Hey you! Yes, you, out there, behind the screen.
You’re magnificent.
And by that, of course, I mean that you are extremely wonderful. Tremendously fabulous.
Your responses to my last post? Incredible. Thank you. For your understanding, and your kindness. For reading, and for being you.
I’ve had a lovely past few days filled with friendship, laughter, heart-strengthening words, cooking adventures, more friendship, and more laughter. I’ve switched back from feeling like sobs are hiding in my chest to sneaking skips on the sidewalk again.
I’m very lucky to have people nestled so deeply in my heart, both here in North America and Australia (as well as a sprinkling of other continents, too).
Soul-friendships are magnificent. And by that, of course, I mean extremely wonderful.
The third magnificent and extremely wonderful thing in today’s post is this homemade gingerbread almond butter, which is almost as delicious, almost as uplifting, almost as rich and complex, almost as addictive and almost as wildly glorious as the act of living itself.
Roasted almonds are turned into a thick yet silky nut butter kissed with the dark intensity of blackstrap molasses, dazzled with a hint of smoky-caramel coconut sugar, deepened with heady spices, and rounded out with a little vanilla and sea salt.
It’s impossible to stop at one spoonful of this spiced almond butter. It’s not too sweet, yet it sings with the same joy that dessert brings. Equally at home on toast, a carrot, coconut ice cream, or simply your lips, I think you’ll want to make this soon.
Because it’s almost as wonderful as you are.
Homemade Gingerbread Almond Butter
Makes a small jar’s worth; around a cup of almond butter
Original recipe
- 1 1/2 cups (180g/6.5oz) raw almonds
- 2 tsp blackstrap molasses
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- pinch salt
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and roast almonds on a lined baking tray for 8 minutes. Cool almonds for 5 minutes.
- Tip almonds into your beloved food processor and process until the almonds have gone through the fine meal stage, the crumbly stage, and the clumped-into-a-ball stage, finally reaching the smoothed-into-drippy-almond-butter stage. Depending on the strength of your food processor, this can take anywhere from 8-15 minutes (My food processor is a whiz at nut butters, so it took a mere 7 minutes, but in Australia it would have easily taken 15.) You will need to stop the processor and scrape down the nuts from the sides every few minutes.
- Add the molasses, sugar, spices, and salt, and then resume processing. The nut butter will initially jump back from smooth to clumpy, but after another 5-10 minutes will once more reach the lusciously smooth stage.
- Eat. Revel. Love. Dance in joy. Always.
Submitted to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend, Healthy Vegan Friday, and Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love.
