I HAVE A DEAR FRIEND WHO ADORES ALMOND BUTTER. For the first decade of our friendship, I didn’t quite understand why she raved about it so much. I found it to be sort of stodgy, bitter and unyielding, not nearly as good as my beloved peanut butter. Then I tried making it myself. The butter that came out of my food processor was smooth, rich and entirely delicious. Suddenly, I completely understood her appreciation and was slathering it on toast, bananas, and even the occasional tortilla chip.
2 cups/290 g raw almonds
2 tablespoons real maple syrup
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons walnut oil (or any other complementary neutral oil), divided
Preheat oven to 325°F/165°C/gas 3. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Spread the almonds on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the maple syrup over the almonds and toss the nuts with your fingers so that they get evenly coated. Roast in the oven until the nuts go brown and the maple syrup darkens, about 20 minutes, tossing at least once during baking to ensure even roasting.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the maple-roasted almonds cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
When they’re cool enough to handle, pour the maple-roasted nuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to begin breaking them up. Add the salt and a drizzle of the walnut oil and run the processor 30 to 45 seconds. Remove the lid and scrape down the sides. Repeat this process-drizzle-scrape procedure until the almonds have broken down into butter. You may not need all the oil; it will depend on the moisture content of the almonds.
Scrape the almond butter into a jar and store in the refrigerator. It will keep up to 1 month.
