Food & Drink - Cheers!!
Make Your Own Nut Butter!!
Peanut Butter & Cashew Butter
Trust me, once you make your own nut butter at home, you will never buy it again! The flavor is chock full of nuttiness, the texture is creamy and the freshness is obvious - you just made it!! You also have options - roasted or honey roasted nuts, salted or unsalted.
I have listed the large quantity peanuts and cashews that are value priced.
Supplies ...
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Vitamix Blender - Nuts are tough to grind so you will need a blender with a strong motor and blades. Varied speeds are necessary to get the job done. I use the Vitamix Blender. (I've tried a food processor, but the ground nuts were mealy.
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Peanuts or Cashews (I avoid almonds, they have less oil and you need to add a bit of oil to get the creamy, smooth emulsion that we love!
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Container for storage of Nut Butter
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How to Make Nut Butter:
INGREDIENTS - 3 cups ROASTED peanuts or cashews (1.75 cups of nuts = 1 cup nut butter).
(Raw nuts do not usually release enough oil to get a smooth, creamy texture)
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MY METHOD -
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Pour 3 cups of Peanuts or Cashews in the Vitamix Blender container.
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Secure lid tightly.
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Set Vitamix to 2 on the power dial. Do a few long pulses - the crushed nuts will start to climb up the side of the blender container and then cascade into the center. Once the nuts stop moving, stop pulsing and immediately move the power dial to 4 or 5.
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Do the same process all over again - long pulses, watching the movement of the nuts. Once they seem to stop moving, notch up the power again, to 6 or 7. At this point, the nuts will start to become creamy. Continue with the same method and once movement stops, turn the power up to 9 or 10.
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At this point, the nuts are being creamed by the sheer power of the blade, turning into shiny, creamy peanut butter. Let the Vitamix run for a short time longer to finish creaming the nut butter.
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Place nut butter in a storage container of your choice, using a spatula to get out all of the butter out of the blender.
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You now have a blender container and blades covered in peanut butter. You can either clean the mixer immediately or add 1.5 cups of any kind of milk - almond, oat, whole, chocolate, whatever you like. Blend for a few seconds and you've got a yummy glass of peanut butter milk.
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To clean the unit, simply fill the blender container half full, with hot, soapy water. Place the container on the blender base. Turn power dial to the cleaning function and allow the unit to run on its' own. Pour out soapy water and finish cleaning. This function works wonderfully and does most of the work for you!!
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DON"T TOUCH! - I used to have to use the tamper, but it's not necessary, if you watch what the nuts are doing in the mixer. On ocassion, after the first & second pulsing, I have used a spatula to gently knock down some of the nuts from the sides of the blender, toward the center/blades. Resist the urge to put a spatula down into the butter and trying to mix the nuts between pulses - this will actually make the process more difficult.
ONLY ROASTED NUTS PLEASE! Be sure to use roasted nuts, so there is enough nut oil released to make your butter smooth and creamy. I've tried it with raw nuts and got a mealy mess!
CARE OF YOUR MIXER - Crushing nuts takes a lot of power and can burn out the motor of your Vitamix. The method above, prevents this from happening - PULSING with lots of stops and starts, works beautifully and turns out warm, creamy, smooth nut butter.
HANG IN THERE - No matter what, you will end up with delicious, fabulous nut butter, but I have to admit, when I first attempted this, I made a mess! It was on the counter, it was on me and I dirtied multiple utensils and tools. In short, I made it harder than it needed to be. Nut butter can be a pain to clean up and when we feel that way, we just decide to skip it. But don't give up, It took me a few times to get the hang of it and now when I make it, the blender is the only thing covered in nut butter. Enjoy!
Beautiful & Fun Nordic Ware Pans - For Every Season!!
I'm not a recipe inventor, but I am a recipe maker, so I have included links for two excellent recipes from Ina Garten & Sally (from sallysbakingaddiction.com) that turn out beautifully in my Nordic Ware pans. These two bakes are delicious and turn out perfectly - place on a lovely pedestal cake plate and you've got the perfect centerpiece for any festive event AND you just saved $30 on flowers for the table!! LOL!
Spring Nordic Ware ...
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Summer Nordic Ware
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Fall Nordic Ware
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Winter Nordic Ware
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Why I love Nordic Ware Seasonal Pans ...
​Perfectly Even Bake - Made of aluminum with excellent heat distribution, your cake or bread comes out of the oven, baked perfectly even, resulting in a delicious golden brown crust.
Release - When the pan is sprayed adequately (aka heavily) with cooking spray, the release of your bake is amazing - I am always surprised because I can't believe I made something so beautiful!
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Design & Artistry - The design of their themed pans are beautiful and intricate. Some people say they are hard to clean, but again, a heavy dose of cooking spray and a bit of a hot, soapy water soak, after removing the cake/loaf, generally takes care of any cleaning issues.​
Important - Be sure your cake or bread is completely cool before flipping your pan over for release.
Easy Finishing - No need to make messy frosting which can be tedious in getting the right texture and applying smoothly etc. For pound cake type recipes just prepare a simple glaze or dust with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, Swedish vanilla pearl sugar or coarse sugar - whatever your heart desires!
Cleaning - Dishwasher safe - the finish both inside and out remains untouched. Again, spray with cooking spray. After bake is removed, do a brief, hot, soapy water soak, pop in dishwasher - comes out perfectly clean!
Recipe Links...
From Ina Garten ...
F.Y.I.
We really LOVE the flavor of lemon, and not all lemons have the same amount of oil essence,
so I add 1/2 tsp. of lemon extract.
From Sally's Baking Addiction...
F.Y.I.
Add additional: 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon and 1/4 c of sour cream.
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Add 1 cup of chocolate chips
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(Note that chocolate chips will make the lines of the design less sharp because they will have melted a bit in the baking process.)