I’m headed to Costa Rica for a week of sun, yoga, and beach time at Rancho Burica near Golfito. My friend Kristin will teach at the nearby Yoga Farm — if you’re nearby, come join us! Before I leave, here are two recipes that pair beautifully: a simple method for homemade almond butter and a vegan, gluten-free Apple Berry Tart that uses that almond butter in the filling. The tart is lovely for breakfast, a snack, or dessert.
You’ll need a powerful blender or food processor to make homemade almond butter. Once it comes together, use it on toast with jam, as a fruit dip, or as the base for this berry tart. Almond butter has a milder nutty flavor than peanut butter and works well as a substitute for those with peanut allergies. I also use almond butter to thicken and flavor stews and sauces.
Almond Butter
Jenné Claiborne
Equipment
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw almonds
Instructions
- Roast almonds at 350°F (175°C) for 9 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes before blending.
- Place the cooled almonds in a food processor and blend. It usually takes about 10 minutes for almonds to transform from powder to a smooth butter. At first they form a fine meal, then clump, and finally become creamy almond butter. Use on fruit, toast, in sauces, or in desserts like the tart below.
Notes
- Be patient while the almond butter comes together — it can take around 10 minutes of processing to get smooth.
Nutrition
Check out my latest cooking video showing how to make this almond butter.
Apple Berry Tart
Jenné Claiborne
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond butter
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- dash of sea salt
- 1 good baking apple, thinly sliced (I used Granny Smith)
- ½ cup frozen blueberries
- ½ lemon (juice)
Instructions
- Toss the sliced apples and blueberries with the juice of half a lemon. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 6×6-inch baking dish with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine almond butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir well, then add oats and walnuts and mix until you have a sticky batter. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the prepared dish.
- Arrange a layer of apple slices over the oat crust, overlapping slightly, then spread the blueberries over the apples.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
See you when I return from Costa Rica!
Pura Vida!!