If you’ve been keeping up-to-date with the latest gluten-free recipes and macaron crazes, you’ve likely been on the hunt for almond flour. And if you’ve been successful in your search, you’ve probably realized just how expensive almond flour can be. A measly bag is often ten times as expensive as a bag of all-purpose flour can be.

The solution? DIY! Making almond flour is a lot easier than it sounds, and a great way to save money. Save even more money by buying the whole almonds instead of the slivered ones—turns out companies charge you more for cutting almonds into little pieces.

What you’ll need:

1 cup of raw whole unsalted almonds
1 small saucepan filled with water
1 blender/food processor

Directions:

almond flour

Photo by Stephanie Lee

1. Blanch raw unsalted almonds by boiling them in water for 2-3 minutes.

almond flour

Photo by Kai Huang

2. Remove from boiling water and peel off the almond skins. They should come off easily after pinching the skin. Pat the almonds dry.

3. Pulse almonds in a blender or food processor, but not for too long. Otherwise, you’ll wind up with almond butter.

4. Run the mixture through a fine sifter to isolate any chunks that didn’t get broken down.

almond flour

Photo by Ana Cvetkovic

5. Use in your favorite macaron recipe!