Cinnamon Roll Almond Butter

 
After I moved out for college, both of my parents realized that they had a slight peanut allergy. Although difficult to give up peanuts altogether, especially with how many baseball games we go to (they’re practically a necessity—cracking them out of their shells and munching on those salty nuts is part of the full baseball experience!), my parents switched out the jars of Skippy in the pantry for ones of Trader Joe’s almond butter in the fridge instead.  

When I came home to visit one weekend, I momentarily forgot about their nut conversion and wandered into the pantry with a spoon. I searched every shelf, including the ones at the very top that require a stepstool to see for those of us “vertically challenged” (umm, aka short) people, until I remembered that they tossed out the peanut butter months before.

So I turned to the fridge and stuck my spoon in the jar of almond butter instead, and…
 

 
My obsession began.

I go through almond butter like water these days, but I’m not the only one. The apple never falls far from the tree—my parents are the same way! Dabbed on crackers, swiped across bread for sandwiches, spread on bagels, smeared on whole wheat English muffins (soft and doughy or warm and toasty—we aren’t picky!)… Between the three of us, a Trader Joe’s jar rarely lasts more than four days!
 

 
But just like throughout my childhood, my favorite way to eat nut butter is still straight from the jar with a spoon. There’s something immensely satisfying about its rich, lightly roasted flavor and sharp salty notes when eaten pure, without any bread or crackers to distract me.

I wash a lot of spoons these days.
 

 
And the day after I made these cinnamon rolls, I stood in front of the fridge, rummaging around for a snack. I spotted the two leftover cinnamon rolls sitting right next to the almond butter, and my crazy brain came up with this fun combination… Cinnamon Roll Almond Butter! Addictive almond butter, now with sweet and cozy cinnamon flavors—can anything be more dangerous??

Oh wait, it can… This almond butter takes just 10 minutes to make!

That definitely qualifies as dangerous. Especially with any spoons around.
 

 
To start, you’ll need almonds. I prefer buying unsalted ones so I can control the amount of salt in my homemade almond butter, but most packages of unsalted almonds are almost always raw. Almond butter made from raw almonds doesn’t taste nearly as rich as that made from roasted almonds…

But there’s good news—roasting almonds is incredibly easy! Simply line a baking sheet with foil, and bake the almonds at 350°F for 7-10 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through to move the nuts around and prevent them from burning. That’s it! You do need to wait for them to cool before making the almond butter, but it’s worth it.

Note: For a shortcut, you can buy lightly salted roasted almonds and either decrease or altogether skip the salt in your homemade almond butter!
 

 
You’ll need a high-powered blender or food processor to make this almond butter. Vitamix, BlendTec, and Ninja brands will all work, and the last on that list is the most affordable. This is the model that I own, and it makes perfectly smooth and creamy nut butters. I use it on a daily basis for smoothies too—it’s one of the best kitchen investments I’ve ever made!
 

 
So simply add your nuts to your blender or food processor, and turn it on for about 8 to 10 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Once the almond butter is completely creamy, add the cinnamon, sweetener, and a small amount of salt. (I over-salted my first batch, and it’s impossible to fix that problem!) Blend those ingredients into the nut butter, taste, and adjust any of them as needed.

As soon as it’s done, the almond butter will be rather warm and liquidy from the heat of the blender’s motor. The hardest part is waiting for the almond butter to set in the fridge! But a few hours later…
 

 
Grab a spoon and dig in!
 

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