savory nut butter, but would be delicious served with apple slices or on toast drizzled with honey. Carrots also make a nice dipper. If you cannot find raw cashews, feel free to use roasted and skip step 1. If you buy salted cashews, omit the pinch of salt in the recipe.
8 ounces raw, unsalted cashews
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread cashews out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent burning. Remove from oven and add to a food processer. Turn the food processer on and run until a thick ball is formed, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed. When the thick ball is formed, remove the lid and add the coconut oil and honey. Turn the machine back on. Continue to run until the butter loosens up and it reaches the desired consistency. Transfer the cashew butter to a bowl and stir in the rosemary. The longer the butter sits, the more the flavor will develop.