Spiced chocolate almond butter

This festive spiced chocolate almond butter is a creamy, sweet and spiced spread that is the perfect addition to festive baking, cookies, porridge or a sweet toast topper. The perfect blend of nutty, sweet and spice.

Truth be told this spiced chocolate almond butter was invented out of the pure dislike I have for peeling freshly roasted hazelnuts. Originally I had water to make a spiced faux Nutella, but the though of spending any amount of time making sure I’d removed all those browned skins? I wasn’t up for it.

Turns out roasted almonds mixed with cacao, spices, sugar and a little oil is JUST as delicious as its hazelnut counterpart, but LESS FUSS.

All the fun of spiced homemade Nutella but NO FUSS.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Almonds– Just basic raw almonds, which we will roast up and blend into a creamy almond butter. You could get really fancy and use activated almonds if you like- read more about what activated almonds are here.
Cacao or cocoa powder. Either works, but I prefer to use raw cacao powder for this recipe. This one here has the best flavour ever, so I always use that.
Icing sugar. Trust me, it gives the best results and makes the most creamy chocolate almond butter ever. You can swap with other sugars (granulated) if you like, or even maple syrup BUT the result will be stiff (not runny, smooth and glossy and not recommend).
Spices and salt– we use ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cardamom to give the a festive, Christmas taste.
Neutral flavoured oil– I like macadamia oil but a light olive oil would be my next choice (or any light oily prefer).

HOW TO ENJOY YOUR SPICED CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER

Straight off the spoon (obviously)
Spread on toast and topped with sliced banana or strawberries
Blended into hot milk for a wonderful hot chocolate
Drizzled over a bowl of steaming porridge, or over my fermented porridge
Spread on crepes or pancakes
As a dipping sauce for a fruit platter

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I swap out the icing sugar?

Yes! Icing sugar gives the best result if you’re after a mock-nutella taste and texture, but you can swap for any other granulated sugar. All other forms of sugar will give a courser/grainer texture but will taste great. Coconut/brown/rapadura sugar will add a caramel flavour into the mix, so it is up to you if you’d like this.

For a sugar-free version you could swap out for your preferred granulated sugar-free sweetener, like this one. This chai-spiced almond butter might also be a better option for you, as it has far less sugar.

I do not recommend using no form of sweetener at all. The sweetener is necessary to balance out the bitter tones from the nuts and cacao, as well as the spices.

Can I use maple syrup instead of sugar?

I do not recommend using straight liquid sweeteners for this recipe (like maple syrup) as the water and oil seize up. This creates a very stiff nut butter that will not be spreadable.

I am allergic at almonds, what can I use instead?

Any nut will work! Hazelnuts, cashews, macadamia or pecans would be great. For a nut-free option you could use sunflower seeds or shredded coconut but note that you will need to look up the individual times for roasting each of these nuts/seeds, to avoid burning them.

Looking for more great snack ideas? Try;

We hope you enjoy this delicious spiced chocolate almond butter as much as we do! If you make we love to hear from you- your reviews and comments help others find this recipe too.