Almond

Honey Ginger Almond Butter

by:
June  5, 2012
3.8
4 Ratings
Honey Ginger Almond Butter
  • Makes 1 1/2 cups
Author Notes

This is my current favorite almond butter. Spiked with ginger and honey, it’s just barely spicy and sweet and is the best thing ever on a piece of sturdy whole wheat toast. —Marisa McClellan

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 cups raw almonds
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1-2 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
  1. Spread two cups of raw almonds out on a rimmed cookie sheet. Roast in a 325° oven for 15-20 minutes, until they puff a bit and smell incredibly fragrant.
  2. When they’re nicely browned, remove pan from oven and let the almonds cool for a few minutes. You want them to be warm, not piping hot.
  3. Once the almonds are cool enough to handle, tumble them into a bowl of a food processor. If almonds are unsalted, add 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt. Pulse seven or eight times, until you’ve got a fine almond meal.
  4. Add a tablespoon of nut or neutral oil (I have a bottle of walnut oil in my fridge and use that for all nut butter projects) and run the motor for 30-45 seconds. Stop, remove the lid and scrape the almonds down and off the bottom of the processor bowl.
  5. Repeat the process of running the motor and scraping the bowl four or five times, until the almonds look drippy and spreadable. Add another tablespoon of oil if they look dry.
  6. Add honey and ginger.
  7. Taste and add more salt, if necessary.
  8. When the almonds have formed a butter, scrape the spread into a pint jar (it won’t be quite full) and refrigerate. Use within three to four weeks.
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  • met0813
    met0813
  • AnnabelMelrose
    AnnabelMelrose
  • Kitchen Butterfly
    Kitchen Butterfly
  • Stephanie G
    Stephanie G
Marisa McClellan
I'm a food writer and canning teacher. I write the blog Food in Jars. My first cookbook, also called Food in Jars, is now available. My second cookbook will be out in spring 2014.

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9 Reviews

Stephanie G.
Stephanie G. March 26, 2014
FYI...for me to achieve the "drippy" consistency, I always process for at least 10 minutes, sometimes even more, in my Cuisinart. I've never not achieved that consistency; in my humble opinion it just takes quite a while.
 
Susan
Susan January 5, 2014
I've made almond butter with my vitamix and it comes out better than store bought. I'll try it next time adding the honey and ginger and roasting the nuts too. Thanks for the recipe.
 
Chef B.
Chef B. February 5, 2013
I have had fun making my own peanut butter. Using a blender though works better for me. The first time I used my food processor. The peanuts actually got warm from friction and I never did get the butter I wanted until I switched to the blender. Sometimes I will add come cayenne to make Chinese peanut butter. It is DEFINITELY worth the little effort.
 
steph_bower
steph_bower July 3, 2012
Have to say I'm disappointed with this recipe--the taste is delicious but
1) I broke a food processor blade chopping all the nuts
2) I had to add AT LEAST 1/2 cup of oil which made it BARELY spreadable, nothing like the drippable described here.

So much for the low fat treat I was expecting. But the honey and ginger are a nice combo. Like the other comments, I wish I could figure out how to make it drippy without all the oil!
 
Kitchen B.
Kitchen B. December 29, 2012
Hi Steph, like you my first batch of almond butter was a disaster. I kept adding oil hoping that would result in the drippy texture I wanted. I didn't get that so add maple syrup and it seized up even more. I kept my congealed first batch to one side.

And returned to read the recipe instructions again, and extremely carefully this time. I noted that Marisa used only a tablespoon of oil in Step 4. I followed this. I also followed Steps 4 and 5 to the letter, unlike what I did in the failed batch one.

I pulsed for 30 - 45 seconds, scraping the sides and bottom. By the 4th time of pulse and scrape, I had hit a home run, with ONLY a tablespoon of oil. By the 6th time, the butter was smooth and drippy and perfectly spreadable. I sent it all into a jar and tried to figure out how to rescue my congealed batch one.

I put it all back in the food processor. I'd figured out that adding more oil wasn't it. Or maple syrup.....Purely because I stood by the sink, I reached for water and ta da.......the butter turned creamy and perfect. I just kept adding it by the spoonful till I got the consistency I wanted. And the taste was perfect.

Now I don't know how long it will keep refrigerated but I don't know that I will keep it that long anyways.

I hope this helps someone in future.

Thanks Marisa for a great recipe - I now realise I need to REALLY read recipes well before I embark on a project!
 
20ozMocha
20ozMocha January 25, 2016
THIS saved my claggy third batch. I don't know why it went different than the other times I've made it, but it sure turned to nasty putty this time. Took about 3 tablespoons of water to make it relax, and its entirely as it should be now. Thanks!

LOVE this recipe, Marisa!
 
JosieD
JosieD June 24, 2012
I added about 3T of oil for >2 cups of almonds and mine didn't get drippy either. It's very thick, and DELISH, but not really spreadable. I got a bit shy about adding more oil, but I bet that's going to be the answer!
 
met0813
met0813 June 21, 2012
I was just logging in to say I had the same difficulty as Annabel...I didn't rinse them but didn't ever get the 'drippy' consistency mentioned in step 5. Any ideas on what went wrong? It's still delicious, I must say! Would love to get it right and be able to give it as gifts. Thank you!
 
AnnabelMelrose
AnnabelMelrose June 18, 2012
Hi, I like to rinse nuts before I use them.. I tried to dry them out before roasting but some moisture must have remained. I think this might have affected the oil/roasting process so that when I blended the nuts they turned into a heavy paste. I couldn't get the paste to thin out enough to be a "butter" - despite adding quite a lot of oil... Has this ever happened to you, or do you have any suggestions? I love almond butter and the ginger honey twist appeals immensely to me, I hope I can get this to work! Many thanks!