Vanilla Chai Almond Butter! This creamy blend of almonds, tantalizing spices & sweet vanilla is totally addictive... and it's made in just minutes using your high speed blender! This nut butter recipe can be customized using your favorite nut and is pure perfection slathered on toast, muffins or fruit!
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We're about a month in since Cole started school and, much to my relief, everything is going swimmingly. He loves his teachers, his classroom and pretty much begs me to let him stay longer every Tuesday and Thursday when I pick him up.
We've gotten the hang of our morning routine on school days and getting out the door hasn't been as difficult as I imagined it would be. Within 45 minutes to an hour of waking up, he's fed, dressed, packed and out the door for a day {well, 3.5 hours} of learning & playing. I, however, usually skip the "fed" part, gulping down only a mug of coffee before getting a start on maximizing the time he's at school.
While 3.5 hours may seem like a decent chunk of time, it often goes by in the blink of an eye and by the time I get home from dropping him off, work on a recipe or sit down at the computer, it's practically time to pick him up again! That means that snacks have not only become essential for packing in the little guy's lunchbox, but also for keeping on hand so that I can fuel myself while I'm working at home or on-the-go.
With tools like the Vitamix Personal Cup Adapter, there's really no reason to skip breakfast, especially when you can blend up a nutritious smoothie in minutes before you head out the door. The double-insulated, 20 ounce blending cup even has a spill-proof lid so you can blend and go and keep your smoothie frosty on the road. Another bonus? It only takes seconds to clean! {It's also dishwasher safe, but I rarely go that route since it's such a quick clean up.}
When I'm not in the mood for a smoothie or am able to eat while I work, one of my favorite quick bites has become fruit with nut butter. Whether it's peanut butter and banana or almond butter and apple slices, the combo keeps me satisfied and is easy to munch between shooting recipes and writing blog posts. But you know what? Sometimes a girl just needs something a little more exciting than plain PB.
There's really no reason to pay top dollar for mediocre store-bought nut butters when you can make amazing custom-blended nut butters in minutes in your own kitchen! The laser-cut blades of the Vitamix make easy work of turning your favorite nuts into smooth and creamy nut butters that you can use in your kids' snacks or enjoy on your own. {Seriously, there's nothing this machine can't do.}
This time of year gets me in the mood for warm and inviting spices, so it's no surprise that I dreamed up this Vanilla Chai Almond Butter when I blended my own batch at home.
The flavors that can typically be found in a Chai spice blend are an aromatic mixture of cinnamon, cardamom, black peppercorns, cloves and ginger. Basically, it's autumn in a jar... a comfy cable-knit sweater for your taste buds. Get the point?
Blended up with almonds and a dash of vanilla, these spices make for some pretty darn amazing nut butter that is absolutely perfect for spreading on pumpkin muffins, banana bread or toast. {Or for licking directly off a spoon, if I'm being honest.} I used a Chai blend that comes pre-made, but you can easily make your own by combining the necessary spices, like in this recipe. A drizzle of honey sweetens up this nut butter just enough to highlight all those deep, pungent spices and bring out the natural flavor of the almonds, but if you prefer your nut butter completely unsweetened, it's delectable that way, too. Try this with cashews, pecans, walnuts or a combination for a slight variation that won't disappoint.
Have I convinced you that nut butter is something you should attempt to make at home? Good! Here are a few tips that I learned that will help you when you get ready to blend:
- Use at least 2 cups of nuts. I found that anything less takes a much longer time to process because using a smaller amount will cause the ground nut paste to become stuck around the base without enough volume for the tamper to reach.
- Speaking of the tamper, use it to push down the nut paste as it climbs up the sides of the blender so that the blade has more to work with.
- If you're still having trouble getting the nut butter to "flow" {it seems too dry or sticky}, stop the blender completely and scrape the sides down every so often. DO NOT ADD WATER. This will ruin your nut butter. If you really, really need to add something to help it flow, consider a tiny bit of melted coconut oil or flax oil.
- Listen to the blender motor to determine where you're at in the process. If the blender has been running for some time and it seems too hot or is making whirring sounds with no real movement, turn it off and let it rest for a few minutes to avoid overheating.
- Movement is key. The nuts will go from chopped, to nut flour consistency, to pasty and then hang out in the "chunky paste" stage for a while {this is when you'll want to use that tamper}. Make sure that there is movement, even if it's slow or intermittent. You will be able to tell that it's coming together when the consistency changes from dull and slightly gritty to smooth and slightly shiny. When the nut butter flows consistently without stopping and starting every second, you'll know it's ready.
- Be patient. It will seem like your nut butter will not come together, but then it will, and it will be magical!
Once you've made nut butter on your own, you may never want to purchase it from the store again! But you know what purchase you might want to make? A Personal Cup Adapter so you can take all the goodness you make in the Vitamix, to-go!
You can save 15% on the Personal Cup Adapter with the purchase of a Classic Series Vitamix blender by using the promo code MMVITA2018. Offer ends December 31, 2018.
Vanilla Chai Almond Butter
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted almonds
- ½ teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon Chai spice blend
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place the almonds in the blender and secure lid. Starting at a low speed, process the almonds until they form a thick paste, slowly increasing to medium speed.
- When you reach the point that the almonds are no longer moving on their own, use the tamper to push down on the ground almond paste as it creeps up the side of the mixer. This will keep things moving along.
- Keep blending {and increasing the blender speed as things continue to move along} until a smooth almond butter has formed -- it should be free-flowing and create a "vortex" in the center of the blender.
- At this point, add in the honey, vanilla extract, Chai spice blend and salt. Blend for another 30 seconds.
- Stop the blender and carefully scrape the almond butter into an air-tight container. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.
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