Cinnamon Sugar Almond Butter

A few weeks ago, when we went to Saratoga Springs, we bought some locally-made Cinnamon Sugar Peanut Butter.  Obviously it was amazing.  So good.  The downside of this yummy treat was its $12 price tag, so this afternoon, while at Costco, I picked up some almonds so we could make our own at home.  $12 almond butter is not a habit one can carry on for long!

It's smooth, sweet, and a really fun way to switch up your snacks!  Almonds have vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, iron, and calcium.  They're a good source of protein and fiber and have a high monounsaturated fat content (the healthy kind of fat!), so they're a great thing to add to your diet.  Adding cinnamon to foods can help regulate blood sugar, reduce LDL cholesterol levels, and can even reduce pain linked to arthritis. It's good for you...and it's delicious!

Ingredients 

2 cups roasted, salted (or unsalted) almonds
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Makes about 1 cup of almond butter
1 Tablespoon = 75 calories

Directions

Place almonds in a food processor.  (I used a small food processor, so you could double this in a large one easily.)  Start processing.  At first, almonds will crumble.  Then they'll start to stick together, so you'll need to pause and scrape down the sides as needed.  The almonds will become thicker and thicker (continue scraping as needed) until all of a sudden they'll turn a corner and start to look more like butter!

Once it's well on its way to "peanut butter" texture, it'll be time to add your flavors.  Add sugar and cinnamon, then process to combine.  Scrape down the sides and around the blade to make sure there aren't any pockets of flavor hiding and continue processing until you reach your desired consistency.

Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Just be careful - even though there are lots of health benefits to the foods used to make this treat, it's also high in calories.  Use a tablespoon to measure!

Enjoy with some apple slices, on a banana, or a bagel thin!