Whatever you do, don’t make this.

Sure, it seems harmless enough.  It’s just some cashew butter… What’s the harm in that?

With the first bite you’ll be impressed by the texture, second bite, “ooh, that chocolate is a really good addition,” third bite “ooh, I can taste a little salt in there too…”

Using it to dip some banana or apple in, smearing a bit on some toast.  Maybe dunking a graham cracker or two…

Next thing you know it’s gone and you’re torn between the shock of, “Did I just eat a whole container of cashew butter?” followed by the panic of realizing, “MY GOD, THERE IS NO MORE CASHEW BUTTER!”

You’ll know you’re in real trouble, though, when you’re standing at the counter eating the second batch straight out of the jar with a spoon… totally not speaking from experience.

Like I said, this is serious stuff.

Well, I put those graham crackers in there for the picture… it’d be a real shame to waste them.  Might as well eat the rest of them too, since they’re already on the plate.

Chocolate Cashew Butter

Makes about 8 ounces cashew butter (mine fit into my 8 ounce mason jar)

Printable Recipe

• 2 cups (about 8 ounces) cashews*
• 1 ounce chocolate, milk or dark, chopped (or a tablespoon or two of mini chocolate chips)
• 1 teaspoon virgin coconut oil
• salt, to taste (I added about a 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt)

1.  Place 2 cups cashews (or nut of your choice) into the food processor.  Blend continuously until they break down into a butter form.  This will take awhile and you will need to scrape down the sides a few times.  They will go from nuts, to chopped nuts, to something resembling almond meal, then to the consistency of chunky peanut butter, then to a smoother consistency.

2.  Once smooth, add the chopped chocolate and coconut oil and continue blending and scraping until it is completely blended.

3.  Taste and add salt as desired, blend and scrape down the sides one last time to incorporate the salt.

Can be stored at room temperature up to 3 days, or refrigerated for about a month (I’ve seen other sites say up to 3 months).

* You can use any nut you like, roasted or raw, but roasted nuts will give a more pronounced nut flavor (raw cashews basically just hold onto the chocolate and stay pretty neutral in flavor) – Just make sure to use unsalted so that you can control how much salt goes into the butter. (If you’re feeling adventurous, give honey-roasted peanuts a try, you might not even need  want to add the chocolate with that one.)

* Use more or less chocolate, milk or dark, to your taste, or omit the chocolate all together.  Other things that mix well – honey, maple, cinnamon, etc.

[ Adapted from How Sweet Eats ]