Cashew, peanut and sesame nut butter

If you asked me 2 years ago if I liked peanut butter I would have answered 'no'.  Yes, I know that in the world of healthy food bloggers, people on Paleo diets and for many Americans, this may be close to blasphemy.  So I'll quickly add that over the last couple of years I have developed a taste for the classic spread.

And while I now like peanut butter, I've discovered that I love almond and cashew and macadamia nut butters.  I like that they are naturally a little sweeter than peanut butter and I enjoy eating them swirled through yoghurt and used as a dipper for apple slices but more often than not I just eat it straight from the jar! 

The high protein content makes it a great mid-afternoon snack (as long as you can limit it to 1-2 tablespoons at a time!)

However nut butters can expensive to buy and so I have been keen to try and make my own.  When I found cheap cashew and peanut pieces at my nut shop I knew it was time to give it a try.  The pieces are perfect as the process has already been started for you.  I decided to add sesame seeds too just to mix it up a little! 

I roasted the nuts to enhance their flavour and used 1 tablespoon of rice malt syrup to add a touch of sweetness. 
  

I had not yet attempted a nut butter as I had read about people burning out the motor in their food processor while trying to do just that and I didn't want to hurt mine. 

I've made small batches of peanut butter in my spice/coffee grinder and it comes together quite quickly so I hoped that by including peanuts in the mix it would make it a little safer as peanuts release their natural oils more quickly than other nuts. 

I thought I would document how it looked at each step and note how long the process took to help guide you along in case you wanted to have a go yourself.  The photos are taken at roughly 3 minute intervals.

 

The entire process took thirty minutes, which is longer than I expected.  A lot of recipes suggest it would take around 15 minute.  Because of this I was getting a little worried at the 15 minute mark and so I added a touch of oil from my store-bought peanut butter to help get it going.  In the end, the nut butter was just ready as my food processor shut down so as not to burn out (thankfully, it's all good now!) 

Ashley is the queen of nut butters so I should have headed her recommendation that you use 2 to 2 and 1/2 cups of nuts for an 11-cup capacity food processor.  I pushed mine by using 3 cups of nuts, so if you are worried about your food processor, reduce the amount of nuts you use as it will make the process time quicker.  She suggests that you use a smaller quantity of nuts if you have a smaller processor i.e 1 cup for 7 -cup and 1.5 cups for 8-9 cup capacity. 

And it tastes great.  The cashew provides the predominant flavour with a little kick from both the peanuts and sesame seeds.  I've enjoyed spoonfuls straight from the jar and I'm looking forward to using it to make my nut butter choc chip cookies.

I hope you enjoy too!

Cashew, Peanut and Sesame Nut Butter

Ingredients

• 2 cups cashew nuts
• 1 cup peanuts
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon rice malt syrup
• 1 teaspoon oil

Cooking Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
2. Spread the nuts and seeds in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
3. Toss the nuts with the rice malt syrup and roast for 15-20 minutes or until just golden brown.
4. Transfer the cashew nuts, peanuts, and sesame seeds to a food processor.
5. Process the nuts until you reach the desired consistency. Scrape the sides down at regular intervals.  It will take 15 to 30 minutes depending on the power of your food processor.
6. Add 1 teaspoon of oil if the nuts have not started to release their oils at the 15 minute mark.

Happy eating (straight from the spoon!!)

What is your favourite nut butter?

Linking up with  Healthy Habits @ Katie Did What and  Fabulous Foodie Fridays

Keep smiling

Dani