It dawned on me over the weekend that we haven’t had any nut butter in the house since Christmas (the dog’s stash of peanut butter doesn’t count). NO almond butter, NO cashew spread and NO seed butters in the pantry. Somehow their existence had disappeared off my radar and I hadn’t even noticed. I DO seem to have a lot of dehydrated fruit in my pantry (strawberries, blueberries, apples…), so I suppose that’s what my food obsession morphed into instead.
If there was any good way to celebrate the arrival of a food back into your diet, combining it with chocolate and/or coffee is probably the most exhilarating way to do it. I don’t drink coffee, though I love it in now and again in recipes like this. I wish I could say I also don’t partake in chocolate often too… but I don’t want to flat out lie to you 😉
With a touch of cinnamon and vanilla to gently lift the bitter coffee and cocoa flavours, this nut butter is absolute perfection in a classic sourdough PB&J, added to smoothies and desserts or just eaten from a (large) spoon. Swap out the peanuts for your favourite nuts or just dive in to get the benefits of the protein, monounsaturated fats, phytosterols, vitamins and minerals present in peanuts.
- 1½ cups roasted peanuts
- 1 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
- 1 tbsp espresso powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tbsp oil (chia flax, wheatgerm, coconut or grapeseed) optional
- Place all ingredients in the bowl of a high powered blender or food processor. Process for a few minutes or until a smooth, creamy nut butter forms. Stop machine every few minutes to scrape down bowl if necessary. Add oil if necessary to aid blending if your machine is struggling (optional).
- Spoon peanut butter into clean, sterilised jars and refrigerate if storing for longer than a few days.
Comments 4
First thought after seeing this recipe – oh.my.lord. My mouth is watering. And, Ally, your pictures are always so beautiful!
Also, I’m not a coffee drinker, so I’ve never bought espresso powder… is there one that you’d suggest? I can’t wait to try this!
Author
Heheh I’m glad it had the desired effect Alex! I’m not too sure about US brands, but I would definitely recommend buying organic for coffee as they are a heavily sprayed crop normally.
Yuuumm! What a great idea Ally – I have had chocolate peanut butter mixes but never mocha. The addition of cinnamon and vanilla are lovely touches too.
Author
Thanks Kari 😀 It’s really yummy, and as soon as we finish it off I need to come up with another delicious variety! Thanks for the comment 🙂