So seeings as it’s Christmas I thought we should have ourselves some gingerbread.

But . . .

I didn’t want to make cookies.

Or muffins, or cupcakes or quick breads or donuts or any kind of baked goods at all to be honest.

And I already made gingerbread bliss bites as well as a double chocolate gingerbread chia pudding last year . . .

What I really wanted to make was a deliciously simple, fun and festive jar of gingerbread inspired almond butter because well, almond butter = life! ❤️❤️❤️

Ummmm

You guys . . .

Gingerbread almond butter = best idea ever!

Get your gingerbread fix without having to mess with making, rolling, chilling and cutting cookie dough , not to mention saving yourself a week of heartache because you can no longer taste anything you consume because you’ve burnt off all your taste buds because you have no patience at all when it comes to waiting for cookies to cool before you inhale devour sample them . . .  not that I would know anything about that 🙈🙉🙊 ,  sign me up! #winning

Seriously!

I know, that you know, how much I love my homemade nut butters but you guys. . .

This gingerbread almond butter is next level!

It tastes exactly like gingerbread!

So much so I considered calling this cookie butter instead of almond butter but I thought that might be a little confusing.  All the recipes I’ve seen for cookie butter are made by grinding up real deal cookies and, although this almond butter was 100% inspired by gingerbread cookies and tastes like it’s made from real deal gingerbread cookies, not a single cookie was involved in it’s creation.

Deliciously golden, nutrient rich almonds are oven roasted then blended with a splash of vanilla, a drizzle of maple syrup, a pinch of salt and a combination of your traditional, gingerbread inspired spices – think ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, cloves and cardamom – and the end result is so insanely delicious that it may just blow your pretty little mind!

Seriously you guys, this almond butter is so good it’s kind of ridiculous!

One taste and you will think all of your Christmases have come at once.

And if you ask me, they kind of have.

There is just something about that combination of gingerbread inspired spices with that deep, rich, caramelized sweetness from the maple syrup that just warms me to the depths of my soul.

Ahhh it’s just so good, I can not wait for you to try it!

As always our healthy, homemade almond butter is made with no refined flours or sugars, using just a handful of real food ingredients that I bet you have on hand already.

Once you’ve roasted those golden delicious, nutrient rich almonds you’re divine little jar or perfectly spiced almond butter comes together in under 10 minutes!

It also happens to be vegan, gluten free and paleo friendly but, most importantly, it’s insanely (and I mean I-N-S-A-N-E-L-Y) delicious and you need it in your life, asap!

I’m talking drop what you’re doing, this needs to happen, now!

Here’s how you do it –

Start off by giving our golden, delicious, nutrient rich almonds a quick little roast in the oven – toasting our nuts before we blend our butter helps to give it a more decadent and rich depth of flavor – please don’t skip this step. Yes it’s an extra 5-10 minutes but, trust me – it’s absolutely, 100% worth it!

Now, once our almonds are nicely toasted, and your house smells like heaven, all you have to do is toss those golden nuggets of delicious into your food processor or blender and you’re pretty much done!

Initially your nuts will get all chunky, then after a minute or two they will break down into a fine looking flour, then the real magic happens, the heat and friction from all that blending will extract the natural oils from our almonds and in a matter of minutes,

You will witness one of the most beautiful transformations of all time as your almonds are whipped into a creamy, dreamy golden, delicious nut butter right before your pretty little eyes . . .

Once that’s done we simply add our vanilla, maple syrup, spices and a cheeky pinch of salt –

give it one final blendy mcblend and voila’ – there you have it;

Healthy, homemade, gingerbread almond butter for the win! 😍😍😍

Once you have your little pot of creamy, dreamy, perfectly spiced, gingerbread inspired almond butter ready and waiting in your hot little hand, go ahead and use it as you would, business as usual – dive head first into the jar and eat your way out . . .

or you be a little more refined and get yourself a spoon . . . do what you feel, no judgement here 😉

And I’m not saying that you have to but, I you know I strongly, STRONGLY insist suggest that you do . . . grab yourself a big ol’ block chunk of your fave dark chocolate then add a generous spoonful of your creamy, dreamy, subtly sweet, perfectly spiced, gingerbread almond butter . . .

And lose yourself in the deliciousness that you just created.

All natural, quick and easy, thick and creamy, deliciously dreamy, subtly sweet, perfectly spiced, fun and festive, healthy, homemade, gingerbread almond butter;

Make it. Eat it. Love, love, love it.

  Healthy, Homemade
Gingerbread Almond Butter
{Vegan, Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly}

Makes approx 1 1/2 heaping cups of all natural, quick and easy, thick and creamy, deliciously dreamy, subtly sweet, perfectly spiced, healthy, homemade, gingerbread almond butter.

Ingredients –

2 cup of raw almonds

1 Tablespoon of vanilla bean extract

1 Tablespoon of maple syrup

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon of all spice

1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon of cloves

1/8 teaspoon of cardamom

1/2 teaspoon of salt flakes

Method –

1 – Preheat your oven to 175’C (350’F)

2 – Line a large baking sheet with baking/parchment paper (or a non stick silpat mat) and pour on your almonds, making sure they are spread evenly – aka not crowded.

3 – Roast your almonds for 10 minutes, until lightly toasted and deliciously golden.

4 – Pour your roasted almonds into the bowl of your food processor or blender and process until smooth and creamy (or your desired consistency). Initially the almonds will grind down into a powder, give it a minute or two and the oils will extract and it will become deliciously, thick, rich and creamy. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

5 – Once you have blended to your desired consistency, add your vanilla, maple syrup, spices and salt then process until well combined.

6 – Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly – add a little extra salt or more vanilla, maple syrup or spices if you feel the need and, if you prefer a thinner/more runny consistency feel free to add a drizzle of coconut oil to thin it out.

7 – Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It should keep well for up to 2 weeks – if it lasts that long! (← seriously, good luck with that 😉 )

Enjoy xoxo

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Question of the day –

Are you a fellow nut butter addict? What’s your fave flavor? Or brand? Or recipe? And your fave way to eat it?! Straight up by the spoonful, with fruit, on toast, on chocolate?! Tell me . . . details please

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make your almond butter (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to 🙂

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