Salted Dark Chocolate Roasted Almond Butter

So....yeah, I haven't posted anything since Thursday! What's up with that?  I've been slack/I've been busy/I've been lazy/and my favorite...I've been crazy.  Yep, been gettin' my crazy on with all these kids running around 24/7.  Then a busy weekend with my pops :)  I made some goodies over the weekend, but first, I thought I'd put this almond butter out there.  Not everyone is a fan, but I like it.  And put some chocolate in it, and I am so there.  You may remember my first attempt at almond butter, the Salted Cinnamon Maple Roasted Almond Butter.  It had a great flavor, but the consistency wasn't quite right...it was very thick.  I thought the answer was oil (ewwww), but I've discovered the answer is simple....process your almonds longer.  The longer they process, the thinner your almond butter will get.  I use a food processor, so I don't know how this works with a blender or Vitamix, but I know I almost over-heated my processor!  There was smoke coming from that baby.  Time for an upgrade I think. 

Of course, I made 2 batches of almond butter, so that may have had something to do with it.  I made Salted Cinnamon Almond Butter for my Dad.  I left out the maple since he is not a fan.  All you need is 2 cups almonds (I used pre-salted roasted almonds), a teaspoon of cinnamon, and I used a few drops of vanilla stevia.  Process for 10 minutes and done!  It's super easy and delicious.

Dark chocolate almond butter -

2 cups roasted and salted almonds
1 T. Dark Chocolate Cocoa (I used Hershey's Dark)
1 T. brown sugar (or sweetener of choice)
few drops of Vanilla Stevia (or vanilla extract)
1/2 t. cinnamon (optional)

Process for 8-10 minutes.  Taste.  Add sugar/cocoa/cinnamon if needed (that's the great thing about this, it can easily be adjusted for YOUR taste buds!) and check for desired consistency.  Process for a couple minutes longer if needed.  Store in refrigerator.

YUM!  This is great for the homemade bagels I made.  I know right?!  Homemade bagels.  Told ya Mo's gettin' crazy up in here.  I'll be posting those asap.  And making them again very soon since they did not last  24 hours!  I'll try to get myself sane organized so that I can post daily again.  I have several ideas for the blog...but it takes time.  Child free time.

So, if you don't hear from me for a while, I've either been committed or I am buried beneath a mountain of zucchini and search and rescue dogs need to be sent out.  Expect zucchini recipes in the near future, and if you have any good ones, feel free to share!  Post them on my Facebook page or leave in the comments or email.  Does that sound desperate?  I'm feelin' a little desperate.