1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place nuts in a shallow baking pan. Bake 7 to 15 minutes or until just starting to toast (time will vary depending on the type of nut). Immediately place warm nuts in a food processor (a blender is not recommended). Process 7 to 15 minutes* or until thick and spreadable, scraping sides occasionally. Nuts will look dry and crumbly the first 5 minutes of processing but will come together into nut butter with longer processing. If desired, add salt; process 30 seconds more.

2. Transfer nut butter to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator up to 1 month. Let refrigerated nut butter stand at room temperature to soften before using.

*Process times

Almonds: 15 minutes, Cashews: 15 minutes,
Pecans: 10 minutes, Sunflower kernels: 10 minutes
If processor starts to overheat, stop and let it cool 3 minutes then continue.The textures of the nut butters will vary depending on the type of nut. Cashew butter is a thick paste which sets up after chilling. Pecan butter is very thin and doesn't thicken when chilled. Almond butter and sunflower butter are thin but spreadable after processing. They thicken a bit when chilled.

Cashew Butter

PER TBSP. 98 cal., 14 g fat (1 g sat. fat), 0 mg chol., 2 mg sodium, 5 g carb., 1 g fiber, 1 g sugars, 3 g pro.

Pecan Butter

PER TBSP. 86 cal., 9 g fat (1 g sat. fat), 0 mg chol., 0 mg sodium, 5 g carb., 1 g fiber, 0 g sugars, 1 g pro.

Sunflower Seed Butter

PER TBSP. 80 cal., 7 g fat (1 g sat. fat), 0 mg chol., 0 mg sodium, 3 g carb., 2 g fiber, 1 g sugars, 3 g pro.