My Creations
Espresso Walnut Butter
INGREDIENTS:
1 cups walnuts
1/2 cup almonds
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp instant espresso
1 tsp salt
dash of orange extract
THOUGHTS:
Okay, so over all, I guess I'm happy with this. The walnut was definitely the most prominent flavor; however, the other ingredients helped dull some of the earthy flavor. Probably could have used a little more orange extract, but I was afraid of overdoing it. This also could have used a bit more of a coffee flavor, but sometimes I think it comes down to the quality of the ingredients---the espresso powder I used is not very good.
Chocolate Coconut Hazelnut Butter
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups hazelnuts
1 cup pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp cocoa powder
5 tsp coconut extract
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
THOUGHTS:
Ugh. This was good enough to eat, but wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. Despite all the coconut extract that I added, this did not have any coconut flavor---perhaps in the future, I need to add coconut shavings as well. The chocolate flavor was there, but not as prominent as one would hope for from a CHOCOLATE hazelnut butter.
Cake Batter Mixed Nut Butter
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups almonds
1 cup hazelnuts
1 cup cashews
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp cake batter extract
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
THOUGHTS:
This was adapted from a nut butter recipe book---I just didn't have everything the recipe called for, so I put my own little twist on it. I was unsure how I would feel about chili powder in my nut butter, but it actually adds really nice depth. I didn't want to add oil, but my blender was putting a LOT of work in and I was afraid of running it too much longer. I blended the nuts first to a nice consistency, but when I added everything else, that's when my blender really started struggling. Over all, this was a nice try, but after digging into this more, I just cannot handle the chili powder. Had that been omitted, this would have been just shy of magnificent.
Honey Walnut Butter
INGREDIENTS:
2.5 cups walnuts
1 cup cashews
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp honey flavoring
1 tsp salt
THOUGHTS:
I don't love the taste of plain walnut butter, so the only way I can think to make a good walnut butter is to add some other nuts and seeds to it as well. I was pleasantly shocked at how great this one turned out! With all the honey, this was definitely on the sweet side, but there was still a prominent nutty and seedy flavor. The walnuts were the most noticeable flavor; to be honest, I didn't really taste anything else. The salt helped balance all the sweetness pretty well. Mostly, I think that the cashews and seeds took some of the earthiness away from the walnut taste. The consistency was perfect--a little on the thinner side, good for a thick drizzle.