Chocolate Chai Peanut Butter

This recipe comes with a warning: once you start, you can’t stop.

Have you made your own peanut butter? So many people, my former self included, are intimated by the process, fearing it to be far too complicated/time-consuming/difficult/easier to buy in the store. But I am here to change all that. Not only is it simple, quick to make and cheaper than the store-bought kind, homemade nut butter just tastes that much better, knowing you made it. Yes, it takes a little time in the food processor to get the nut butter perfectly creamy and smooth, but those minutes are worth it. We are also only talking 30 minutes from start to finish – including roasting time. So what are you waiting for? Get that oven on and let’s get making peanut butter!

Chocolate Chai Peanut Butter

One final thing from me – chocolate chia. Have you tried this epic combination? It’s a match made in pure peanut butter heaven. I recently worked on a yoga retreat where we made our way through kilos of this stuff. The guests and staff were all hooked, so it was the very first thing I made when I arrived home. I improvised and added a few Nourishing Amy tweaks to get this just how I like it with a blend of warming spices, delicately sweetened with coconut sugar to add a caramel-like sensation, and lots of raw cacao powder for that intense chocolate hit. I hope you’ll love it, too.

Chocolate Chai Peanut Butter
Makes 1 medium jar

Ingredients:
400g peanuts
3 tbsp cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp (heaped) coconut sugar
¼ tsp salt

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180Fan/200*C. Place the peanuts on 2 baking trays and spread out evenly. Roast in the oven for 8 minutes, turn over and then roast for a further 7 minutes.

2. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a couple of minutes and transfer to a food processor.

3. Start to process the peanuts, scraping down the sides as necessary. The nuts will break down to find breadcrumbs and will turn to a thick creamy consistency before starting to thin out. This will take about 10-12 minutes, depending on the strength of your food processor.

4. Once the desired consistency is reached, add in the other ingredients and process once more for a couple of minutes. Taste test the peanut butter, adding more salt or sugar depending how you like it.

5. Transfer to an airtight container, allowing to cool fully before placing the lid on the container. This will keep well for 2 weeks – it won’t last that long!

I highly recommend slathering this onto my Ultimate Banana Bread, which I have been told tastes like pure heaven.

Have you made Chocolate Chai Peanut Butter? I would love to hear your thoughts on the nut butter making process and the flavour combination. Please leave a comment below and/or tag me in your creations. I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy.