This pumpkin cinnamon cashew butter is a delicious, seasonal alternative to regular cashew butter or any variety of nut butter.  It has creamy, it has fall aromas, it has spice and it can be quite addicting for anyone who is a nut butter fan!

WARNING: If you have a spoon, proceed with caution (or you may end up with an empty jar. no joke.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw cashews (soaked)

1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree

2 teaspoon raw coconut sugar

1 tablespoon raw coconut nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon pink salt

Optional:  Even though the added raw sugar sources are very minimal for the entire recipe (about 20 grams total for entire batch), if you want to go lower carb and no added sugar sources, try stevia instead of the coconut sugar and coconut nectar.  I like coconut-based sugars because they are much lower on the glycemic index than other raw sugar sources.

*links above to products and brands I approve and use myself

Directions:

1.  Soak your raw cashews in water for 3-4 hours.  Drain water, dry well and add raw cashews to blender.

2. I like to blend the raw cashews first to get it going, usually stopping the blending process a few times and using a spatula to scrape the sides.

3. Add all other ingredients to blender and blend until everything is incorporated and smooth, again using spatula to scrape down the sides if necessary.

4. I like to store my nut butters in a glass jar, refrigerated.

Why we soak:

We want to soak nuts and seeds (as well as grains) to help break down enzyme inhibitors, increase enzyme activity, as well as vitamin & mineral content and bio-availability (nutrition available for your cells).  This break down of enzyme inhibitors and increase in enzyme activity is much easier on our digestion.  For seeds, think of a packet of seeds you would buy at the store to plant as being dormant.  Not much going on with them, right?  It’s just a packet of seeds.  Yet when we add water to them, they begin to “wake up” and all their inner mechanics turn on (a la the increased enzyme, vitamin, minerals, and breakdown of the inhibitors that nature has given seeds to not prematurely sprout without water). In my soon to be released cookbook, I created a sprouting chart for how to sprout and total soaking time for different nuts, seeds, and grains as a convenient reference.

Enjoy the pumpkin cashew butter!