Maca Cacao Cashew Butter

Homemade nut butters are so simple to make and while I love making them I don’t make them nearly as much as I would like to. I have a fairly large collection of nut buttes in the cupboard that is always rotating and I say well when I get it down to less than 8, or 10, or 12 jars I’ll make… yeah that never seems to happen. There is one nut butter though that I can’t get enough of fresh and that’s cashew butter. It was one of my favorite things at my old Whole Foods Market (we got a new one closer) that I miss but they pulled out the machine before I left and the new store doesn’t have it either. I use to love going in every week and grinding a fresh container of cashew butter. I would try to keep it to the small just to keep my consumption in balance but oh that warm creamy cashew butter begged to be opened and never failed I would crack it open when I got in the car and dips some dates in it! Yes dates and fresh cashew butter is simply one of my favorite whole food healthy snacks! Of course Navitas Naturals Maca Maple Cashews are right up there too! I thought about whipping up a Maca Maple Cashew Butter but instead it turned into this Maca Cacao Cashew Butter with more of a cacao taste and less of the maple… but the other one will be made too before this even posts. I was hoping to post it for Valentine’s with my week of cacao but I just cranked out a couple too many good ones and had one or two too many to post that week. Trust me though it is worth the wait! Perfect with fresh dates for a snack, on toast, your favorite sandwich, with apples or a banana, on pancakes, or even with your oats. Basically if you can dream it you can do it! Maca (I use this one, as gelatinized maca is easier to digest and is from a brand I trust) is one of my favorite superfoods for so many reasons. If you haven’t had it before it is definitely worth looking into but I always advise people to check into new foods, especially superfoods, before adding them into their diets. I think it has a nutty kind of caramely, they some say butterscotch, flavor. Others think it tastes like corn. I’m sticking with caramel or butterscotch as this dreamy nut butter also has a hint of sticky caramel like texture to it that is hard to explain. One of those you have to try it for yourself to see.

Maca Cacao Cashew Butter
Makes 1 1/2 cups
2c raw cashews
1- 1 1/2 TBSP gelatinized maca powder (used Navitas Naturals)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 TBSP coconut oil, melted
1/4c pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/3c + 1 TBSP cacao powder (used Navitas Naturals Cacao Powder)

In a Vitamix, if you have a nut container, or in a food processor blend cashews, maca, and cinnamon until you have a flour consistency or it starts to come together like nut butter. Stream in coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Blend until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. In a food processor it takes about 10 -12 minutes, in a Vitamix it is a little quicker. Sometimes it comes out a little smoother than others. Add in cacao powder and sea salt and blend until combine. Enjoy! Pour into a glass jar with a tight lid and store in the refrigerator for up a month (haven’t tested longer I just can’t let it sit there without eating it). It will be thicker and harden like fresh cashew or coconut butter when you pull it out of the refrigerator just heat for 10-20 seconds, or place sealed jar in a warm water bath, and stir.

Did you know it’s National Pancake Week? Linking up with Annmarie, The Fit Foodie Mama, for Foodie Friday and this week she has 45 pancake recipes! Go check them out and find some to make to top with my Maca Cacao Cashew Butter!