American

Joyous Almond Butter

April 30, 2021
5
2 Ratings
Photo by Linda Xiao. Prop Stylist: Veronica Olson. Food Stylist: Anna Billingskog.
  • Prep time 35 minutes
  • Cook time 35 minutes
  • makes 1 pint
Author Notes

This nut butter tastes just like an Almond Joy, but spreadable, spoonable, and ready to be part of your complete breakfast. Grind toasted almonds into a smooth butter, blitz in milk chocolate and virgin coconut oil, then stir in toasted coconut flakes at the end for crunch. If you’re really feeling like a nut, feel free to toss in some chopped toasted almonds too.

By toasting nuts at a moderate temperature, we can make sure they get golden brown to the core, yielding the nuttiest flavor and deepest brown color. Take care to toss along the way, so every nut has a chance to become the most flavorful version of itself. If you only have sliced, chopped, or blanched nuts, you can use them as a one-to-one substitute by weight. Avoid pre-salted nuts and be sure to give pre-roasted nuts a short toast to freshen up their aroma.

Whenever making any nut butter, patient processing is key. The nuts will go from flour to paste to gritty butter before finally growing silky and smooth. Be patient and just keep processing. Do not add any oil or fat until you’ve achieved creamy nut butter glory, which can prevent the butter from getting totally smooth.

Want to monkey around? Try my Banana Bread Walnut Butter. Or read more about this technique here, so you’ve got the confidence to take nut butter off-script. —Sohla El-Waylly

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Ingredients
  • 2 cups (275 grams) whole raw almonds
  • 3/4 cup (80 grams) unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup (175 grams) milk chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons (25 grams) virgin coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 325°F.
  2. Spread the almonds onto a rimmed sheet pan. Bake until toasted all the way through, first tossing them after 10 minutes and then again after every 5 minutes as the action ramps up, about 20 to 25 minutes total. (Cut an almond in half to check if it’s browned on the inside. We want a thorough toast.)
  3. Spread the shredded coconut onto another rimmed sheet pan and toast, tossing once during baking, until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.
  4. Transfer the toasted nuts to the bowl of a food processor and process, stopping periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until the nuts have released their oils and transformed into a smooth, flowing butter. (Depending on your food processor, this can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. If the processor feels too hot at any point, take a break to let it cool down.)
  5. Add the chocolate, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt to the butter and process until smooth. Transfer the nut butter to a bowl and stir in the toasted coconut. It will keep for 2 weeks at room temperature and 2 months in the fridge. Stir well before eating.

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Sohla El-Waylly is a Food52 Resident, sharing new riffable recipes every month that'll help you get creative in the kitchen. Watch her cook on YouTube in her new series, Off-Script With Sohla. Before she started developing fun recipes for home cooks, she worked as a chef in N.Y.C. and L.A., briefly owning a restaurant in Brooklyn with her husband and fellow chef, Ham El-Waylly. She lives in the East Village with Ham, their two dogs, and cat. Find out what else she's up to on Instagram @sohlae

3 Reviews

Elise C. May 5, 2022
I just made this today and it was terrific. I cut an almond in half after 15 min in the oven and it was toasted all the way through. Great time. Last time, I used another recipe and burned the almonds. Sohla is a great teacher. Thank you!
Ivylee April 30, 2021
First nut butter I've ever made turned out great and I used a blender 😜 awesome recipe can't wait to riff on it 😋
kathom7 April 15, 2021
Loved this recipe! Very hard to stop eating by the spoonful.