Chocolate Almond Spread

 

The labels on this one are weird because I don't have a nut category.  My bad.

Maybe a year ago, I had a coupon for a free jar of almond butter.  I use it during Passover as a peanut butter substitute, so went ahead and picked it up.  Since then, I've barely used it.

When my jar of Target-brand Nutella ran out, I decided to make a chocolate spread of my own with the almond butter.  A quick search led to several super-easy recipes, about half of them vegan.  Nice to know this is a thing.

When you make your own nut butters and spreads, they don't have the preservatives of the commercial versions.  This one must be refrigerated and used within a couple of weeks, especially if you decide to put milk or cream in it.

You can absolutely switch out a lot of these ingredients, and quantities are flexible.  Want more of a nutty taste?  Go easy on the cocoa.  Huge sweet tooth?  Add more sweetener.  It's best to start off with smaller amounts of the non-almond ingredients until you find a combination you like.

*1/2 C almond butter
*2 Tb cocoa powder
*3 Tb liquid sweetener such as maple syrup, corn syrup, or honey
dash of cinnamon or powdered espresso
water or milk for thinning

1.  In a small bowl, stir together almond butter, 1 Tb cocoa, 1 Tb sweetener, and cinnamon.  It's going to form a very thick, dry paste.  Taste and add more cocoa or sweetener to your preference.  The amount of sweetener will depend on what you use; I finished off the corn syrup, which required more than if I had used honey.  You shouldn't taste the cinnamon; it's one of those flavors that merely enhances chocolate in small quantities.  Depending on the brand of almond butter, you may need a pinch of salt to get everything right.

2.  Once the flavors are in balance, start adding water, milk, or milk alternative to desired consistency.  I added boiling water, and went thinner than I wanted the final product to account for refrigeration.  I was shooting for frosting-level softness, and must have added close to half a cup of water.  I didn't measure it.

3.  Place spread in a sealable container and refrigerate when not in use.  Keeps about 2 weeks.

Makes up to one cup, depending on consistency

Difficulty rating  π