Vanilla Maple Walnut Butter

I’ve been on a make-my-own nut butter kick lately and realized I should probably start sharing my recipes with you! Although I LOVE peanut butter, I wanted to explore other options. Peanuts are higher in mold (which can be an issue if you are struggling with candida overgrowth) and I honestly just needed some more variety. I recently had a food sensitivity test done that showed I was sensitive to almonds, so almond butter was off the table, too. Womp.

My first experiment was with hazelnut butter. I got a new Vitamix for my birthday in June, specifically to make fun things like nut butters (and acai bowls - yum!!). Turns out, there are two different Vitamix blender containers - wet and dry. After a few failed attempts with the dry container, I caved and purchased the wet one. Or maybe it was the other way around?? Regardless, now I can make super creamy, delicious nut butters in less than two minutes!! It’s been such a game changer!

I have yet to go back to attempting hazelnut butter, but I have tried pecan butter and walnut butter, both of which were a huge success!

Makes: 1 1/4 cup

Ingredients

• 3 cups raw or lightly toasted* walnuts

• 1-2 tsp coconut oil, if needed

• 2 tsp maple syrup

• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Add walnuts to Vitamix or food processor.

2. Blend on high until smooth (about 1-2 minutes for the Vitamix). If needed, add 1-2 tsp of melted coconut oil.

3. Add maple syrup and vanilla extract and blend on low to allow flavors to mix in.

4. Put your Vanilla Maple Walnut Butter into a glass container with a lid and store in the refrigerator.

*If you choose to use toasted walnuts, toast walnuts for 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven, tossing halfway. Allow walnuts to cool completely before blending.

This nut butter is delicious on its own or on top of ice cream, banana, rice cakes, or warmed apples. If you’d like, you can add a dash of cinnamon, too!