WALNUT & PECAN BUTTER WITH CINNAMON
If there is a world without nut butter, I don’t want to live in it.
I adore nut butter, whether they are made from cashews, sunflower seeds, almonds or peanuts. I add them to my bowl of porridge, drop a big spoonful on my breakfast-granola, enjoy them on a slice of dark and dense rye bread together with some dried dates or just eat them straight out of the jar – indulgent, I know! This walnut and pecan butter is a nice change from the ever-present peanut butter. It has a strong taste of its own which I really like and I found it quicker to make than for example almond butter. This is because walnuts and pecans have a slightly higher fat content and therefore release their fatty components earlier than other, firmer nuts.
Servings: 1 jarTotal time: 25 minFor the granola
Ingredients
2 cups walnuts
1 cup pecans
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
sprinkle of salt
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200°C.
Roast the walnuts and pecans for 5-10 minutes or until you can smell their aroma and they turn into a light golden. (A good way of testing whether nuts and seeds are finished toasting is by rubbing them between index finger and thumb; if they break nicely, they can be removed from the heat.) If you want to prevent a slightly bitter taste in your nut butter, take the toasted walnuts and rub their skins off. I tend to skip this step because I like the full, rich taste of walnuts!
Next, pour both walnuts and pecans into a food processor, add the agave, cinnamon and salt and blend on high. You may have to scrape the mixture down from the processor’s sides a few times. Check whether the butter turns into a smooth, slightly oily texture after blending it for ~5 minutes.
If you have difficulty turning it into a nut butter consistency, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of good quality organic sunflower seed oil.
Et voila! Keep this nut butter in a jar and enjoy it on all kinds of cakes, breads, crackers, or straight from the spoon – my favourite way of eating it!