Crunchy Almond Butter

Almond Butter Recipe

The recipe for the crunchy almond butter that I made yesterday was requested by a lovely yoga colleague of mine. Here it is:

Tools: Vitamix with tamper stick (or any other high powered blender such as Blendtec):

 Before purchasing the Vitamix, I used to use a hand blender such as this:

Ingredients:

If using a Vitamix: 2-3 cups of Almonds (no extra oil added)
If using a hand blender or food processor: enough almonds to fill the container 2/3 of the way through plus 1 tsp of added oil (optional-grapeseed, sunflower and rapeseed/canola work well as they are all mild tasting)

Recipe:

If using a Vitamix: Place the almonds in the blender and start on variable 1 quickly turning it to 10 and then to the high setting. Once on a high setting, using the tamper stick (with the lid on) to push the almonds into the blade. The almond butter should be ready in 8-10 minutes depending on how pasty or smooth you want it. For added crunchiness, stop the blender, add a handful of almonds and blend quickly on variable 5 for 5-10 seconds.
If using a hand blender/food processor: Fill the container 2/3 of the way full (100-150 grams + depending on the size of your container). Turn the setting on from low to high. Stop every couple of minutes to scrape the almonds off the side of the container to incorporate them in the mix. This process should take 10-15 minutes and you should begin to see a paste form. Be careful to stop every couple of minutes to ensure that the equipment does not over heat. If  you would like a more creamy consistency, add a teaspoon of oil to make the almond butter smoother. Alternatively, do not add oil and just blend the butter for longer. For crunchy almond butter add some nuts and blend for an extra 15-30 seconds depending on the texture that you desire.