Chai Hazelnut Butter

Last week we ran out of our favorite almond butter from Thrive Market. Normally, this means I hop on the Thrive app, order a couple of jars (along with any other essentials we are running low on), and wait until it arrives. Alas, I have a ton of nuts stored away in our pantry and freezer, and this time I decided to make the commitment to make my own nut butter instead of purchasing one.

I didn’t make any resolutions for 2017, but instead chose to set some intentions surrounding some areas of my life I’d like to focus more on. One of those major intentions was to minimize my life in every way possible. For me, this meant getting rid of a ton of stuff (i.e. clothes, shoes, general knick-knacks laying around the house), saying no to commitments that don’t serve a true purpose for me, and generally trying to clear out mental and emotional clutter by creating more space for myself to think and be creative without distraction (we got rid of cable last year and it was one of the best things to happen to my creativity!).

Anyways, that is probably a post for another time, but small moments like running out of almond butter are a good test for me to practice using what I have on hand before purchasing something new instead. I’ve had an idea to make some chai nut butter for a while now (okay, since last fall if I’m being honest), but finally took the plunge last weekend when I had an afternoon to myself. It took me no more than 30 minutes total to whip this together and we’re almost already done with the two jars it produced it’s that damn good!

Also, let’s talk about the benefits of eating hazelnuts, shall we? High in good fats, hazelnuts are a great way to boost up your heart health and prevent diabetes. Additionally, they are filled with Vitamin E which is great for healthy skin, hair and nails. Lastly, one serving of hazelnuts contains over 25% of your daily requirement of folate, a B-complex vitamin that is vital to women’s health and fertility.

Without further ado, the recipe:

Ingredients
3 cups raw hazelnuts (easy to buy in the bulk section of the grocery store)
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (my favorite brand is big tree)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 teaspoons chai spice mix
(side note: I made my own following this recipe, but you can also buy it online here)

Instructions

1. pre-heat oven to 350°F

2. lay hazelnuts on baking sheet and place in oven for about 10 minutes or until they start to brown

3. remove hazelnuts from the oven and place on a kitchen towel — fold that towel in half on top of the roasted nuts and start to roll them around using your hands — this will start to loosen up the skin of the nut. This is not a required step, but the butter will be much creamier without the skins and this only takes  a minimal amount of effort so I think it’s worth it!

4. place nuts and all other ingredients into a food processor and turn on high for about 5-7 minutes, scraping the sides as necessary to continually push the butter down towards the blade.

5. after a few minutes in the food processor, the butter should become creamy and smooth and ready to consume (preferably by the spoonful!)

the butter should last a couple of weeks in your refrigerator!