Hi Friends!
Here’s a little treat to help get you through your Monday.
If you’re anything like me, before you discovered the blog world, the only nut butter you ever ate was peanut butter. Over the past year, I’ve broadened my horizons a bit and tried both almond butter and sunflower seed butter. I’m realizing now that I also worked these new nut butters into cookies on both occasions: Almond Butter Snickerdoodles & Granola Cookies. Can’t really go wrong there 
Today I branched out even further- in three ways: 1) I made my own nut butter for the first time, 2) I made walnut butter, which I’ve never even tried and 3) I added mix-ins to my nut butter!
I buy really big bags of nuts at Costco to use in my homemade trail mix but since I’m out of school for a couple weeks, I haven’t been eating trail mix as often as I usually do. This giant bag of walnuts was looking a little lonely, so I thought today would be the perfect day to try my hand at making some nut butter at home.
Quite honestly, I don’t really like walnuts that much. Whenever I eat them, I have to have something else in the same bite (like a raisin or a chocolate chip from my trail mix), so I knew I probably wouldn’t like just plain old walnut butter. I decided to add a few mix-ins to please my palate After much deliberation I settled on cinnamon. I love the flavor and knew it would go well with the nuttiness of the walnuts. At the last minute, I decided to add some raisins as well…because really, cinnamon raisin is one of the best combos out there.
I knew from the million previous nut butter posts i’ve read, that I needed to toast the walnuts first so I measured out about 3 cups of raw, unsalted walnuts, placed them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven.
After they cooled, I put them in the food processor with some cinnamon and some raisins. I was too lazy to look up a recipe so I just used my best judgement on the amounts.
On went the food processor for about 5 minutes and voila! I stopped every minute and took a picture so you could see the progression.
I chose not to add any additional sweetener because there were already raisins in it but you could add a little bit of honey if desired. You could also add a pinch of salt.
Store in a an airtight container in the fridge!
So easy and so good! I can’t wait to experiment with more nut butter mix-ins. Can we say Christmas presents?!
Cinnamon Raisin Nut Butter
Prep Time: 5 min
Keywords: food processor raw roast snack sandwich healthy vegetarian nuts raisins
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw, unsalted nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts)
- 1/3 c raisins
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
*Optional- recommended if using walnuts- Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.
Let cool for about 20 minutes.
Place walnuts, raisins and cinnamon in a food processor.
Process for five minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
What’s your favorite kind of nut butter? Do you make your own? Any combos I should try?!
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
Yummmmm! And i keep buying cinnamon raisin peanut butter & co nut butter!!!! You really didn’t mind the walnuts? I really only like walnuts at christmas on there own
Looks great and you are right, perfect christmas present!
Donna @ Life of a Happy Blonde recently posted..The Meat of the Weekend
you could totally be making it yourself! i didn’t mind the walnuts but i’m def gonna try it with different nuts also to see which i like best!
Yum!! I’m getting a food processor this week FINALLY, and I can’t wait to create some nut butters! Congrats on a successful first attempt
Kaitlyn@TheTieDyeFiles recently posted..5-4-3-2-1
whoo hoo for food processors!
i am so making this!
good luck! i’m trying it with almonds or peanuts next time to see which kind of nut i like best!
My favorite (and always will be) nut butter is peanut butter. It’s classic and I’m fine with a just a little bit of salt in mine. Actually, I want some right about now…
Once I get my new food processor set up, I can’t wait to experiment with nut butters! I really want to try and recreate White Chocolate Wonderful and my own (healthier) Nutella.
Maria recently posted..Los Olivos and Solvang
i think i’ll always truly be a peanut butter girl also
good luck with that white chocolate wonderful. i almost added some chocolate to mine today! maybe next time!
This looks SO good! I bet it’s amazing on a simple slice of toast
Rachel @ The Avid Appetite recently posted..Being Unprepared for a Hurricane
can we say breakfast for tomorrow morning ?!
Yum! I love sunflower seed butter. I am planning to hit up Sam’s Club this weekend to get some bulk nuts and seeds to make my own butters!
it’s the best place for bulk!
You KNOW I make my own nut butters all the time…I have to admit, though, that the only time I tried to make walnut butter I HATED it because it left that weird walnutty bitterness in the back of my throat. Maybe if I’d sweetened it up it might have been better…or maybe my walnuts were too old? [They HAD been in the freezer for quite some time...]
My next nut butter experiment will involve coconut….get excited.
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen recently posted..Appetite for…Seduction?
hmm i’ve heard that if you soak the almonds first and then toast them it takes the bitterness away….i think the raisins and cinnamon help cover that up in this one…but i’m gonna try it with almonds next time to see which i like better!
whoops….i meant soak the walnuts. duh.
Straight up chunky pb owns my soul.
Matt @ The Athlete’s Plate recently posted..Take Me To Greece: Dannon Oikos Review
i’ve never been a fan of chunky….i’m smooth all the way
I’m not the biggest fan of the texture of raisins, so I like that you processed them up along with the nuts and cinnamon. This I could enjoy!
Courtney @ The Granola Chronicles recently posted..Palo Alto Festival of the Arts
I never make my own nut butter but really ought to! How about starting with this recipe
Tessa @ Amazing Asset recently posted..Stormy Sunday Survey
what a fabulous idea to add raisins IN the actual nut butter. WOW! Love this! I started experimenting with all sorts of nut butters after blogging too, and I have to say my all-time fav is cashew butter! it’s sooooo delicious and I like it even more than peanut butter now
lindsay recently posted..Ch-ch-ch-Chia!
Yummmm! I want to make that! I have never made walnut butter but im sure it is delish! I do love allll nut butters for sure!
yum! i so want to try this.
sarah k @ the pajama chef recently posted..Whole Wheat Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
What a fun idea! I always thought I couldn’t make nut butter without a vitamix, but clearly it is possible! I will have to try this
Diana @ VeggieNextDoor recently posted..11th Veggieversary Give-Away!
Wow! Great idea for presents! How hard was it to clean the food processor after? These are the things I really worry about!
Carissa recently posted..What I Ate Wednesday v10.0 – Free Outback!
haha it wasn’t hard at all! i came clean really easily!