For the most part, I would have been a good pioneer woman. I love making food from scratch; it's cheap and satisfying therapy. Churning butter? Sounds like a muscle-building blast! Kneading bread? Aggression-buster! A garden that would make a master gardener jealous? Tiring but so rewarding! Of course it'd be hard to make almond butter by hand. I guess that's the trade-off I'll have to live with.




My daughter adores peanut butter, but the ones that only have 1 or 2 ingredients are fairly expensive and I like knowing what's in my food.

I didn't add any sweetener because I wanted it to still be almond butter, not some kind of almond nutella. Although it would probably be delish with some honey.

This is great by the spoonful, spread on toast, or on apple slices.




Cocoa and Toasted Coconut Almond Butter

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 cups raw almonds
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Heat a pan over medium high heat and toast the coconut flakes, shaking or stirring frequently until lightly browned and fragrant. Immediately transfer the coconut to a small plate so it doesn't continue cooking.

In a large food processor with the blade attachment, process the almonds until they make a smooth paste. This takes longer than you'd expect and it will go through a few stages until it smooths out. You may have to periodically scrape the sides of the container.

Add the toasted coconut flakes, cocoa powder, and sea salt to the processor bowl. Process until fully combined.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.