Let’s combine two of my favorite things.

Gingerbread and almond butter!

I discovered the wonderful world of nut butters a few years ago.  And not just any nut butters, but flavored ones.  My obsession first began with Peanut Butter and Co.’s white chocolate wonderful and dark chocolate dreams. And then I was introduced to Reginald’s bourbon pecan peanut butter.

Slowly, I began to eat my way through my wallet because um, some of these nut butters are over $10 a jar!  This is when I knew I wanted, no, NEEDED, to start making my own.  I began by recreating my favorites like this cinnamon raisin peanut butter to creating my own flavors like this eggnog cashew butter.

But I’m going to be completely honest with you.  This is the first time I’ve made almond butter (correctly, I should add).  And it may or may not be the last.

The thing is, while I find myself a pretty patient person, this process was pretty tedious.  What takes peanuts and cashews 5-10 minutes takes almonds over twice as long.  And while there isn’t much physical effort involved, I was pretty certain those almonds were never going to turn to butter.  Fortunately, after about 20 minutes in, I saw what could resemble almond butter and it gave me that little bit of determination needed to allow the process to finish.

And the gingerbread flavoring?  Such a good idea.  It was without a doubt going to happen, because I’m loving gingerbread this year.  So much so I may continue making gingerbread flavored items well into the new year.  I may even bring gingerbread into the summer.  Iced gingerbread everything!

But let’s talk about the fact that on the 11th day of Christmas, I’m sharing with you: gingerbread almond butter.

And how well it goes on apples. And toast. And in a bowl of hot oatmeal.

And straight from the spoon.

Gingerbread Almond Butter

• 2 c. almonds
• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• 2 tbsp. blackstrap molasses
• 2 tbsp. coconut sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt

Place almonds in your food processor and process until nuts become a flour-like texture (about 3-5 minutes).  Add the coconut oil and processor for about 18-20 minutes, scraping down the sides when necessary.  Around the 20-25 minute mark, your almond butter should be just about the almond butter consistency.  Add in the molasses, coconut sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and sea salt and blend until smooth and creamy (about another 3-5 minutes).

What other holiday inspired nut butters can you think of??