Vegan Smoky Black Pepper Cream Cheese

Important: I would suggest prepping this 2 days before you want to eat it, for the best results. You must soak the cashews fully overnight before making this. They become extremely soft this way and is how the whipped texture and super creaminess comes about. Even the flavor was better this way. Trust me, I tried a quick boil method with the cashews and it was not as silky smooth or best in flavor. This recipe uses very little water, so trying to skip the long soaking method will affect the results. You want the nuts soft and cool. Do not try to do this in a Vitamix, it won't work. A food processor is how to get the specific texture, again because very little liquid is used. So, add your cashews to a bowl and cover with warm water and leave to sit on your counter overnight. Drain them the next day and rinse very well.Add the drained cashews, water and lemon juice to a food processor and process until a paste forms. Scrape the sides a couple of times and process again. You want it relatively smooth, but it doesn't have to be perfect since we are processing again.Add all of the remaining ingredients, liquid smoke, pickle juice, nutritional yeast, pepper and salt. Process for several minutes. I'm talking, walk away for a couple of minutes and come back. Scrape the sides down and process once more. You want that stuff silky smooth and a whipped like texture. Refer to photos above for a visual.Once it's completely smooth, transfer to a glass container and store in the fridge overnight. It will thicken up some and get really chilled, making it perfect for your bagel in the morning. You will experience the full flavor and texture after it has chilled overnight. Be patient my friends. Enjoy! Come back please and let me know how you liked it!