Trader Joe’s copycat cookie butter (gluten-free)
Dear Trader Joe’s,
I’m already addicted to your nut butters. I take a daily almond butter dip no matter what, and I don’t understand why you needed to come out with all of the crazy combos that I have to try.
And I guess you came out with a chocolate almond butter, too? Well, that sounds like the devil…. and I can’t wait to pick some up.
The cookie butter jar sits in the pantry, and I stare at it longingly because of the gluten content, and may drool a little while the Pilot spreads it onto toast. Supreme nut butter envy over here.
So what’s a girl to do?
Break her mini chopper attempting to make her own.
100% worth it 🙂
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Homemade Cookie Butter
GF, Vegan
Ingredients:
-1.5 cups gluten-free gingersnaps, crushed
-2 cups almonds (cashews would be lovely, too), toasted <—a trick I learned from my friend Ashley
-1 t cinnamon
-1 T olive oil
-hefty pinch of sea salt
-1 t vanilla
-Liquid sweetener of choice, if desired. With the cookies, I didn’t think it needed much, so I added a little maple syrup
1.) After the nuts have cooled (about 10 minutes), start to process them in a food processor or the Vitamix. It will take about 10 minutes or so to get a creamy, nut buttery consistency, so try to be patient- it’s worth the wait.
If your food processor starts to feel warm, let it cool down before continuing to process. This is where I failed- patience is not my virtue. [Vitamix tip: if your Vitamix overheats, put the base in the fridge- it will cool it down much faster]
2.) After you have a smooth consistency, add the cookie crumbles, oil, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and sweetener (if you’d like). Blend well.
3.) Transfer to a jar (this would make an amazing little gift!), and eat whatever’s left in the food processor with a giant, goofy smile on your face.
Perfect:
As a waffle, pancake or oatmeal topping
Snack with berries for dipping
On a spoon
What’s your all-time favorite nut butter? Or are you not a fan?
140 Comments
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This looks amazing!! I was feeling depressed because I can’t find Biscoff around here, and we don’t have any Trader Joe’s in Utah. Now I can make my own, thanks to you! 🙂 And like you, I am in love with all nut butters.
Chocolate hazelnut is my favorite “specialty” flavor, but generally I’m a basic, creamy peanut butter fan.
Sounds delish. 🙂 Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Ooh yum I saw the cookie butter on Jess (How Sweet)’s blog the other day and I really need to get my hands on some! As far as I know we don’t have Biscoff here in Canada but maybe I should just make my own like you! Favourite nut butter… hmmmm… right now, Wild Squirrel!
I love them all! Favorite is definitely Trader Joe’s almond butter. Eeeek or MAYBE fig butter?! Someone at work just brought that in and it was to die for!
wait. hold the horses. where is this FIG butter from???? I LOVE figs so I must get my sticky little paws on it!
I just had to comment and say I LOVE your reaction to this Sonia, and I agree. Where do I find fig butter?
Oh goodness, that sounds soo good! I may have to hit up Trader Joe’s this evening and pick some up. Glad you were able to find a vegan GF recipe to have 🙂
Fabulous idea. All time favorite is cinnamon raisin (PB & Co), but I haven’t tried TJ’s cookie butter or Biscoff yet – both of which are supposed to be incredible!
OMG THANK YOU !! It’s like an answered prayer hahaha. I have been wanting to try this cookie butter since I saw it on your blog, and there is no Trader Joe’s around me. I will DEFINITELY make my own !!
Brilliant! Looks delicious!
After I saw the cookie butter on your blog the other day, I made sure to make a trip to Joe’s right away. I bought 4 jars (2 for gifts), and there’s about half a jar left of the two for my husband and me. My husband grew up with the cookies in Europe, and he can’t get enough of this stuff. Haha. It’s great on protein pancakes (with pumpkin and cinnamon added)……… 🙂 Thanks for the tip!
I love that you made your own cookie nut butter. It sounds fantastic!
Did you hear that TJ’s is also carrying eggnog almonds?! I will be on the lookout for those the next time I’m there. 🙂
First of all, YUM. What a great idea for a gift!!
So I can’t find the post where you explain why you eat gluten free and and I’m so curious! If you wouldn’t mind sharing the link or just a quick explanation…thanks!
here ya go: http://fitnessista.com/2011/06/readers-request-gluten-freedom/
thank you! very helpful to know that if i have no gluten intolerance that i should keep eating it :).
Oh my goodness. Now, I think if anyone has an autoimmune/digestive/crazy undiagnosed or untreatable illness that they should try a gluten free diet right away- But mostly I think gluten is a wonderful, delicious miracle and blessing on this earth. I mean it’s amazing! But maybe that’s because I haven’t been able to eat it myself for so long! LOL
Haha aww well I’ll make sure to keep on enjoying it for you ;).
yep, enjoy!
I am so making this – thank you for dreaming up the recipe!
Genious, sounds delicious!!!
My favorite nut butter is by far TJ’s Creamy Unsalted Roasted Almond Butter, to me it is the best nut butter ever!
Ana
I meant “genius” (typing too fast, sorry!)
I cannot wait to make this! I just got a new blender so this recipe came at the most opportune time. Love you blog!
I love creamy peanut butter! I tried almond butter on recommendations from you and others, but it is bitter tasting for me. No bueno.
PB and Co has a dark chocolate and white chocolate creamy peanut butter that is to die for!
I can’t wait until the first Trader Joe’s opens in FL sometime this year! I will be close to an hour from it, but worth the trip once in a while!
Your such a wealth of knowledge! Just stopping in to say thanks! I started Insanity workouts this week and I reference your Insanity reviews almost everyday…keeps me motivated, and I also take a peek at your breakdown of each DVD review. Even over a year later, your information comes in handy. Thanks!!!!!!
thank you so much for reading! i’m so glad that the info has helped you and that you’re enjoying insanity!
pb and nutella.the only nut butters ive tried are: nutella,pb and soy nut butter
I love PB & Co’s White Chocolate peanut butter.
I know it just sounds wrong, but I’m not an almond butter fan. Then again, almonds aren’t my favorite nut either so maybe that’s why.
And now I nut butter envy you! This post has been starred for me to come back to and make 🙂
That sounds amazingly yummy! I was told this year that I’m intolerant to peanut butter, so I’ve switched to almond butter and I LOVE it!! I’ve also found almond/cashew butter which is pretty darn tasty. However, I would really like to try that cookie butter 🙂
WOW! That sounds awesome! And my fav nut butter is the praline spread from Le Pain Quoditant bakery!
OH MY GOODNESS! You are my favorite person in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. I had heard about this butter before. But living in Canada…..we don’t have a Trader Joes. My fav nut butter is my dark chocolate almond butter that I make. OR the coconut almond butter(tastes like Hawaii).
I’m definitely a fan of peanut butter with flax seeds mixed in at Trader Joe’s. I’m SO glad you made this though, I need to try it once I’m home! I really wanted to buy this the other day, but I didn’t like all of the ingredients. I think I might try it with homemade gingersnaps. Thanks for the recipe!!
That is my ALL time fav pb!! so good!
yes, it has a super long ingredient list!
Oh man alive. This looks delicious. I never thought of toasting them before the food processor. I’m going to have to give these a try. Will they work with animal crackers? Or do you think I need true gingersnaps?
i think any cracker or cookie would work
Omg that looks amazing!! Im obsessed with almond butter. If you don’t mind me asking, is it cheaper to make your own rather than buy it at the store? I pay $9 for my jar of almond butter but I know almonds are super expensive to buy as well, so I wasn’t sure if one was cheaper than the other. If one is, I’ll be all about it!
it’s much cheaper if you get your almonds at costco. i get a GIANT bag for $10
I’ll be going the homemade route too…we don’t have a TJ’s within a hundred miles, sigh.
I’m an almond butter fan because of you! There is no TJ in CO, so I don’t get a huge variety to choose from. It’s usually no-stir or all natural lol.
awesome! the first thing I thought was … damn there’s gluten in it … then you went ahead and did what I was going to try to do myself later. thanks for being awesome!
AHH!! Thanks for the recipe!
Not only am I now gluten-free (can’t believe what a difference it makes not eating gluten!), but I live in Canada so no Trader Joe’s or Biscoff spread. Heck, we don’t even get the same variety of nut butters here and definitely not at the same prices!
Just have to hunt down some gluten-free ginger snaps now…
Oh for sure, Trader Joes Raw Crunchy Almond Butter. I have tried other brands, even the more expensive, but I just love TJs versions so much more. Maybe a little too much…
I need to start making my own nut butter again, and when I do this will be the first recipe, genius!
I’m a fan of all nut butters. Every morning I have a heaping T of whatever is in the cupboard. I’m trying to keep this addiction in order, otherwise I go through those jars like crazy. I’ve never had this Trader Joe’s brand, but it looks dangerous. Have a great day!
OH yum! Can I make this using the regular vitamix container or do I need to use the dry one? This is a very important question because I don’t actually have the dry container…and if I break my vitamix my life will basically be ruined lol.
i’ve made it with the wet one before with no probs, just keep an eye on it if it starts smoking or overheating
That looks delicious!
My favorite nut butter of all time is PB & Co’s White Chocolate Wonderful flavor. When paired with a little scoop of their Dark Chocolate Dreams flavor, it’s like a mini peanut butter cup on a spoon.
I love me some almond butter. add chocolate to it and i’m yours forever. lol. i must see if the TJ’s near me has this cookie butter and chocolate almond butter.
Making my own almond butter has been on my “list” for AGES. Definitely will need to do that, and soon!
looks SO good!! i made maple almond butter once and that was my all time favorite. it was SO good. i made chocolate and pumpkin spice too and they were good, but maple was the best!
I’m a HUGE fan of nut butters. If you’ve never tried Vermont Peanut Butter’s nut butters….you have no idea what you are missing. Tons of different flavors, all natural products, no nasty add on’s or processed ickiness…just nuts and flavors. Try VermontPeanutButter.com. Truly “amazeballz.”
Oh. My. Gah. I WANT TO EAT THAT!
My fave nut butter is the chocolate hazelnut variety. I try to find more natural versions that Nutella though.
I was patting myself on the back for walking past both the cookie butter and cocoa almond butter yesterday. But all of a sudden, I’m feeling an urge to drive back to TJ’s…haha! classic almond butter + maple syrup is my favorite. But I’m guessing that once I try nutella’s cousin aka cocoa almond butter I will be addicted.
Love! It is the best to make stuff for yourself at home, that way you can make it just how YOU like it.
WOW! This TJ cookie stuff is blowing up on blogs!
Kind of embarrassed to say this, but the only kind of nut butter I like is Peter Pan Honey Roasted peanut butter (creamy). Sadly, I don’t love nuts, and this is the only kind that jives with me. Even so, I only go through a jar every 3 months or so, just enjoying a spoonful here or there as a treat that I don’t feel TOO guilty about!
Ahhh, nice recipe!!! I haven’t made nut butter in waaaaay too long. Or eaten a cookie. Both of those things need to change! 🙂
LOVE this recipe and what a great gift idea!! yayy!
Straight up roasted salted peanut butter on a spoon is my all time favorite… but I do love me some sunflower butter and almond butter 🙂
Oh man, like so many of us in the blog world I too, am a nut butter addict. Like so many of my food choices I go through phases about what nut butters I’m into, for weeks on end I’ll only eat almond butter, others I can’t get enough of peanut butter with sea salt. But this cookie butter might have to make it into my rotation! It looks like the biscoff spread and I love that you took matters into your own hands and made your own! YUM!
That cookie butter from TJ’s looks yummy! we are hitting up Charlotte this weekend for christmas shopping and TJ’s is one of my stops. I am sooo hitting it up for this cookie butter (and their seaweed snacks :D)
Have you tried Justin’s Chocolate nut butters (gf) or the Maranatha Dark Chocolate almond butter? They are soooo good! Justin’s can be found at Sunflower markets and Maranatha is sold at WF and walmart.