Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
I am hooked on
Dave's Killer Powerseed bread. Safeway supermarket is the only place I can find Dave's Killer bread at the moment. It's a little pricey, but I love the 100% whole-grain goodness and seedy texture of this bread. I've been toasting a slice of this bread for the past few morning since I came across this recipe for Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter. I didn't realize making your own nut butter can be so easy. You need a reliable food processor that can run continuously for about 10 minutes without getting hot. I have an old Cuisinart from the 80s which works just fine. I don't recommend using a mini food processor which I have already tried. Because a mini food processor is not as powerful as the standard size processor, you will not achieve the same results as you would from a standard size food processor.
2 cups raw sunflower seeds (9.6 ounces)
2 to 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and position oven rack to the center of the oven. Spread sunflower seeds in a shallow rimmed baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, stirring half way of baking time. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Insert a steel blade into the work bowl of a food processor. Transfer cooled seeds into the work bowl. Cover and pulse nuts about 30 times just to get the seeds to break up and become crumbly. Then continuously run for about 10 minutes until smooth, stopping machine a couple of times to scrape down sides.
When mixture looks smooth, while processor is running, drizzle in about 2 tablespoons sunflower oil. Let processor run until mixture is incorporated and becomes smooth. Add the honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt to the mixture. Continue to let processor run until smooth and well blended. Mixture will seem tight in the beginning, but let it continuously run for about 5 minutes and the nut butter will smooth out. Check the nut butter. If mixture seems too thick, add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of the remaining sunflower oil and let it run until well blended. Taste and add more salt to taste if desired. Transfer the nut butter into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
This nut butter is delicious spread on toasted 100% whole-grain bread.
Yield about 1 cup
