roasted vanilla almond butter with chia seeds

+ step-by-step photos!

The sunlight that comes through my kitchen window around 9 a.m. is absolutely beautiful. The soft rays emit the perfect amount of light. It's pretty sad that this is the first time I'm realizing this since I moved in a year ago. I'm convincing myself that it's because my eyes weren't trained to notice how light falls, like they are now. Every where I go, I notice shadows, perspectives, and the list goes on. Thank you, food photography books. You have trained me well.

But then 9:30 rolls around, and it is possibly the most harsh light that ever comes through that window. So unbelievably harsh, that I took many, many, many (I'm not even going to admit the actual number) photographs of this vanilla roasted almond butter just to get a few good shots. Really, it is my fault because I still haven't bought/fashioned my own light diffuser. I could've saved myself an hour the other day, had I used one. The stresses of being a perfectionist!

Vanilla and almond is a classic flavor pairing that you could probably never go wrong with. Especially in this creamy, healthy almond butter. The vanilla takes it to a whole new level. A level that makes me very, very happy. Chia seeds boost the nutritional value by adding fiber and omega-3 FAs. This also makes me happy.

Slather some on bread, mix it in your oatmeal, put it in your smoothie, or eat it off of a spoon like I've been doing. Really, you just can't go wrong. If you haven't discovered the joys of homemade nut butter yet, you really need to!

inspired by Oh She Glows

Yield: 1 cup (ratio of almonds to almond butter is 2:1)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of raw almonds, roasted
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon of chia seeds

Directions:

Place raw almonds on a baking sheet and roast in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove the roasted almonds from the oven and add them to your food processor. Start processing your almonds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed (which is basically every minute or so.) It's going to seem like your almonds may never turn into butter, but patience is key, my nut butter-loving friends! Once your almonds have started to turn into butter, add salt and pulse to mix. Add vanilla extract, and pulse until thoroughly combined. Stir in chia seeds, and that's it! Store nut butter in your favorite jar, or even a simple plastic container will do. It should last in the fridge for up to 4 months, although I think you'll probably eat it much sooner :)

Step-by-step photos:

Ingredients

  

roast almonds at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

add roasted almonds to food processor

almonds turn into crumbs

scrape down the sides of the bowl every minute or so

a "paste" will start to form at the bottom of the bowl

crumbs start to come together

all crumbs are now "pasty" and forming larger crumbles

almond butter ball forms. this is where it seems like this ball will never turn into creamy butter. give it a minute though, it will work!

creamy, roasted almond butter. add salt & vanilla extract. mix in chia seeds

(the harsh light I was referring to earlier. this is one of the much better ones, though)

it's butta, baby