Honey Roasted Almond, Peanut, Sunflower Seed Butter

Earlier this week was National PB&J Day, a holiday that has a renewed place in my heart. Like most children, it was a lunchbox staple throughout a majority of my elementary years--along with tuna. *Shutter.* I do not miss the inevitable soggy bread of lunch hour.

But you see, ever since I started making my own nut butter this year, PB&Js have slowly crept back into my diet. As much as I enjoy standing in my kitchen eating nut butter from the jar, every once and a while I decided to be decent and bring out some other ingredients to make a meal of it.

A few things, however, have changed since school days: No more grape-y goop jelly. No more pasty, processed peanut butter. And certainly no more soggy bread! Only *mature* berry preserves (strawberry & blackberry are my favorites), freshly bought and sometimes-toasted bread, and this lip-smacking delicious honey roasted almond, peanut, sunflower seed butter...which is in need of a better name. (As much as I love straightforward and descriptive names, sometimes they are just waaaaay too long.)

This nutty-seed butter is drippy with a wonderfully natural texture, slightly grainy but not crunchy. Prior to making nut butter, I was concerned that it would separate like all the "natural" versions you find at the grocery store. I haven't noticed this at all with my experiments, which is likely due to not adding additional oil and not letting it stick around my kitchen for too long.

The flavor of all the nuts/seeds together is the most captivating part. Sure, it's sweetened from the honey roasted coating on the almonds, but you can still subtly distinguish all the individual nutty flavors. I love how they compliment each other...also, with different nuts, comes different vitamins and nutrients!

If you've never made nut butter before, you should know it's LOUD. Within the 10-15 minutes you are processing the nuts, it will go through a few different stages and will ultimately quiet up some. First, the nuts become crushed, followed by a fine powder and a paste-like stage. The surprise is when the paste turns into a ball and then *boom* quickly liquifies. (Averie does a great job describing the nut butter stages with images, if you are interested.)

I store mine in a mason jar in the cabinet, ready to go when the daily craving strikes...by spoon, apple dips, oatmeal drizzle. And it's served a la PB&J on a good day, open-faced because I think the bread-to-spreads ratio is perfect :)

So tell me: what nuts would you put in your ultimate nut butter?

Honey Roasted Almond, 
Peanut, Sunflower Butter

A Pursuit of Sweetness Original

Servings: 1 jar

10 ounces honey roasted almonds
5 ounces unsalted peanuts, roasted or raw
3-4 ounces unsalted sunflower seeds, roasted or raw

• Place almonds in a food processor and set on high for 5 minutes. Turn processor off, scrape down sides, and add in peanuts and sunflower seeds. Process for an additional 10 minutes, stopping halfway through to scrap down sides.

• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.